Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed SB129, banning DEI offices and programs at public colleges and mandating sex-based restrooms

On March 20, 2024, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed SB129 into law, prohibiting public colleges and universities, state agencies, and local boards of education from maintaining any diversity, equity, and inclusion office or department and from sponsoring DEI programs. The act bars public entities from compelling assent to eight enumerated "divisive concepts" — including that individuals bear responsibility for past actions taken by others of the same race, sex, or religion — and authorizes discipline or termination of employees who violate its terms. The Alabama Legislature passed the bill one day before the governor's signature.

SB129 also requires every public higher-education institution to designate its multiple-occupancy restrooms and changing facilities on the basis of "biological sex," which state law defines by an individual's original birth certificate, displacing access aligned with gender identity. Framing the law in a signing statement, Ivey said her administration "will continue to value Alabama's rich diversity" while objecting to programs operating "under the acronym of DEI." The measure took effect October 1, 2024, making Alabama one of a series of Republican-led states to restrict DEI initiatives at public institutions.

Updates

2025-08-13 — Federal judge denied injunction against SB129 [5]

U.S. District Judge R. David Proctor denied a preliminary injunction sought by University of Alabama System students and professors who challenged SB129, ruling in a 146-page opinion that the plaintiffs had not met the requirements for the "extraordinary and drastic remedy" of blocking the law's enforcement.

2025-12-15 — Plaintiffs appealed the ruling to the Eleventh Circuit [6]

The plaintiffs, represented by the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, appealed Proctor's ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, seeking to block implementation of the law.