contract-law texas state-university
Is the opportunity and/or potential to get tenure in the Texas State university system contractable?
<p>According to this news item of March 30, 2023 about Texas Senate Bill 18 - <a href="https://www.tpr.org/education/2023-03-30/public-universities-could-no-longer-offer-tenure-for-professors-under-texas-senate-bill" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Public universities could no longer offer tenure for professors under Texas Senate bill | TPR</a> - public universities in Texas would not be able to offer tenure to professors after Sept. 1.</p>
<p>If eventually signed into law by the governor, faculty in the University of Texas system who have tenure will retain it; but faculty who do not have tenure will not be able to apply because there will no longer be tenure.</p>
<p><strong>Questions:</strong></p>
<p>Is the opportunity and/or potential to get tenure contractable?</p>
<p>Do current faculty who have taught, published and worked towards tenure under the assumption they will be able to apply for tenure - do they have a case for breach of contract if the law goes into effect and they cannot apply for the benefits of tenure?</p>
<p><strong>University of Texas System documents:</strong></p>
<p><a href="https://www.utsystem.edu/board-of-regents/rules/31007-tenure" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Rule 31007: Tenure | University of Texas System</a></p>
<p><a href="https://provost.utexas.edu/the-office/faculty-affairs/promotion-tenure/2022-23-promotion-tenure/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">2022-23 Promotion &amp; Tenure - Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost - University of Texas System</a></p>

<p>The state legislature does get to say how the governmental institutions of higher education are run, so they can stipulate what is in the contract. There is no aspect of the current contract which guarantees future tenure, and it is standard that the rules of tenure can change and untenured faculty must follow whatever the current rule is at the time one is reviewed for tenure. That would include the elimination of tenure. The university rules say that the university rules can be changed (and describe how those changes are made). However, university rules are subordinate to the statutes governing the universities, and you can't sue the legislature for breach of contract. The law, <a href="https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/88R/billtext/pdf/SB00018I.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">as proposed</a>, specifically limits the duration of any employment contract to 3 years.</p>
<p>Incidentally, there is no corresponding House bill, and the deadline for filing such a bill in this session has passed, so this specific piece of legislation will not be enacted.</p>
