A record-setting 3.9 million students will graduate from U.S. high schools in 2025. Thousands of them will opt out of attending Texas colleges and universities due to the state’s politics.
According to a recent survey released by the Art & Science Group, a Baltimore-based consulting firm, 28% of college-bound students have crossed a potential school off their list whose politics or policies they find objectionable.
Out of 4,030 domestic high school seniors surveyed, Texas had the highest amount of students excluding it from their list, with 31% of respondents saying they did so because of the “social policies or politics in the state.”
Students were surveyed from February to June of this year (excluding April). Not surprisingly, many showed increased concern over social policies as Election Day drew nearer.
Patterns across the political spectrum
There were no significant differences among students based on their disclosed identification as “liberal,” “moderate,” “conservative,” or “don’t know.” However, the survey showed that LGBTQ+ students, politically engaged students, and students whose first-choice school is an out-of-state public were more likely to exclude schools based on a location’s politics.
In deciding which states to exclude, it largely fell along political lines, with most liberal-leaning students ruling out Texas, Florida, Arkansas, and Tennessee. In contrast, conservative-leaning students opted out of universities in New York and California.
Similar to survey results in 2023, conservative-leaning students (about 65%) were likely to rule out states for the broad concern that they are “too Democratic,” while their liberal peers cited specific issues for excluding certain states.
Other issues that trailed behind for conservative-leaning students included an area being too far left on LBGTQ+ issues (about 45%) and too lenient on crime (about 30%).
Conversely, liberal-leaning students were likely to exclude states that they considered “too conservative” on abortion and reproductive rights (75%), LGBTQ+ issues (about 70%), and a concern they were too lenient on guns (about 65%).
State policies contradict the attributes college-bound students prioritize
The survey marks the second consecutive year that college-bound students are excluding Texas from their choices due to its politics. It also outlines topics that young adults consider crucial for their education and well-being, providing areas for improvement in state policy.
A majority of surveyed students (whether liberal or conservative) believe colleges and universities should support student activists and protests, with moderates trailing close behind. Additionally, most students believed colleges should “do everything they can to encourage free speech of any kind.”
A month before the third round of the survey was conducted, public universities in Texas made national headlines for their response to on-campus demonstrations.
At the University of Texas at Austin, mass arrests occurred among students protesting in solidarity with Palestinians, despite reports that “no one accused the people gathered of turning violent,” The Texas Tribune reported.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott publicly supported the arrests, issuing an executive order that required schools to revise their free speech policies and report back the changes within 90 days.
When it comes to preference-based admissions, about half of conservative students voiced that colleges should use race-conscious criteria to increase diversity on campus (compared to a third of liberal and moderate students agreeing).
Before the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June 2023 that considering race in college admissions is unconstitutional, Texas had already implemented measures that would restrict diversity efforts at its public universities. These measures, which went into effect on Jan. 1, 2024, included bans on diversity, equity, and inclusion offices, as well as related programs and training.
Known as the “anti-DEI law,” Senate Bill 17 increased concern among students, administrators, and fellow Texas senators, who described its passing as “a giant step backward in our quest for equal opportunity and equal worth for all.”
It’s not only college-bound students who express concerns over free speech, abortion, LGBTQ+ issues, and diversity. This month, university professors nationwide commented on the current climate of free speech and academic freedom on their campuses.
Worries were higher among faculty at Texas universities, which included about 415 from UT Austin, the University of Texas at Dallas, and Texas A&M University in College Station combined, according to a new survey by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression.
More than half of faculty respondents at UT-Austin said they occasionally or often do not express their opinions out of fear of how others might respond. On campus, they listed the top three difficult issues to discuss as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, racial inequality, and transgender rights.
As Texas approaches a new legislative session beginning on Jan. 14, lawmakers in both the House and Senate have started to file bills that signal the key issues likely to influence students’ decisions about attending universities in the state.
On the first day of filing for the 2025 session, The Texas Tribune reported that topics included abortion, higher education, guns, and DEI, among other issues.