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4d ago

Judge to Weigh Fate of Alabama’s Anti-DEI Law Before New School Year

SB129’s vague ban on eight divisive concepts has caused professors to remove course materials, led to student scholarship losses, resulted in program closures, prompted allegations of budget threats

FILE - The Autherine Lucy Clock Tower at the Malone Hood Plaza stands in front of Foster Auditorium on the University of Alabama campus in Tuscaloosa, Ala., June 16, 2019. (AP Photo/Bill Sikes, File)
May 3, 2025; Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; Graduates express themselves on the tops of their mortar boards. The University of Alabama presented more than 6,400 degrees in the 2025 Spring Commencement.
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Overview

  • Federal U.S. Chief Judge R. David Proctor will issue a ruling on SB129’s constitutionality in time for Alabama schools to have clarity before classes resume
  • University instructors testified that they have removed reading assignments and stopped posting lecture slides to comply with the law’s restrictions on endorsing specified viewpoints
  • Political science professor Dana Patton testified that Rep. Danny Garrett told her she risked losing funding for her Witt Fellows Program if its curriculum did not align with SB129
  • Rising senior Sydney Testman said she lost her scholarship after her Social Justice Advocacy Council position was terminated under the anti-DEI statute
  • The lawsuit filed by six professors and students argues SB129 violates the First Amendment by restricting classroom speech and unconstitutionally targets Black students by limiting race-related programs