Texas Republican lawmakers created the ombudsman position last year as part of a sweeping state law.
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Texas’s new higher ed ombudsman, a position Republicans created to investigate public colleges and universities, has been accepting complaints for roughly five months now.
But his office says that, out of the 69 complaints it received through June 11, it has only opened one probe. It closed 67 other complaints without investigations, while the most recent complaint remains open “pending response from complainant with additional information.”
The ombudsman is tasked with ensuring institutions follow certain parts of a sweeping state law passed last year, Senate Bill 37, including requirements that they regularly review their general education curriculum and that their presidents—not faculty—pick Faculty Senate leaders. The role is also tasked with ensuring universities heed the Legislature’s ban in 2023’s Senate Bill 17 on affirmative action and diversity, equity and inclusion activities.
