State governing boards and university leaders are tightening prescriptive language around ‘controversial’ instruction and program content. The University of Texas System approved policies directing instructors to avoid material ‘not germane’ to a course and to present disputed issues ‘fairly,’ while separate moves at institutions such as UT San Antonio have led to the closure or folding of race and gender studies programs. Faculty bodies warned the measures threaten academic freedom and shared governance; trustees and legislators defended them as restoring curricular clarity. Deans and provosts should expect intensified external oversight, new review procedures for core courses, and potential legal challenges over academic autonomy. (Clarification: ‘Shared governance’ is the traditional faculty‑board administrative model in higher education.)