Texas A&M Committee Says Firing of Professor Over Gender-Identity Lesson Was Unjustified

An internal Texas A&M panel has concluded the university erred in summarily dismissing Melissa McCoul, a senior English lecturer, after a classroom confrontation over a children’s literature lesson on gender identity.

The committee unanimously found that university officials did not follow proper procedures and failed to demonstrate sufficient cause for McCoul’s termination. The panel issued a nonbinding recommendation this week stating that “the summary dismissal of Dr. McCoul was not justified,” and forwarded its report to interim President Tommy Williams, who says he will review the findings and decide in the coming days or weeks.

McCoul, who taught at Texas A&M for more than a decade, came under pressure after a video circulated showing a classroom slide labeled “Gender Unicorn” and a student questioning whether the lesson complied with an executive order issued during the Trump administration. State Representative Brian Harrison posted the clip, which intensified scrutiny from Republican officials — including Gov. Greg Abbott — who urged the university to fire McCoul.

Students told reporters the class had been discussing the book Jude Saves the World, which follows a middle-school student coming out as nonbinary; the title was one of several in the course that addressed LGBTQ+ themes. After a brief exchange about the legality of teaching such materials, McCoul asked a student to leave the class. Recordings posted later showed university leadership defending McCoul’s teaching in private meetings.

When she was dismissed, then-university president Mark Welsh said McCoul had taught material that did not align with “reasonable expectations of standard curriculum” for the children’s literature course and that the content did not match catalog descriptions. McCoul’s attorney, Amanda Reichek, disputed those claims and said McCoul was never instructed to change her syllabus or class materials.

Amanda Reichek: “Dr. McCoul asserts that the flimsy reasons proffered by A&M for her termination are a pretext for the University’s true motivation: capitulation to Governor Abbott’s demands.”

The dispute prompted university officials to end one summer session early; McCoul returned to teach the course in the fall until the videos became public. Wales later resigned; his announcement gave no reason and did not reference the video directly.

Separately, the Texas A&M Board of Regents recently adopted a policy requiring faculty to obtain presidential approval before discussing certain race- or gender-related topics in class. The policy states that no academic course shall “advocate race or gender ideology, or topics related to sexual orientation or gender identity” unless preapproved by a campus president.

Observers say the case fits into a broader national debate over academic freedom, curriculum content, and political pressure on higher education; several universities have faced heightened scrutiny from conservative officials in recent years. McCoul’s attorney indicated the matter may move to the courts if the university rejects the committee’s recommendation.