Texas A&M tightens restrictions on professors teaching race, gender topics

COLLEGE STATION, Texas - At the end of a two-day-long meeting of the board of regents, Texas A&M leaders voted in favor of strengthening regulation of race and gender studies. 

The change to the rules, which comes on the heels of highly public controversy over such course content, is accompanied by new definitions of "race ideology" and "gender ideology."

New Texas A&M course restrictions

The latest:

All professors at all 12 A&M system campuses are now prohibited from advocating "race or gender ideology, or topics related to sexual orientation or gender identity" without first getting permission from a campus president. 

The board was set to vote on the issue Thursday, towards the end of a regular meeting that began Wednesday. The Associated Press reports that the item was approved Thursday afternoon. 

"Race ideology" now encompasses any concept that "attempts to shame a particular race or ethnicity" or "promotes activism on issues related to race or ethnicity rather than academic instruction," according to the proposal documents.

The same document defines "gender ideology" as "a concept of self-assessed gender identity replacing, and disconnected from, the biological category of sex." 

What we don't know:

The proposal doesn't say what will happen to professors caught violating the restrictions, though several school leaders, including the former president of the main campus, were either demoted, fired or ousted as a result of the recent controversy.

Texas A&M LGBTQ+ controversy

The backstory:

At the beginning of September, two Texas A&M University administrators were demoted for allowing course content that was inconsistent with class descriptions. 

This came after video went viral of a student confronting professor Melissa McCoul over her coursework, which the school and state leaders defined as "gender ideology." McCoul was later fired, following pressure from state lawmakers who were upset by the presence of gender identity topics in a children's literature class. 

Then-president of the school, Mark A. Welsh III, later stepped down from his role. He never confirmed that this was directly due to the controversy. 

Texas leaders pressure A&M

Dig deeper:

The fire brought down on the school by state legislators began with an executive order signed by President Donald Trump on Jan. 20, titled "DEFENDING WOMEN FROM GENDER IDEOLOGY EXTREMISM AND RESTORING BIOLOGICAL TRUTH TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT." This order was cited by the student in the original viral video. 

In part, the order prevents federal funds from being used to promote gender ideology. It also defines gender as male and female, excluding any other identities. 

The video prompted a crusade from State Rep. Brian Harrison (R-Midlothian), an Aggie alum with strong feelings about the school's standing as a conservative leader in education. Harrison considers himself the driving force behind the swiftly reshaping landscape of the school system's coursework. 

After Harrison's social media war over the controversy, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott joined in the cause. Abbott called for McCoul's firing the day before she was terminated.