Readers responded to an essay about Texas’ effort to bar “officially disapproved ideas” from university classrooms, sparking a broader debate about academic freedom, curricular control and the role of state oversight. The piece and responses surface tensions between state policymakers pressing curricular limits and faculty and free‑speech advocates who warn of chilling effects on teaching and scholarship. Higher‑education administrators say the debate is prompting urgent work on governance, course review processes and faculty protections. Legal scholars and faculty groups are preparing guidance for campuses confronting state directives that touch on hiring, course content and campus programming.