The Texas A&M System adopted a new policy restricting instruction about race and gender: courses that ‘advocate’ certain ideologies or related topics now require prior approval. The policy was approved after a viral classroom video and the subsequent firing of a professor, and it includes a system-wide course review process and limits on advocacy in curricular offerings without system-level sign-off. Faculty governance bodies and academic freedom advocates accused the system of undermining curricular autonomy and academic freedom. The Faculty Council issued a report asserting the dismissal violated due process and academic norms; administrators defended the policy as preserving classroom neutrality and compliance with state directives. For academic leaders and governance officers, the policy raises legal and reputational stakes: course approvals, syllabi reviews and shared-governance procedures will be tested in disputes over instructional content. Clarification: System-level policies that condition course content on administrative approvals intersect with established faculty prerogatives over curriculum, raising standard academic-freedom questions.