MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) 鈥� A group of students and professors at public universities across Alabama are asking an appeals court to halt a state law that bans diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in public schools and prohibits the endorsement of what Republican lawmakers dubbed 鈥渄ivisive concepts鈥� related to race and gender.
The Alabama measure, which in October 2024, is part of a wave of proposals from Republican lawmakers across the country taking aim at DEI programs on college campuses.
The state law prohibits public schools and universities from using state funds for any programs or curriculum that endorse 鈥渄ivisive concepts鈥� related to race, religion, gender identity and religion. Instructors are also prohibited from 鈥渆ncouraging鈥� a person feel guilt because of those identities.
U.S. District Judge David Proctor allowed the law to remain in place, writing that a professor鈥檚 academic freedom does not override a public university鈥檚 decisions about the content of classroom instruction.
He wrote that the law “does not banish all teaching or discussion of these concepts from campus or, for that matter, even from the classroom,鈥� Proctor wrote. 鈥淭o the contrary, it expressly permits classroom instruction that includes 鈥榙iscussion鈥� of the listed concepts so long as the 鈥榠nstruction is given in an objective manner without endorsement鈥� of the concepts.鈥�
The appeal comes on the heels of a from the Department of Justice that outlines similar required changes on public school campuses across the country. In 2025, have shuttered their doors, professors have , and curriculums have changed.
Antonio Ingram, a Legal Defense Fund lawyer for the plaintiffs, said in an interview that the law doesn’t clearly outline what endorsement entails, making professors vulnerable to frivolous investigations and limiting their ability to present vetted research.
鈥淭ruth becomes what the state says versus what independent researchers and theorists and academics have spent decades crafting,鈥� Ingram said.
If allowed to stand, Ingram said, the law makes 鈥渦niversities mouthpieces of the state that could be used for propaganda, that could be used for things that are not accurate and empirically based.鈥�
Dana Patton, a plaintiff who teaches political science at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, said in an interview that the state law led her to change curriculum that she has taught for decades.
鈥淲e feel very constrained by the vagueness of the law,” Patton said, since some students might misinterpret a lesson for endorsement of a certain viewpoint.
Last year, five students complained that Patton’s curriculum for the interdisciplinary honors program she administers is in conflict with the law. Patton insists that she has always taken measures to ensure a wide array of view points are represented 鈥� but that hasn’t assuaged her fears. She has since taken some material off of her syllabus.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just safer to not teach certain things and and to avoid potential repercussions or complaints being filed,” Patton said.
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