COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KBTX) – Dr. Leonard Bright teaches at the Bush School of Government and Public Service; he says his upper-level ethics and public policy course was cancelled after he failed to comply with the exemption process state law requires.
“I’ve never seen anything like this,” Dr. Bright lamented. “I’ve been here about 15 years. I’ve been a professor in the academy for over, well over 20 years. I’ve never seen anything like this.”
The decision to cancel the course for the remainder of the semester is just the most recent amid the ongoing battle over course curriculum on university campuses throughout Texas.
After hundreds of Texas A&M courses were audited, Dr. Bright says he received an email that his class would require an exemption; something he didn’t think was necessary.
“I did not believe I needed an exemption because, like I said, I don’t advocate that someone feels worse because of their race or judge people or make them accept a belief,” Dr. Bright explained. “That’s not what the class is about.”
The university said that Dr. Bright’s course made references to sexual orientation in its syllabus without clearly defining when such discussions and/or readings would happen.
Dr. Bright says his class was a discussion-based course making it hard for him to definitively say the exact days and times topics would be discussed.
“I can’t avoid those topics. These are discussed every day in everything that we do,” Dr. Bright stated. “I mean, ethics is about how we treat people. People are their identities, so I can’t carve that out of the class. It’s integral to this class.”
Texas A&M said in a statement Friday that changes came with students in mind, and with a goal of continuing smooth operations.
A Statement from Texas A&M University
Professors, staff and administrators at Texas A&M University share one priority: our students.
As we examine thousands of courses to make sure they comply with the new policy of the Board of Regents, we realize there will be challenges. But we will get creative, make adjustments and do everything possible to ensure the Spring 2026 semester runs as smoothly as possible.
Dr. Bright also chairs Texas A&M’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), and says he fears the long-term implications of decisions like this in higher education.
“It is going to destroy the reputation of this institution to the point where it will cease from being a serious institution, and we’re fighting this narrative that, no, this is a good thing,” Bright stated.
Dr. Bright said two of his students dropped the class when he first heard the course was under review, and the remaining students are working to find a new class.
He, himself, has hired a lawyer and is figuring out the next steps but as of now he will no longer be teaching his upper-level ethics and public policy course.
“I cannot misrepresent my classes,” Dr. Bright added. “If my classes are no longer possible to be taught because this is how I am teaching them, you want, in some ways, me to be even erased. You want me to teach the topic in a way that denies who I am. I cannot do that. I can’t do that.”
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