The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents has approved a new policy requiring prior approval for courses that 'advocate race or gender ideology or topics related to sexual orientation or gender identity' unless approved by a campus president.
The change, which applies to all 12 universities in the system, also prohibits faculty from teaching material outside of an approved syllabus.
The new policy appears to be the first time that a public university system in Texas has put in rules on what faculty can talk about in their classroom on the topics of race and gender. Other university systems in Texas have also placed restrictions on classroom instruction or have begun internal reviews of course offerings following a new state law.
The new policy defines 'race ideology' as a concept that attempts to shame a particular race or ethnicity, accuse them of being oppressors in a racial hierarchy or conspiracy' or assigns 'them intrinsic guilt based on the actions of their presumed ancestors or relatives.
The policy defines 'gender ideology' as a concept of self-assessed gender identity replacing and disconnected from the biological category of sex.
'The goal is transparent and document cocurricular review, not policing individual speech,' James Hallmark, vice chancellor for the Texas A&M University System's Office of Academic Affairs, told the regents.
Two faculty members spoke in favor of the change. The board justified the policy as a way to ensure education rather than advocacy in the classroom.
Several faculty members opposed the changes, and a letter from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) argued that the policy amounted to censorship and would undermine academic freedom.
Various universities and their presidents around the country, including Harvard and Columbia have come under scrutiny diversity, equity and inclusion practices and their responses to campus protests.
Last month, the Trump administration asked nine major universities, including the University of Texas at Austin, to agree to various provisions, including commitments to eliminate race and sex from admissions decisions.