Sociolegal Influence, Tier-One Excellence, and Legitimation Liabilities: A Critical Policy Analysis of Texas H.B. 51

• In Event: Doubling Down on Critical Theory: Critical Policy and Discourse Analyses of Education Law and Policy

Abstract

This project investigates the (un)intended policy outcomes of Texas HB 51—an incentives-based performance funding model, which offers matching dollars to support the emergence of eight reputable (and historically accessible) regional universities to tier-one research status. The policy provides matching dollars to qualifying universities that demonstrate eligibility along at least six out of eight predetermined benchmarks of tier-one excellence. This study explored how TX HB 51 altered one university’s organizational mission from a broad access, regional serving, (transfer-friendly) commuter university to that of a highly selective, (inter)nationally recognized, residential university in pursuit of tier-one legitimation. Through critical policy analysis (Diem et al., 2014), this study produced findings revealing what I term the imperfect-objective and complex-subjective reality of policy implementation.

Author

• Dwuana Bradley, University of Southern California