Texas Tech to recognize only two sexes, freezes gender programs

Texas Tech University has announced it will recognize only two sexes, male and female, and freeze all gender programming related to sexual orientation and gender identity(SOGI). 

An April 9 memo from Texas Tech said the Lubbock university would recognize "only two human sexes" and, following a program review, "initiate the closure of all academic credentials centered on SOGI."

The announcement came after the Texas Tech University System implemented a formal review process for course content in December 2025 to ensure compliance with state and federal laws, with materials evaluated by the Board of Regents.

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The December memo, signed by Brandon Creighton, chancellor of the Texas Tech University System, said that the December review was part of oversight obligation under Senate Bill 37, which passed in June. It is authored by Creighton, who is also a Republican state senator, which increased state oversight of college curriculum and governance.

The April announcement says that in addition to freezing all gender programming related to SOGI, there will be a "strict prohibition on SOGI content in all core and lower-level undergraduate courses, requiring alternate materials if primary texts center on or include these topics. Conversely, upper-level undergraduate and graduate courses are restricted but feature clear exemptions for strictly defined academic purposes." 

According to the memo, exemptions will be considered for "carefully delineated, strictly temporary instructional frameworks for certain graduate coursework," highlighting that "certain SOGI instruction is permitted only for currently enrolled students completing formally identified teach-out programs at the graduate level." 

There will also be a ban on what the memo calls "prejudiced advocacy," which it defines as "instruction that advocates for concepts of inherent racial or sexual superiority, inherent bias, or collective guilt, which include exemptions for "independent student-directed research and necessary professional licensure or patient-care requirements."

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The memo also directs that the school will recognize that there are only two sexes, male and female, and that "instructors may not teach that gender identity is a fluid spectrum, endorse the existence of more than two genders, or decouple gender from biological sex as a factual or scientific baseline."

It clarifies, however, that the recognition of two human sexes will not ban discussion of objective scientific realities of anatomy, genetics, or endocrinology, such as intersex biological conditions.

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The memo notes "faculty may not use these biological conditions to advocate for or validate sociological frameworks of fluid gender identities." 

Fox News Digital reached out to Texas Tech for comment.