Texas A&M confirmed it will not reinstate Melissa McCoul after her September firing over a classroom gender-identity lesson, the university’s system vice chancellor for academic affairs concluded the dismissal was for “good cause.” The decision follows a faculty panel finding that McCoul’s academic freedom had been violated and that former system president Mark Welsh bypassed proper termination procedures. McCoul’s lawyer says she will pursue First Amendment, due-process and breach-of-contract claims in court. For higher-education leaders, the clash spotlights tensions among campus governance, public scrutiny from viral classroom videos, and legal exposure when administrations move quickly on controversial classroom incidents.