{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://roy.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-roy-and-sen-cruz-demand-answers-texas-college-firing-teacher-who-said", "Rep. Roy and Sen. Cruz demand answers from Texas college for firing a teacher who said there are only two genders", "2023-12-21", "2023", "2023-12", "Republican", "House", "TX", "Chip Roy", "R000614", "roy.house.gov", "roy", "https://roy.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, DC \u2014 On Wednesday, Representative Chip Roy (TX-21) and Senator Ted Cruz (TX) demanded answers from St. Philip\u2019s College in San Antonio, Texas for allegedly terminating a professor, Dr. Johnson Varkey, for saying that there are only two genders.\n\nThe lawmakers wrote in a letter,\u201cIt is our understanding that in January 2023, your institution terminated the employment of Dr. Johnson Varkey, a longtime adjunct professor, for teaching standard human biology and reproduction principles consistent with the school-approved curriculum that he had taught for consecutively for nearly twenty years.\u201d\n\nDr. Varkey had consistently received exemplary reviews throughout his tenure until November 28, 2022, when reports indicate four students walked out of his class after he articulated the scientific fact that sex is a fixed characteristic determined prior to birth by X and Y chromosomes.\n\nThe legislators said,\u201cDr. Varkey received a Notice of Discipline and Termination of Employment and Contract letter from your administration alleging that the college \u2018received numerous complaints\u2019 about his \u2018religious preaching, discriminatory comments about homosexuals and transgender individuals, anti-abortion rhetoric, and misogynistic banter\u2019 and that Dr. Varkey\u2019s teaching \u2018pushed beyond the bounds of academic freedom with [his] personal opinions that were offensive to many individuals in the classroom.\u2019\u201d\n\n\u201cRegrettably, this incident is not an isolated occurrence at St. Philip\u2019s College and the broader Alamo Colleges District. Instead, recent history reveals a pattern of targeting and penalizing educators who refuse to capitulate to the prevailing progressive narrative\u2026 Given that St. Philip\u2019s College receives federal funding, we hope that your administration can address this matter with both swiftness and clarity.\u201d the Texas lawmakers wrote.\n\nThe letter is also signed by Representative Michael Cloud (TX-27), Lance Gooden (TX-05), and Dan Crenshaw (TX-02).\n\nRead the full letter here.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T01:14:16Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://roy.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-roy-and-sen-cruz-demand-answers-texas-college-firing-teacher-who-said"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.67129298299551, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}