A federal lawsuit filed by the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) against the Texas Tech University system alleges Chancellor Brandon Creighton’s memoranda created an “extraordinary system of censorship,” triggering sweeping classroom review processes across the system’s five universities. The complaint says professors can no longer teach certain race- and sexuality-related content and restricts broader discussions tied to sexual orientation, gender identity, and “prohibited advocacy concepts.” AAUP argues the internal approval framework delayed instruction, produced contradictory determinations, and pushed faculty toward self-censorship by failing to define what is permitted. The challenge points to the role of statewide DEI-related scrutiny as Creighton’s memoranda were issued to comply with a landmark Texas law. The suit underscores how state compliance architectures may reach course content review, affecting faculty governance and instructional autonomy. It also signals likely administrative and legal friction for institutions trying to balance academic freedom, constitutional rights, and state policy compliance. In related campus policy battles, Florida International University has been told to justify—under First Amendment standards—a rule that required protesters to submit two-minute videos about indoor demonstration restrictions, with experts describing the punishment as legally “dicey.”