State Legislatures Enact Laws Impacting Higher Education Governance and Tenure
Several U.S. states have recently passed legislation affecting higher education governance and tenure. In Alabama, a new law allows public university presidents to take over faculty governance bodies, effectively ending existing faculty senates unless re-established under the new law. Florida's House Bill 757, pending the governor's decision, could permit faculty to carry guns on campus after training. Indiana's Senate Bill 199 mandates the closure of academic programs failing a federal earnings test unless exempted by the state Commission for Higher Education. Kansas has passed the Kansas Intellectual Rights and Knowledge Act, banning 'free speech zones' and allowing lawsuits over violations. These legislative actions reflect a broader trend of increasing state control over higher education policies, often reducing faculty autonomy and altering traditional governance structures. 
