Chairman of Higher Education Committee discusses SB 17, protection policies for academia

September 3, 2026 - 12:31

State Representative Terry Wilson, a Republican from Georgetown who chairs the House Committee on Higher Education, defended two recent pieces of legislation during a campus visit on Tuesday. Speaking in the Bass Lecture Hall, Wilson argued that Senate Bills 17 and 37 have been widely misinterpreted by the public and by faculty members. He said the true intent of the laws was never to restrict teaching or research but rather to safeguard the principle of academic freedom.

Wilson explained that the bills were drafted to protect the integrity of scholarly work and to ensure that university classrooms remain places for open inquiry, not ideological instruction. He acknowledged that the language of the bills has caused concern among professors and students, but he insisted that the core purpose was to create clear boundaries that preserve honest academic debate.

The chairman also fielded questions from attendees about how the policies would be enforced across public universities. He emphasized that the state supports rigorous research and that the measures are designed to prevent outside political pressure from shaping what is taught or studied. Wilson called for more dialogue between lawmakers and educators to clear up what he described as widespread confusion about the new rules. He said he remains open to refining the policies if they create unintended problems for campuses.