Where is the line between teaching and advocating?That was the question posed by a faculty member to Texas A&M Universitys Board of Regents last week at an overflow meeting on the schools Austin campus. Related GOP pressures university to remove dean after student records professor discussing gender identity Regents left it to a group of appointed administrators and AI to answer, robbing faculty of their academic freedom.The board unanimously voted on Thursday to approve a new policy that will require each campus president to sign off on any course that could be seen as advocating for race and gender ideology or topics related to sexual orientation or gender identity, The Texas Tribune reports. Never Miss a Beat Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights. Subscribe to our Newsletter today An adjacent policy now prohibits faculty from teaching material inconsistent with the approved syllabus for each course, while regents imposed new rules and procedures to audit all course content in the systems 12 statewide schools every semester.The board also mandated that each university in the A&M system feed syllabi and course details into a database, which will then be examined by artificial intelligence for content not aligned with approved course materials. Rounding out the new package of censorious policies, students will have access to a 24/7 hotline to report what they consider inaccurate or misleading course content. Together, the proposals invite unlawful censorship, chill academic freedom, and undermine the core purpose of a university, said Robert Shibley, special counsel for campus advocacy at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE).Hiring professors with PhDs is meaningless if administrators are the ones deciding what gets taught, Shibley said. Faculty will start asking not, Is this accurate? but Will this get me in trouble? Thats not education, its risk management. Crackdown follows conservative uproar over students secret recordingsThe crackdown follows a firestorm ignited over the summer when a disgruntled Texas A&M student confronted her teacher in a childrens literature class, stating she didnt want to promote something that is against our presidents laws, as well as against my religious beliefs.The teacher was discussing gender fluidity in middle-grade books featuring LGBTQ+ characters. Such discussions dont violate any state or federal laws.According to our president, theres only two genders, the student told the teacher, referring to Donald Trump and his gender ideology executive order. The student also recorded a conversation with the university president in which the president defended the professor and refused to fire her.The student recorded her protests, and the videos plunged the school into controversy.Texas State Rep. Brian Harrison (R) reposted the recording in a 23-part social media thread, excoriating the teacher and school officials.CAUGHT ON TAPE, Harrison wrote. TEXAS A&M STUDENT KICKED OUT OF CLASS AFTER OBJECTING TO TRANSGENDER INDOCTRINATION and A&M President defends LGBTQ Studies. Thursdays gender ideology crackdown was the result.Earlier this semester, Melissa McCoul, the teacher ambushed in her childrens literature class, was fired by Texas A&M President Mark A. Welsh III, who originally defended her. He then demoted the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and the head of the English department. Welshs actions werent enough. He was also forced to resign shortly after. McCoul is appealing her termination. Regents Chair Robert Albritton denied that political pressure played a role in the universitys handling of the gender ideology meltdown, and expressed frustration with lawmakers pressure on the school.We have one individual who, who I would call a moron, who is an absolute classified megalomaniac, who is insatiable with his desire to feed his ego, Albritton told reporters, in an apparent reference to state Rep. Harrison, a Texas A&M alum.And do people like that solve problems? They dont give you solutions other than: Fire this, do this, do thatAnd I will say one wonderful thing about the Board is that we dont listen to that, Albritton added.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.