Texas A&M Board of Regents – Race and Gender Ideology Policy

Summary

On November 13, 2025, the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents unanimously approved two new, system-wide policies that restricted how faculty could teach topics related to race, gender, sexual orientation, and gender identity. Under the first policy, no course was allowed to “advocate race or gender ideology, or topics related to sexual orientation or gender identity” unless the course and all materials received prior approval from the campus president or a designated official. The second policy amended the Academic Freedom, Responsibility, and Tenure rules to state that a faculty member “will not teach material that is inconsistent with the approved syllabus for the course.” Although the policies went into effect immediately, enforcement was scheduled to begin in the spring 2026 semester.

The policies included definitions for “race ideology” and “gender ideology.” “Race ideology” was described as ideas that attempt to shame a particular race or ethnicity or promote activism on issues related to race or ethnicity rather than academic instruction. “Gender ideology” was defined as a concept of self-assessed gender identity replacing and disconnected from the biological category of sex. Regents emphasized that the policies were intended to ensure faculty were “educating, not advocating” and to align course content with approved learning outcomes and syllabi.

As part of implementation, the system planned to review courses each semester, auditing syllabi, enrollment, and degree relevance to assess alignment with approved curriculum. Course materials were to be uploaded into a database, with some analysis conducted using artificial intelligence to identify content not consistent with approved syllabi. The policy also created a reporting mechanism allowing students to flag content they believed was inaccurate or misleading. System leaders framed the measures as balancing academic freedom with academic responsibility.

The policy followed a controversy earlier in 2025 at Texas A&M University in College Station, where a professor in a children’s literature class discussed gender identity with a student and the incident drew administrative attention. Faculty and academic freedom advocates expressed concern that the policy’s vague definitions and reporting requirements could chill classroom discussion, limit teaching flexibility, and undermine protections for faculty autonomy. Critics warned that the enforcement process could allow political or ideological influence to shape what is taught in the classroom.