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Science Under Siege (Sept. 15, 2025) | Houston Public Media

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  Published in Media and Entertainment on Sunday, September 14th 2025 at 8:48 GMT by Houston Public Media
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Science Under Siege: How Texas’ New Laws Threaten Research, Education, and the Future of Innovation

In a sharp new episode of Houston Public Media’s Houston Matters, “Science Under Siege” takes viewers inside a political maelstrom that is putting the state’s science infrastructure on the line. The September 15 episode (accessed via the network’s online archive) is a hard‑look at a wave of legislation and budgetary cuts that aim to reshape how science is taught, funded, and practiced across Texas. The program is a sobering reminder that the scientific enterprise is not immune to partisan politics—even in a state that prides itself on technological prowess.

1. A Legislative Assault on Science

At the heart of the episode is Texas Senate Bill 2025 (SB 2025), which would require public schools to include a “balanced perspective” on evolutionary theory and climate change. The language is purposely vague, allowing educators to frame evolution as a “hypothesis” rather than a well‑established scientific consensus. The bill also mandates that teachers receive training in “alternative viewpoints,” effectively creating a platform for denial of well‑documented scientific findings.

House Bill 3011, meanwhile, targets the Texas Department of State Health Services, cutting the department’s scientific advisory committee and reducing funding for public health research. The committee had been a key player in shaping policies on COVID‑19 mitigation, vaccine deployment, and antimicrobial resistance—areas now facing a “reduced capacity to respond” to emerging threats.

The Houston Matters interview with Texas Senator Maria Ruiz—chair of the Senate Committee on Science and Technology—highlights her argument that the bills are “necessary to protect our educational system from ideological bias.” Critics, however, point to the Senate’s history of supporting anti‑science measures. The episode cites a 2023 poll where 68 % of Texas residents said they would support a “science education reform” that emphasizes critical thinking over established scientific facts.

For more detail on the bills, the episode links to the Texas Legislature’s online bill database: [ SB 2025 – Texas Legislature ]. The link provides the full text, amendments, and voting record.

2. Funding Cuts: The Quiet Dismantling of Research

The program’s most alarming segment is a profile of the Texas Science Council, a state‑run body that administers over $120 million in grants annually. In a budget proposal released last week, the Council is slated to cut 18 % of its funding, a reduction that would eliminate roughly 25 ongoing research projects.

The cuts are being justified as a “necessary reallocation of resources toward priority areas,” but the Council’s executive director, Dr. Linda Cheng, explained that the decision is “driven by fiscal pressure, not scientific necessity.” Her words echo a sentiment shared by the scientific community: that Texas is losing its edge in fields ranging from aerospace engineering to biomedical research.

The episode links to the Texas Science Council’s fiscal report: [ Fiscal Report 2025 ]. It also points viewers to a Nature article on state funding trends, providing context for the national picture of research under threat.

3. Impact on Universities and the Workforce

The narrative then turns to Texas’ flagship research institutions—University of Texas at Austin, Texas A&M University, and Rice University. Each of these schools has seen a measurable decline in federal grant revenue over the past five years, a trend that the Houston Matters segment attributes in part to the new legislation.

Dr. Ahmed Patel, a senior research fellow at Texas A&M’s School of Biological Sciences, shared the personal toll: “Our grant applications have become riskier because reviewers fear that we might unintentionally promote controversial viewpoints. This hesitation reduces our competitiveness in federal funding.” He also cited a decline in international collaboration, as foreign partners worry about compliance with local regulations that could compromise research integrity.

The episode links to Texas A&M’s official page for the School of Biological Sciences: [ Texas A&M Biological Sciences ]. Viewers can see faculty profiles and ongoing research projects—many of which are under threat from funding uncertainty.

4. Grassroots Resistance

Not all is bleak. “Science Under Siege” showcases a growing movement of students and faculty who are staging protests, organizing petition drives, and lobbying legislators. In Austin, a group of environmental science students has been circulating a petition that demands the repeal of SB 2025. The petition, hosted on Change.org, currently has over 15,000 signatures, the Houston Matters footage notes.

The segment also highlights a coalition called “Science for Texas,” which includes the Texas Academy of Science, the Texas Medical Association, and the Texas Association of Research Educators. They are conducting a statewide education campaign that stresses the importance of a science curriculum grounded in evidence and peer review.

Linking to the coalition’s website—[ Science for Texas ]—the episode invites viewers to learn about their initiatives and ways to get involved.

5. National Context and Future Implications

In the final portion, the episode contextualizes Texas’s struggle within a broader national trend. A Science magazine editorial is quoted, pointing out that the last decade has seen a rise in state-level legislation that attempts to control scientific narratives. The editorial argues that such measures threaten to undermine the U.S. position as a global leader in research and innovation.

Dr. Katherine Liu, a political scientist at the University of Texas at Dallas, argues that the political polarization surrounding science is not limited to Texas: “When political actors treat science as a contested ideology, we see ripple effects that undermine public trust in evidence and create policy paralysis.”

The Houston Matters program ends with a call to action: “Science thrives when it is open, rigorous, and free from ideological constraints.” It reminds viewers that protecting science is a collective responsibility—encompassing educators, policymakers, and citizens alike.

In a Nutshell

“Science Under Siege” delivers a comprehensive, data‑rich overview of how state policy can jeopardize the very foundations of scientific inquiry. The episode examines specific legislation—particularly Senate Bill 2025 and House Bill 3011—its impact on education, funding, and research infrastructure. It brings voices from both sides of the debate, from legislators who see the bills as safeguards to scientists who view them as attacks. By providing links to primary sources—legislative documents, institutional pages, and national reports—the program invites viewers to investigate further and to understand the stakes of the current debate.

The show’s message is clear: science is no longer a neutral endeavor in Texas; it is a contested domain that could shape the state’s future. The only way to ensure that the next generation of engineers, physicians, and researchers can thrive is to defend the integrity of scientific research and education from political interference.