Melissa McCoul, arguing she was fired to appease political critics, is seeking to get her job back and other restitution.
A vice chancellor upheld the firing of Melissa McCoul, seen in a viral video being confronted by a student on her gender identity teachings, saying the termination was done with “good cause.”
A Texas A&M committee agreed the university was wrong to fire a professor earlier this year after a controversy over a classroom video that showed a student objecting to a children’s literature lesson about gender identity.
Texas A&M did not have good cause to fire a professor after a video of a gender lesson created a political storm, and the school failed to follow due process, a faculty appeal committee found.
University officials dispute the faculty council’s conclusion. Melissa McCoul lost her job after a video of a classroom debate went viral.
The proposal appears to mark the first time a Texas university system offers definitions of what kind of instruction related to race and gender should not be permitted.
Officials have struggled to detail the exact reasons for the A&M professor’s termination, citing a technical issue with her course description. Faculty say the move was politically motivated.
The firing happened over two years after Texas A&M stressed its support for academic freedom and amid a changing higher education landscape.
An attorney for Melissa McCoul, seen in a video clashing with a student over gender-identity content in her class, said the professor is weighing her legal options.
After the video fueled outrage, a professor was fired and two college leaders removed from their administrative roles for approving content inconsistent with the course’s description.