Overview
- Regents voted unanimously to update policies across all 12 universities, adding formal definitions of “race ideology” and “gender ideology” and shifting the proposed ban from “teach” to “advocate.”
- Faculty are now prohibited from presenting material inconsistent with approved syllabi, and campus presidents must preapprove any course that advocates the defined ideologies or topics related to sexual orientation or gender identity.
- System leaders said the revisions aim to ensure instruction aligns with approved curricula and learning outcomes across a combined enrollment of roughly 175,000 students.
- The system will conduct semesterly, AI-assisted reviews of course inventories following a Tarleton State pilot, and will launch a 24/7 EthicsPoint channel for students to report inaccurate or misleading content.
- The overhaul follows a viral classroom dispute that led to a firing and a presidential resignation, drawing objections from FIRE and AAUP chapters that warn of censorship and potential legal challenges.