LUBBOCK, TX \u2014 The Texas Tech University System (TTUS) is eliminating every academic program \u201ccentered on\u201d Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) and imposing the strictest-ever system-wide ban on promoting transgender ideology or gender fluidity as science in the classroom.<\/p>\n
In a six-page memorandum dated April 9, 2026, Chancellor Brandon Creighton and the Board of Regents\u2019 Academic, Clinical, & Student Affairs Committee have ordered the full phase-out of all SOGI-centered majors, minors, certificates, and graduate degrees across Texas Tech University, Angelo State University, Midwestern State University, and the two Health Sciences Centers. The policy also requires recognition of only two human sexes \u2014 male and female \u2014 and prohibits faculty from endorsing a \u201cgender spectrum,\u201d fluid gender identities, or any decoupling of gender from biological sex.<\/p>\n
What \u201cSOGI\u201d Means Under the New Rules<\/p>\n
The memo defines SOGI content with clear thresholds: \u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCentered On\u201d: Sexual orientation or gender identity is the primary subject, main theoretical framework, central narrative, or driving purpose of the course, readings, or assignments. \u00a0\u201cIncludes\u201d: SOGI themes appear as secondary background, data points, or minor components. \u00a0\u201cIncidental Reference\u201d: A brief, passing factual mention that does not receive sustained instructional time. \u00a0<\/p>\n
All programs \u201ccentered on\u201d SOGI will undergo a formal review. Provosts must submit final lists of programs to be closed by June 15, 2026. An immediate admissions freeze will follow. Current students can finish their degrees through a teach-out process, but no new students will be accepted into these fields.<\/p>\n
The document builds directly on Chancellor Creighton\u2019s December 1, 2025, Course Content Oversight memorandum and mirrors aggressive curriculum reforms already underway across Texas public universities.<\/p>\n
Context: The Texas A&M Controversy That Sparked Statewide Action<\/p>\n
This latest crackdown follows the explosive September 2025 controversy at Texas A&M University in College Station. A student secretly recorded a children\u2019s literature class in which instructor Melissa McCoul discussed content recognizing more than two genders (including a \u201cgender unicorn\u201d graphic). The video went viral. Republican lawmakers, including state Rep. Brian Harrison, publicly demanded action. Within days, the university fired Professor McCoul, removed the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and a department head, and faced intense pressure from Gov. Greg Abbott and conservative leaders. President Mark Welsh ultimately resigned on Sept. 18, 2025, after regents gave him an ultimatum. The episode prompted multiple Texas university systems \u2014 including TTUS \u2014 to launch their own course audits to ensure compliance with state law and avoid similar political blowback.<\/p>\n
TTUS Chancellor Creighton\u2019s Republican Background<\/p>\n
Texas Tech University System’s Chancellor Creighton, a longtime Republican who served 18 years in the Texas Legislature (seven in the House, 11 in the Senate), became TTUS chancellor in November 2025 after chairing the Senate Education Committee. He was a key architect of major higher-education reform bills, including anti-DEI legislation and Senate Bill 37, which expanded regent oversight of curriculum and governance. Supporters view his appointment and this memorandum as a logical extension of the Republican-led effort to refocus public universities on workforce preparation rather than ideological activism.<\/p>\n
Critics, including faculty groups and outlets such as The Texas Tribune and The New York Times, argue the moves amount to politicization of higher education. They claim Republican laws, regent interventions, and the installation of former GOP lawmakers like Creighton as system leaders are chilling academic freedom, driving talented professors out of Texas, and replacing \u201cliberal indoctrination\u201d concerns with conservative ideological oversight.<\/p>\n
Core Provisions of the April 9 Memorandum<\/p>\n
Two Human Sexes Requirement: Faculty may not teach that gender identity is a fluid spectrum, endorse more than two genders, or treat gender as separate from biological sex as a scientific fact. Objective instruction on intersex conditions or Differences of Sex Development is allowed but cannot be used to validate sociological claims of fluid identities. \u00a0Alternate Materials Rule: In core and lower-level undergraduate courses, any materials centered on or including SOGI topics must be replaced with alternate materials. Faculty cannot highlight, assess, or allocate instructional time to such content. Upper-level (3,000+) undergraduate and graduate courses have narrow, tightly restricted exceptions for objective historical, literary, public-policy, or clinical analysis \u2014 but never as advocacy or endorsement of gender ideology. \u00a0Temporary Graduate Teach-Out Exceptions: Limited SOGI theory instruction is allowed only for currently enrolled graduate students finishing phased-out programs. \u00a0
Ban on Prejudiced Advocacy: The memo also prohibits teaching race- or sex-based concepts as fact (e.g., inherent racial\/sexual superiority, collective guilt, or claims that meritocracy is racist\/sexist). \u00a0Standardized Syllabi and Faculty Accountability: All syllabi will follow a new uniform template so content can be easily reviewed. Faculty must stick strictly to what is listed.<\/p>\n
Student-directed independent research remains largely exempt (with limits on degree-culminating work), and current faculty may continue their personal scholarship, though future hiring will align with the new standards.<\/p>\n
The policy applies to instructor-required or recommended course content across all TTUS institutions. Angelo State University President Ronnie D. Hawkins Jr. and the other component presidents received the directive directly.<\/p>\n
This represents one of the most decisive actions yet by any major Texas university system to remove what the memorandum describes as ideological content on sexual orientation and gender identity from academic programs and daily instruction.<\/p>\n