Overview

• Senate Bill 2972 took effect Sept. 1 and requires public universities to prohibit any First Amendment–protected expressive activity on campus from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m.
• The law also bars invited speakers, sound amplification, and percussive instruments during the final two weeks of academic terms, with plaintiffs arguing those limits sweep far beyond disruptive protests.
• FIRE filed the case in the Western District of Texas on behalf of UT Dallas groups FOCUS, The Retrograde, and Strings Attached, UT Austin’s Society of Unconventional Drummers, and Young Americans for Liberty.
• Defendants include the UT System Board of Regents, Chancellor John M. Zerwas, UT Austin President Jim Davis, and UT Dallas President Prabhas V. Moghe, and the system declined further comment citing pending litigation.
• Supporters led by Sen. Brandon Creighton say the statute responds to disruptions seen in 2024 campus protests, while critics note it rolls back 2019 open-forum protections by letting governing boards designate speech areas.