"A Texas A&M University professor who was fired last year after a controversy over a classroom video that showed a student objecting to a children's literature lesson about gender identity sued the school on Wednesday, alleging the university violated her rights by bowing to political pressure calling for her ouster. Melissa McCoul was a senior lecturer in the English department with over a decade of teaching experience."
"Republican lawmakers, including Gov. Greg Abbott, had called for her termination after seeing the video, which showed a student questioning whether the class discussion last July was legal under President Donald Trump's executive order on gender. The video roiled the campus and led to sharp criticism of university president Mark Welsh, who later resigned, but didn't offer a reason and never mentioned the video in his resignation announcement."
"The university upheld McCoul's firing even after two separate, independent university groups determined Texas A&M violated her right to due process and did not have cause to terminate her employment. "Today I did something that would have been inconceivable a year ago - I've sued Texas A&M to hold it accountable for violations of my Constitutional rights to free speech and due process of law. There's no satisfaction in doing this, only sadness," McCoul said in a statement. The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Houston."
"Chris Bryan, the vice chancellor for marketing and communications for the Texas A&M University System, said Wednesday that school officials are aware of the lawsuit but have not reviewed it. "As this is pending litigation, we will not comment further, but we intend to vigorously defend against the claims," Bryan said in a statement. Named in the lawsuit as defendants were Welsh, Interim President Tommy Williams, Texas A&M University System Chancellor Glenn Hegar and the Texas A&M System's Board of Regents."
Melissa McCoul, a senior English lecturer with over a decade of experience, was fired after a classroom video showed a student objecting to a children's literature lesson about gender identity. Republican lawmakers, including Gov. Greg Abbott, urged her termination after viewing the video, which included a student questioning whether the discussion complied with a presidential executive order on gender. The video created campus controversy and prompted criticism of university president Mark Welsh, who later resigned without referencing the incident. Independent university groups found due process violations and no cause for termination, but the university upheld the firing. McCoul filed a federal lawsuit alleging violations of constitutional free speech and due process rights.
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