Texas university bans all LGBTQ+ topics in classrooms
Texas Tech (Getty Images)
Texas Tech University has introduced a new policy which bans the teaching and research of LGBTQ+ topics across its academic programmes.
Adopted on 9 April, the new rule requires professors to replace course materials that focus on gender and sexuality with alternatives that don’t, reports the Texas Tribune.
The university calls it the “Alternate Materials Rule”. It places a “strict prohibition” on these topics in core undergraduate courses, with only limited exceptions for higher-level study.
It also blocks students from completing degrees, certificates, or research projects centred on LGBTQ+ subjects, putting existing programmes like women’s and gender studies at risk.
The memo further targets discussions of trans identity, stating: “Instruction must not endorse fluid gender identity as an empirical biological reality that supersedes the two-sex requirement,” and that courses must not require students to affirm “gender ideology.”
The directive was issued by Chancellor Brandon Creighton, who previously led efforts to ban diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in Texas higher education, according to Erin in the Morning.
Students and faculty have raised concerns about the impact on academic freedom and access to education, with one student telling the Texas Tribune the move blocks “an honest education”, while a professor described it as a “betrayal”.
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