Members of the Texas House and Senate are seeking to tighten restrictions on American history classes that count towards fulfilling Texas public universities’ core requirements. 

Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, R-Southlake,  and state Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, filed two bills amending a 1955 state law that mandates six history credits be included in the University’s graduation requirements. The amendment would require the American history classes to be a “comprehensive survey.”

The two bills follow a report issued recently by the National Association of Scholars, a conservative group that describes itself as committed to fostering intellectual freedom. The January report criticized UT and A&M history classes for over-emphasizing issues of race, class and gender and said the schools “frequently offered students a less-than-comprehensive picture of U.S. history.” 

In an official response, UT criticized the report and called it “overly narrow” in nature. 

“The report attempts to isolate race, class and gender as something distinct and separate from other areas of study, when in fact they are intrinsic to these other areas,” a press release stated.