Students walk on campus at Texas State University in San Marcos.

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, right, gives a thumbs-up after former President Donald Trump mentions him beside State Sen. Brandon Creighton and Attorney Gen. Ken Paxton at a Save America Rally, Saturday, Jan. 29, 2022, in Conroe.

Texas lawmakers are targeting colleges and universities in the next culture war battle, putting our most vital economic drivers at risk.

Our public universities are why Texas outperforms, whether it’s petroleum engineering at Texas A&M, electrical engineering at UT-Austin or small nuclear reactors at Abilene Christian University. Multi-disciplinary research universities produce diverse workforces and innovative entrepreneurs that benefit state and local economies.

The right-wing thought police, though, are fed up with freethinkers. Recent laws and proposed bills aim to restrict what ideas faculty and students can explore. The brightest minds will not stick around if the GOP limits intellectual freedom.

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Republicans spent the 2023 legislative session protecting white supremacy by attacking programs intended to help historically under-represented students succeed. GOP lawmakers worried that fragile white students may feel uncomfortable discussing the nation’s history of slavery and oppression.

State Sen. Brandon Creighton, a Conroe Republican who leads the Senate........

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