Plaintiffs and attorneys in the Senate Bill 129 lawsuit discussed how the law impacts classrooms, students and faculty at a press conference Thursday, June 26, during the second day of the preliminary hearing.
The lawsuit was filed against Gov. Kay Ivey and the UA System Board of Trustees regarding SB 129, which restricts diversity, equity and inclusion programs and the teaching of “divisive concepts” in schools.
The ACLU and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund are representing the plaintiffs, who are seeking a preliminary injunction to pause enforcement of the law while the case proceeds. They claim the law, which went into effect Oct. 1, 2024 is unconstitutional, arguing that it violates the First and 14th Amendments.
Sydney Testman, a senior at UAB majoring in political science, said her professors feel like they are walking on eggshells.
“They don’t know if they’re breaking the law or not,” she said. “So everyone seems to be erring on the side of caution. And that truly is affecting my academic freedom and the discourse we have in class, and that, in turn, is affecting the way I view the world, the way I’m able to go in education.”
Cassandra Simon, an associate professor in the College of Social Work, said that SB 129 is “one of the most significant threats to education” she’s experienced since entering the field of higher education in 1988. She said she believes SB 129 “puts limitations on democracy,” and that it hinders educators from providing students with the best possible education, making them focus more on avoiding potential legal issues than on teaching effectively.
Dana Patton, an associate professor of political science in the Barefield College of Arts and Sciences and director of the Dr. Robert E. Witt University Fellows Program, said she is hopeful judge David Proctor, who is presiding over the case, will seek merit for their testimony and grant the preliminary injunction so that faculty can feel safe teaching in August.
She said she feels “very uneasy” knowing that lawmakers were involved in the complaints against her. During her testimony, Patton said a state lawmaker threatened her regarding her course curriculum, and student complaints were lodged against her.
Patton was made aware of complaints but said the actual quotes were never transcribed adequately for her, so she is unsure of the specific content included.
“We are fearful of saying certain things in class,” she said. “We have made changes to our courses in terms of what we teach and how we teach it.”
Richard Fording, a political science professor, said it has been difficult to have any discussions about race and racial inequality because students interpret things in specific ways, which he said can be risky under the new law.
He said students are essentially able to decide when the law has been violated, which has caused anxiety among faculty. Fording said many educators in the state are changing how they’re teaching, and in his case, not teaching a particular course because of this law.
He suggested more specific examples of divisive concepts and a process for vetting complaints, and he blames the complaints on a “larger agenda” at hand from Alabama lawmakers.
Antonio Ingram, senior counsel at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, said the LDF partnered with the ACLU of Alabama to bring this lawsuit because it believes it is a “racial justice issue.” He said the “targeted” professors are mentioning racial gerrymandering and convict leasing systems, which impact Black communities in Alabama.
“We believe this law is an effort by the elected officials in Alabama to curtail discussions about race and gender and sexual orientation that they find to be disfavorable, which runs afoul with the First Amendment,” he said, adding that the law “promotes discriminatory campus environments” where people of color and queer people cannot have discussions that reflect their communities and experiences.
Ivey has defended the law amid public criticism.
“I refuse to allow a few bad actors on college campuses, using taxpayer funds, to push their liberal political movement counter to what the majority of Alabamians believe,” she said in a statement in March 2024.
