A federal judge is preventing the University of Texas System from enforcing a new state law that restricts when students can engage in "expressive activities" on campus.
Several student groups at UT Austin and UT Dallas filed a lawsuit against the schools' respective presidents, the UT Board of Regents and UT System Chancellor Dr. John Zerwas, over the law in September.
The law bars students from engaging in "expressive activities" between the hours of 10 p.m. and 8 a.m. and from using devices that amplify sound during the last two weeks of a given semester — reversing a state law passed in 2019 that expanded free speech protections on public university campuses.
Judge David Alan Ezra of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas said the lawsuit is likely to succeed on First Amendment grounds.
"The First Amendment does not have a bedtime of 10:00 p.m. The burden is on the government to prove that its actions are narrowly tailored to achieve a compelling governmental interest," the court said in the injunction order. "It has not done so."
Several UT Austin students told KUT News they felt the effects of the new law immediately. Ally Flores, president of the student-led University Democrats, said the group could no longer invite guest speakers to campus without receiving permission from the Dean of Students Office two weeks in advance.
University Democrats' voter registration drive was also limited to low-traffic areas because of the new law, Flores said.
This is a developing story.
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