The Texas Senate passed Republican state Sen. Phil King’s Senate Bill 326, which would set the definition of antisemitism in public schools and universities’ disciplinary proceedings. 

SB 326 would require schools to use the definition of antisemitism established by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance when determining if students violate their school’s code of conduct. The Texas House of Representatives must pass the bill and be signed by Gov. Greg Abbott before it becomes law. Abbott signed an executive order last March directing schools to add the alliance’s definition to their free speech policies. 

The bill would incorporate the alliance’s definition of antisemitism into UT’s process of evaluation for determining if a code of conduct violation was motivated by antisemitism. It would not alter UT’s general non-discrimination policy, which defines discrimination as an action that causes a materially adverse impact on a person’s employment or education, but it would change how UT assesses the motivation behind certain conduct violations. 

The alliance’s website includes a definition of antisemitism and examples of it. The examples include criticisms of the state of Israel, including “denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination” and “applying double standards by requiring of it a behavior not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation.” 

Critics said the bill would limit free speech by tying criticisms of Israel to antisemitism. 

Education junior Oli Hoffman criticized the bill while it was in committee last month, saying the use of the alliance’s  definition is a “dangerous conflation of the government of Israel and the Jewish people.”

“When we use this as the guiding document for defining antisemitism in school, this leaves the weighty charge of antisemitism, harassment and bullying dependent on the political sympathies or whims of the deciding body of the hour,” Hoffman said. “This is plainly not free speech.” 

King said the bill is a response to an increase in antisemitism, referencing both Abbott’s executive order and an order from President Donald Trump, which also uses the alliance’s definition as guidelines for the bill. The orders reference University pro-Palestine protests as signs of growing antisemitism.

“(Antisemitism) is something I really thought was pretty well extinguished in the United States,” King said. “In recent years we’ve seen it has not, we’ve seen that it’s actually growing in a very disturbing manner, so it seemed appropriate to go ahead and apply this definition.” 

Democratic state Sen. Molly Cook said in a statement submitted to the Senate floor in opposition to the bill that the definition could be used to attack other vulnerable groups. Cook and UT’s state senator, Democratic Sen. Sarah Eckhardt, were the only two state senators to vote against the bill. 

Democratic state Sen. Jose Menendez questioned King over whether the bill appropriately balanced protecting free speech rights of students along with the safety of Jewish students. Menendez offered an amendment removing the use of the examples from the bill. 

“I share your intent to protect people from antisemitism,” Menendez said. “The issue is that you can be against antisemitism but not necessarily be supportive of the actions of a government, and how do we make sure we strike that balance?” 

However, Menendez’s amendment was defeated and the state senator would go on to vote for the bill.