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

On November 13, 2025, the Board of Regents of the Texas A&M University System approved two system-wide policies governing instruction on race, gender, sexual orientation, and gender identity. The first policy prohibits courses from advocating “race or gender ideology, or topics related to sexual orientation or gender identity” unless the course and instructional materials receive prior approval from the campus president or a designee. The second policy revised academic-freedom and tenure rules to require that instructors not teach material inconsistent with an approved syllabus. Both policies took effect immediately, with enforcement beginning in the spring 2026 semester.

The policies define “race ideology” as instruction that shames a race or ethnicity or promotes activism rather than academic study, and “gender ideology” as concepts of self-assessed gender identity disconnected from biological sex. Regents stated the policies were intended to ensure instruction aligns with approved course outcomes. The vote followed a 2025 incident in which a student recorded a classroom discussion of gender identity, prompting administrative review.

Following adoption of the policies, faculty and students responded and prepared for syllabus review requirements. Administrators advised that the approval requirement could apply to courses addressing race, gender, or sexual orientation.

In December 2025 and January 2026, departments submitted syllabi for review. Administrators identified approximately 200 courses in the College of Arts and Sciences as potentially affected. Some courses were canceled, renumbered, or removed from the core curriculum, and others were directed to revise or remove content addressing race, gender, or sexuality. Philosophy professor Martin Peterson was directed to remove course units addressing race and gender, including material from Plato’s Symposium, or revise the syllabus to comply. He replaced the material with units on free speech and academic freedom and, in January 2026, left the university to accept a position at Southern Methodist University, with a start date in July 2026. English faculty were advised not to assign works with central LGBTQ+ themes in core courses unless those themes were not central to course instruction. A history-of-film course was directed to remove units on feminism and queer cinema and was later offered as a non-core course. Guidance later permitted textbook references to transgender identity if not discussed in class or assessed.

Additional introductory and core courses were canceled or reclassified based on compliance determinations. Faculty were instructed that classroom discussion must conform to approved syllabus language. Graduate and specialized courses could seek exceptions, though approvals were limited.

By early February 2026, the policies resulted in the termination of the Women’s and Gender Studies degree program. Current students were permitted to complete the program, but new enrollment ceased. On February 4, 2026, former lecturer Melissa McCoul filed a federal lawsuit alleging that her termination violated the First Amendment and principles of academic freedom. She alleges she was dismissed after teaching a lesson on gender identity that drew public criticism and that she had not violated university policy.