Texas A& M regents have approved policy changes that will affect gender and race topics in introductory- level courses. According to the text, no system academic course will advocate race or gender ideology, or topics related to sexual orientation or gender identity,” with a narrow exception for certain non-core curriculum or graduate courses. Those exempted course materials must first be reviewed, show that they serve a “necessary educational purpose” and be approved in writing by the campus preside.
According to Chris Bryan, Texas A& M system vice chancellor for marketing and communications, said,” “These updates simply make clear which academic courses the policy applies to and outline the process for reviewing and approving those courses.
This is not a change in direction or a more restrictive policy; it is a straightforward clarification to ensure consistency, transparency, and alignment across the system.”
Faculty members of Texas A& M’s Academic Freedom Council called the changes “outright censorship,” while others say the policy raises questions about how it could affect degree requirements for undergraduates to fulfill a cultural discourse requirement.
The Texas A & M University System adopted the first version of the policy in November, after a student’s secret recording of a professor discussing gender identity in a children’s literature class sparked conservative backlash and scrutiny of course content across the system.
The earlier policy required campus presidents to sign off on any course that could be seen as advocating “race or gender ideology, or topics related to sexual orientation or gender identity.” It was approved alongside new rules barring faculty from teaching material inconsistent with approved syllabi. Texas Tech University System recently restricted faculty from promoting or advocating certain race- or sex-based beliefs and required instructors who include content related to those topics in their courses to submit that material for review, allowing the material to remain only if it is required for professional licensure, certification or patient and client care, or if it is approved by administrators and, in some cases, the board of regents.
At Texas State, administrators have urged professors to drop words such as “challenging,” “dismantling” and “decolonizing” from their course descriptions and to rename courses with titles like “Combating Racism in Healthcare” to something university officials consider more neutral like “Race and Public Health in America.”