Some Texas community colleges have ordered thorough course reviews and put restrictions on what faculty can teach, with at least two schools pointing to state laws they believe apply to high schoolers in their fast-growing dual credit programs.
The course reviews are part of a political firestorm rippling through higher education institutions across the state. University systems began ordering their own reviews after a viral video of a gender identity discussion in a Texas A&M children’s literature class led last month to a professor’s firing and the university president’s resignation. Angelo State University quietly banned its professors from mentioning transgender and nonbinary identities, with the school citing a need to align with a federal executive order, a gubernatorial letter and a state law that recognizes only two sexes.
The Texas Tribune spoke with several faculty at three community colleges—Alvin Community College, Blinn College and San Jacinto College—who said their schools’ orders have led them to pull content from their courses. The professors asked not to be named out of fear of losing their jobs.
Read more at Houston Public Media.
