Texas A&M tightens rules on talking about race and gender in classes.

Question

Texas A&M tightens discourse about race and gender in classes. They will ban advocacy about sexual orientation that is addressed without approval. A policy was unanimously backed by college regents, possibly perpetuating a stifling of academic discussion and inquiry regarding these subjects.

The idea of academic freedom has been challenged for a while in the southern conservative states, so this policy could be a big turning point in the suppression of free expression of opinions and conversations regarding tough subjects that don't usually get spoken about in the homestead. It also could lead to more academic subjects getting viewed as inappropriate in the future if this is true.

Answer 1

This claim is true. Based on the provided source from The New York Times, Texas A&M University is considering a full ban on conversations in classes regarding race, sexuality, and gender. Policies have also been introduced to stifle advocacy about sexual orientation without approval from the University (Blinder, 2025). PBS News also reports similar findings. Earlier this month, it was recognized that this “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” (Lozano, 2025). Texas A&M faculty and critics of these new policies and actions by the Texas A&M administration say “the new policy says it would impede the ability of faculty to teach, undermine academic freedom, and could be a violation of First Amendment rights.” (Lozano, 2025). Similar worries are held by Robert Shibley, a special counselor for campus advocacy at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, who said, “Hiring professors with PhDs is meaningless if administrators are the ones deciding what gets taught,” he said. “Faculty will start asking not, ‘Is this accurate?’ but ‘Will this get me in trouble?’ That’s not education, it’s risk management.” (Priest, 2025).

Sources:

1. https://www.texastribune.org/2025/11/10/texas-am-university-system-regents-race-gender-ideology/

2. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/education/new-texas-am-policy-requires-professors-to-get-approval-for-some-race-and-gender-topics

3. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/13/us/texas-am-gender-race-ideology-rules-classroom.html

Answer 2

Texas A&M has adopted a new policy that restricts classroom advocacy on race, gender, and sexual orientation by requiring faculty to get presidential approval before teaching or promoting what the policy defines as race or gender ideology or topics related to sexual orientation or gender identity, and this policy was unanimously approved by the Board of Regents on November 13, 2025 and applies across all 12 campuses in the system. Reporting also explains that the policy will take effect in Spring 2026 and has raised concern among faculty and academic freedom groups who believe the vague term advocacy could discourage open discussion even though the policy does not explicitly ban all academic mention of these subjects. These details are confirmed by The Texas Tribune, which outlines the approval requirement and the policy’s definitions (Texas Tribune, 2025), and by the Associated Press, which reports on the unanimous vote and the limits placed on certain course topics (AP News, 2025).