A group of students and professors at public universities in Alabama recently filed a federal lawsuit against the state’s anti-DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) legislation that was passed in 2024.
The pro-DEI complaint was filed in the Northern District of Alabama on Jan. 14.
The plaintiffs include Cassandra Simon, Dana Patton, and Richard Fording, all of whom are professors at the University of Alabama. The plaintiffs also include three students from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, according to the Tuscaloosa News.
The lawsuit challenges the constitutionality of the state’s recent anti-DEI law, S.B. 129.
“These universities have also restricted funding for affinity-based and social justice focused student groups, and dismantled spaces assigned to student organizations that were intended to serve Black and LGBTQIA students,” the lawsuit states about the effects of the bill’s passage.
Professor Simon issued a lengthy statement for the Legal Defense Fund to express why she took part in the lawsuit that seeks to reimplement DEI policies and programs at public universities throughout the state.
“SB 129 is among the most egregious infringements on the rights of students to receive the quality of education they deserve,” Simon wrote. “Inclusive curriculum and campus spaces are undeniably a strength in higher education, and, as a professor, I’ve witnessed how teaching and engaging with some of these so-called ‘divisive concepts’ can be transformative for both professors and students.”
“The state legislative body has no right to censor and vilify these important and legitimate topics in our classrooms,” Simon continued. “If this discriminatory legislation is allowed to continue, elected officials—with no expertise in matters of higher education—will become emboldened to further impose their viewpoints on the university communities.”
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S.B. 129 was signed into law by Alabama Governor Kay Ivey in March 2024, and took effect on Oct. 1.
“My Administration has and will continue to value Alabama’s rich diversity, however, I refuse to allow a few bad actors on college campuses – or wherever else for that matter – to go under the acronym of DEI, using taxpayer funds, to push their liberal political movement counter to what the majority of Alabamians believe,” Ivey stated at the time of the bill’s passage.
In response to the bill’s passage, the University of Alabama and Jacksonville State University have removed or revised their DEI programs.
Campus Reform has contacted the University of Alabama, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Professor Cassandra Simon, Professor Dana Patton, and Professor Richard Fording for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
This article was originally published at campusreform.org
