The cancellation is the first known instance in which a Texas A&M course that had already convened was pulled mid-session under the system’s race and gender ideology policy, which the Board of Regents adopted last year after a classroom discussion involving gender identity was secretly recorded and circulated online. A broader review under the policy is expected to affect roughly 200 courses in the College of Arts and Sciences alone, with the university expecting to know before the Jan. 28 add-drop deadline how many courses will be canceled or changed.
Texas A&M University canceled a graduate-level public administration ethics course three days into the spring semester, saying Professor Leonard Bright refused repeated requests to detail which class sessions would address race, gender or sexual orientation — information the university said it needed to determine whether the course required an exemption under a new Texas A&M System policy.
Bush School Dean John Sherman announced the decision in a schoolwide email Wednesday. Without that information, Sherman said, administrators could not comply with system policy that bars courses from advocating race or gender ideology or topics related to sexual orientation or gender identity. Courses that venture into those topics must receive an exemption from the vice provost for academic affairs before proceeding.
Bright, who has taught the course since 2018, disputed that characterization. In an interview with The Texas Tribune, he said he told administrators the topics would arise throughout every class meeting rather than on identifiable days that he could flag in advance.
“I told them it was going to come up every day,” Bright said. “During discussions, book reviews, case studies, throughout the course. There is no one day. That’s how this class works.”
According to the syllabus, the course — Ethics and Public Policy (PSAA 642) — would examine how race, gender, religion, sexual orientation and other social identities shape public policy and the ethical responsibilities of public servants. Bright said students were not expected to agree with him on related matters of public concern.
Emails obtained by The Texas Tribune show Bright was not asked to remove or change his course content before it was canceled.
Enrollment and alternatives
Ten students were initially enrolled in the course. After Bright warned the class about the administrative review and the potential for cancellation, two students enrolled in a different class. The university said it is working to help remaining students find alternatives.
Bright said PSAA 642 was the only ethics course offered in the Bush School this semester.
Sherman wrote in his email that he took “no pleasure” in canceling the class but that the decision was required under system policy. “I want us to continue to teach hard topics and to engage with controversial issues,” Sherman wrote. “But I also expect us to follow the process laid out for the approval of syllabi and to ensure alignment between our syllabi and our course descriptions. Put simply, transparency does not equal censorship.”
Sherman noted that a second Bush School course also requiring an exemption was allowed to proceed because its syllabus provided sufficient detail for administrators to submit the exemption request.
Broader policy impact
The cancellation is the first known instance under the race and gender ideology policy in which a Texas A&M course that had already met was pulled mid-session. The dean of the College of Arts and Sciences told faculty last week that roughly 200 of that college’s courses could be affected by the policy. A philosophy professor said separately he was told to remove Plato readings related to race and gender or be reassigned to a different class; the university said at the time that the decision did not amount to a ban on teaching Plato, noting other courses include the philosopher’s work on topics that do not touch race or gender.
The Board of Regents passed the policy last year after a classroom discussion involving gender identity was secretly recorded and circulated online, drawing criticism from conservative activists and elected officials. The episode reverberated across Texas higher education, prompting reviews at other public university systems, including Texas Tech University System, which has imposed similar restrictions.
No state or federal law prohibits discussion of race, gender or sexuality in college classrooms. State law does require public universities to post course syllabi online, but in the wake of the controversy, professors have been required to submit syllabi for administrative review before certain courses can proceed.
The university said the deadline for department submissions under the policy is Friday. It expects to know before the Jan. 28 add-drop deadline how many courses will be canceled or changed.
Bright is also president of the Texas A&M Chapter of the American Association of University Professors, a faculty group that opposes the system’s race and gender ideology policy.
Michael Johnson, associate provost for academic enhancement and interim vice provost for academic affairs, said the university established written guidance, timelines and a framework for syllabus and course review. “When additional clarification has been needed, we have continued to refine our guidance and respond to questions,” Johnson said.
Reporting by Jessica Priest, The Texas Tribune, distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.
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