Overview
- Former senior lecturer Melissa McCoul filed her case in federal court in Houston, seeking reinstatement, back pay, punitive damages and a declaration that her teaching was protected academic speech.
- Her complaint alleges Gov. Greg Abbott’s chief of staff pressed then‑President Mark A. Welsh III to terminate her and that Provost Alan Sams was instructed not to provide a required pre‑termination hearing.
- Two internal bodies later found procedural violations or no good cause for firing, but Interim President Tommy Williams declined reinstatement and system officials upheld the termination.
- The dispute traces to a viral video posted by Rep. Brian Harrison showing a student challenging a gender identity lesson in McCoul’s children’s literature class, after which she was dismissed in September.
- Texas A&M officials said they intend to vigorously defend against the claims, as the system enforces new policies limiting instruction on race and gender that led to hundreds of course changes, six cancellations and the end of the women’s and gender studies program.