BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Professors and students from the University of Alabama system were in court this week, asking a federal judge to issue a preliminary injunction to block a new state law that they say is already silencing speech, limiting academic freedom, and hurting their educations.
At a press conference Thursday outside the federal courthouse, plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit described how Alabama’s recent ban on diversity, equity and inclusion programs and restrictions on “divisive concepts” has changed what gets taught and what students feel safe to say.
University of Alabama social work professor Cassandra Simon said she was warned she could be terminated if she allowed a class project to continue.
“I was specifically told in an email by my administrator, my immediate supervisor, my dean, that if I did not have my students cancel their project, that I would be subjecting myself to, and the exact words were, progressive disciplinary action up to and including termination,” she said.
The project, part of her “Anti-Oppression and Social Justice” course, asked students to evaluate how the university was responding to the law. Her students chose the topic, she added.
“I’ve been teaching this class at UA since 2000 and we have been doing projects like this on campus and off for 25 years,” Simon said. “This is the first time anybody has ever interfered with any of our events.”
Political science professor Dana Patton said she and many colleagues have changed how they teach. “We are fearful of saying certain things in class. We have made changes to our courses in terms of what we teach and how we teach it,” she said.
“I have many colleagues that I’ve discussed SB129 with, and our fears are not isolated to the three of us. This is widespread across campus.”
Patton also raised concerns about lawmakers pressuring the university to investigate professors. “I was told very directly that lawmakers were involved in this process, specifically (Rep.) Susan DuBose and one other Republican legislator whose name I don’t know, asked (Rep.) Danny Garrett to take the complaints of some of my students… to the administration,” she said.
DuBose, R-Hoover, told Alabama Daily News this week she is unable to comment because of the ongoing lawsuit. Garrett, R-Trussville, did not immediately respond to ADN’s request for comment.
The lawsuit, filed in January, names Gov. Kay Ivey and University of Alabama trustees as defendants. It asks U.S. District Judge David Proctor to declare SB129 unconstitutional and a violation of the First and Fourteenth amendments.
The law, which took effect Oct. 1, bans public universities, K-12 schools, and state agencies from running DEI programs or requiring training that includes concepts such as racial guilt or systemic bias. It also defines DEI programs as any class, event or activity where attendance is based on identity categories like race, sex or gender identity.
“The governor stands behind this legislation and its intent,” her office told The Associated Press when the lawsuit was filed. Similar laws have passed in other Republican-led states.
Since the law passed, several Alabama universities have shut down or renamed DEI offices. Some professors, like Simon, say they’ve been told to change assignments. Others say courses related to race, gender, and inequality are being quietly dropped.
University of Alabama political science professor Richard Fording said the law has created such uncertainty that he dropped one of his regular courses this fall.
“There’s a lot of anxiety out there on our campus, among our faculty,” he said. “Many like me are changing how they’re teaching, and in my case, not teaching a particular course because of this law.”
Fording said students now feel empowered to report their professors – even when there’s no clear violation.
“Students are basically allowed to decide when the law has been violated, and faculty are then automatically put in a position of having to prove that they didn’t say something in class when there’s no record of what we say.”
He said one legislative complaint accused Patton of “promoting socialism” and “redistribution of wealth.”
“That tells me that there is a larger agenda here, which is to try to affect the content of our classes with this hearing,” he added.
UAB student Sydney Testman said she’s seen how cautious professors have become. “I’ve seen my professors feel like they’re walking on eggshells because the bill is so big,” she said.
“So everyone seems to be erring on the side of caution, and that truly is affecting the academic discourse we have in the class. That, in turn, is affecting the way I view the world, the way I’m able to go into the world with my education.”
Attorney Antonio Ingram with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, which brought the lawsuit alongside the ACLU of Alabama, said the law is part of a broader effort to shut down speech that lawmakers dislike.
Ingram said a ruling in the plaintiffs’ favor could have national implications.
“We’re hopeful that a successful lawsuit here will be a deterrent, that other legislative bodies will know that you cannot try to stifle discussions about Black communities and about creating more equitable outcomes for all populations in 2025.”
Proctor said the case will largely hinge on whether classroom speech is protected under the First Amendment and whether the state has a right to influence curriculum. Proctor will also consider if the six students and professors who brought the lawsuit against the University of Alabama have been harmed by the new law.
He said he will make a decision in time for Alabama schools to have “clarity by the start of school.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.