Texas A&M committee says firing of professor over gender lesson was unjustified

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A Texas A&M committee dominated that the college’s resolution to fireplace a professor after a pupil was faraway from class for objecting to a kids’s literature lesson on gender id was unjustified.

A video recorded earlier this 12 months by a feminine pupil confirmed her asking Melissa McCoul, a senior lecturer within the English division, if instructing gender ideology is authorized, pointing to President Donald Trump’s government orders aimed toward eradicating the topic from increased training.

The interior committee dominated that the college didn't comply with correct procedures and didn't show there was good trigger to terminate McCoul. The committee unanimously voted this week that "the abstract dismissal of Dr. McCoul was not justified."

The college mentioned in an announcement that interim President Tommy Williams has obtained the committee's nonbinding advice and can decide after reviewing it.

TEXAS LAWMAKER SLAMS TEXAS A&M AFTER STUDENT ALLEGEDLY REMOVED FROM CLASS FOR CHALLENGING TRANSGENDER LESSON

The interior committee dominated that the college didn't comply with correct procedures and didn't show there was good trigger to terminate the professor. (AP)

McCoul's lawyer, Amanda Reichek, mentioned the dispute is more likely to find yourself in courtroom as a result of the college seems to need to proceed preventing, and the interim president is going through comparable political strain.

"Dr. McCoul asserts that the flimsy causes proffered by A&M for her termination are a pretext for the College’s true motivation: capitulation to Governor Abbott’s calls for," Reichek mentioned in an announcement.

Gov. Greg Abbott and different Republicans had referred to as for her firing after watching the video.

"Hearth the professor who acted opposite to Texas legislation," the governor wrote on X in September.

The video led to public criticism of college president Mark Welsh, who later resigned, though he didn't supply a motive and by no means talked about the video in his resignation announcement.

Gov. Greg Abbott and different Republicans had referred to as for the professor's firing after watching the video. (Mike Kemp/In Footage by way of Getty Photographs)

State Rep. Brian Harrison mentioned in an announcement to Fox Information Digital on the time that the "liberal president of Texas A&M have to be fired and all DEI and LGBTQ indoctrination defunded."

The opening of the video posted by Harrison on social media confirmed a slide titled "Gender Unicorn" that famous totally different gender identities and expressions.

College students within the class instructed The Texas Tribune that they have been discussing a guide referred to as "Jude Saves the World," which is a couple of center faculty pupil who comes out as nonbinary. A number of different books included in the course additionally touched on LGBTQ+ points.

After a back-and-forth dispute in regards to the legality of instructing the teachings on gender id, McCoul requested the scholar to go away the category. Harrison additionally posted different recordings of the scholar's assembly with Welsh that confirmed the then-university president defending McCoul's instruction.

TEXAS A&M REGENTS DEMAND AUDIT OF ALL COURSES AFTER TRANSGENDER LESSON CONTROVERSY

<source media="(min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1023px)" srcset="https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/08/672/378/trump-intel-10-percent-purchase-8-26-25-fox-news-002.jpg?ve=1&tl=1, https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/08/1344/756/trump-intel-10-percent-purchase-8-26-25-fox-news-002.jpg?ve=1&tl=1 2x" height="378" width="672"><source media="(min-width: 1024px) and (max-width: 1279px)" srcset="https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/08/931/523/trump-intel-10-percent-purchase-8-26-25-fox-news-002.jpg?ve=1&tl=1, https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/08/1862/1046/trump-intel-10-percent-purchase-8-26-25-fox-news-002.jpg?ve=1&tl=1 2x" height="523" width="931"> President Donald Trump signed government orders searching for to root out instruction on gender id in increased training. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Photographs)

Welsh mentioned when McCoul was fired that he realized she had continued instructing content material in a kids’s literature course "that didn't align with any cheap expectation of normal curriculum for the course." He additionally mentioned the course content material didn't match its catalog descriptions.

"If we enable totally different course content material to be taught from what's marketed, we let our college students down. In relation to our tutorial choices, we should maintain our phrase to our college students and to the state of Texas," he mentioned in September, noting that leaders within the School of Arts and Sciences have been discovered to have permitted plans to proceed instructing course content material that was not per the course’s revealed description.

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Earlier this month, the Texas A&M Regents issued a brand new coverage stating that no tutorial course "will advocate race or gender ideology, or subjects associated to sexual orientation or gender id" except permitted upfront by a campus president.