Texas A&M Faculty Sue Over Course Review That Censored Plato

Texas A&M University faculty members sued their university this week in an effort to block a system policy that limits discussions of “race or gender ideology” on campus.

The policy, adopted last fall, required that courses “advocat[ing] race or gender ideology, sexual orientation, or gender identity” receive presidential approval. University officials have since shut down Texas A&M’s women’s and gender studies program, restricted course materials and canceled some classes.

The four faculty and the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) argue in the lawsuit, filed Monday, that the policy violates the First Amendment and their due process rights. Under the policy, faculty were barred from teaching some Plato writings and screening Moonlight, a queer coming-of-age story.

The lawsuit argues in part that the policy doesn’t make clear “what may or may not be taught, assigned, or said in a classroom, and allows virtually unfettered enforcement discretion such that disfavored viewpoints can be censored.” They want a federal judge to declare the policy unconstitutional.

Leonard Bright, a professor of public service and administration and president of the Texas A&M chapter of the AAUP, had his course canceled this past spring. He’s one of the named plaintiffs.

“This policy has impacted my ability to do my job, my students’ ability to learn, and my colleagues’ ability to teach without fear of reprisal,” he said in a statement. “The chilling effect of this policy is vast and immeasurable, and it poisons the very soul of what a university should be: a place where ideas are free to roam, and debate is uninhibited by the political winds.”

The AAUP is also suing the Texas Tech University system over similar policies and is seeking a preliminary injunction blocking two memos that outline new curricular reviews and course content guidelines. System lawyers opposed the motion for a preliminary injunction, arguing that what faculty teach in the classroom is not protected by the First Amendment.

“While TTUS faculty have First Amendment rights in connection with many of their non-classroom activities, the courses TTUS pays them to teach, and their speech in teaching those courses, is their employer’s speech and is not protected by the First Amendment,” Texas Tech’s lawyers wrote.

A federal appeals court recently rejected a similar argument from Florida officials, calling it “ a breathtaking assertion of power.”