A Texas A&M University academic who was fired after a video went viral of a student suggesting she broke the law by teaching about “gender ideology and transgenderism” is “exploring further legal action,” according to her attorney.
Newsweek contacted Texas A&M University for comment on Thursday via email outside of regular office hours.
Why It Matters
Following his second presidential inauguration in January, Donald Trump signed an Executive Order stating there are only two genders, male and female, and requiring people to use single-sex spaces corresponding with their designated sex.
The Trump administration launched a number of initiatives aimed at combating what it calls “gender ideology.” This has included ordering federal agencies to withhold funding from organizations that allow transgender participation in women’s and girls’ sports and freezing $175 million of funding from the University of Pennsylvania after alleging it refused to comply.
What To Know
According to The Texas Tribune,Professor Melissa McCoul, who taught children’s literature at Texas A&M University, was fired by the institution on Tuesday.
In a statement provided to Newsweek, Amanda Reichek, McCoul’s attorney, said McCoul’s notice of termination “alleges that she was ‘instructed on numerous occasions to change the course content to align with the catalog description and the course description that was originally submitted and approved’” but had failed to do so.
Reichek disputed this account, saying, “Professor McCoul’s course content was entirely consistent with the catalog and course description, and she was never instructed to change her course content in any way, shape, or form.”
She added McCoul had “taught this course and others like it for many years, successfully and without challenge.” Instead, Reichek said McCoul was “fired in derogation of her constitutional rights and the academic freedom” and was appealing the termination and considering legal action.
Over the summer, a video went viral on social media of McCoul being confronted in class by a student over her teaching of “gender identity and transgenderism.”
The student said: “I just had a question because I’m not entirely sure this is legal to be teaching because according to our president, there’s only two genders and he said that he would be freezing agency’s funding programs that promote gender ideology.
“And this also very much goes against not only myself but a lot of people’s religious beliefs and so I am not going to participate in this because it’s not legal and I don’t want to promote something that is against our president’s laws as well as against my religious beliefs.”
McCoul insisted her teaching was legal and said the student had the right to leave.
What People Are Saying
In a post on X, Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick said: “As more information is made known, it is clear that Texas A&M University President Mark Welsh did not handle the recent situation concerning a student and a professor who was fired yesterday as he should have.
“His ambivalence on the issue and his dismissal of the student’s concerns by immediately taking the side of the professor is unacceptable. This is not the first instance of a lack of confidence in President Welsh’s leadership.”
What Happens Next
Reichek told Newsweek McCoul would both appeal her dismissal and consider further legal action.
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