The Texas House of Representatives has given initial approval to a bill that would mandate schools to adopt a widely recognized but contentious definition of antisemitism for student disciplinary procedures. The preliminary vote was 134-2, with Representatives Christian Manuel (D-Port Arthur) and Ana-María Rodríguez Ramos (D-Richardson) dissenting. Having already passed the Senate, the bill will proceed to Governor Abbott’s office for final approval upon the House’s final vote.

During the House floor debate, Representative Giovanni Capriglione (R-Southlake), who sponsored Senate Bill 326, assured colleagues that the legislation would not punish constitutionally protected speech. He clarified that the proposal does not establish new student conduct violations related to antisemitism for public K-12 schools, open enrollment charters, or higher education institutions. Instead, it provides administrators with a definition and examples to guide their decisions on whether existing code of conduct violations were motivated by antisemitism, without dictating specific disciplinary actions. Capriglione emphasized that students would not be penalized for expressing views on Middle East policy or debating Zionism.

Representative Jon Rosenthal (D-Houston), the House’s only Jewish member, initially withheld his support until an amendment explicitly stating that the bill was not intended to punish First Amendment-protected speech was adopted. Following the amendment’s adoption, Rosenthal noted that Jewish communities hold diverse opinions on the bill. He mentioned that some Jewish Texans believe it would highlight rising antisemitism, citing a 135% increase in K-12 schools reported by the Center for Antisemitism Research in the past year.

However, Rosenthal also conveyed that other Jewish Texans are concerned that the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition and examples could dangerously equate legitimate criticism of Israeli government policies with antisemitism. He quoted Jewish critics who fear the legislation could single out the Jewish community and inadvertently reinforce antisemitic tropes portraying Jews as privileged and influential. Rosenthal suggested that a broader law addressing all forms of religious persecution in bullying would be a more comprehensive approach to tackling religious discrimination.

The bill follows last spring’s pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses across the nation, including in Texas, where students called for universities to divest from companies linked to Israel or weapons manufacturing.

Some Texas leaders condemned these protests as antisemitic, leading to over a hundred arrests at the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Texas at Dallas after authorities were called in by university presidents. Critics argue that the bill could stifle or penalize students for exercising their free speech rights, with Representative Manuel stating his belief that the bill is overly broad and “too un-American.”

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