Five months after President Donald Trump signed the executive order, "Defending women from gender ideology extremism and restoring biological truth to the federal government," and three months after objections from conservative student groups resulted in a policy change for university organizations, the University of Alabama continues to treat gender identity and gender expression as a protected class, requiring students to agree to a Code of Conduct and an Equal Opportunity Non-Discrimination policy that include them in multiple places.
Under the guise of addressing harassment, the school requires students to accept and acknowledge both gender identity and gender expression, alongside actual categories protected by state and federal law.
The language is written as if to imply that they are part of the sex-based protections. One of the two places they appear in the Student Code of Conduct dated Feb. 4, 2025 says, "Similarly, if a Code violation is determined by a preponderance of the evidence to have been committed or motivated by prejudice toward a person or group because of protected factors, which include genetic information, race, color, religion, national origin, sex (which includes sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression), age, disability or protected veteran status, such a discriminatory purpose may be treated as an aggravating factor in determining the appropriate sanction(s)."
"No college or university, including the University of Alabama, should endorse or require falsehoods as part of their code of conduct or any other official policy--which include "gender identity" and "gender expression," David Randell, Director of Research, National Association of Scholars and the Executive Director, Civics Alliance told 1819 News in a written statement after reviewing the policies.
Randell said, "It harms students to be required to lie. It also harms students to indulge them in dissociation from reality. Nor college or university, including the University of Alabama, should commit such harms."
The University of Alabama responded to a request for comment Friday afternoon, saying that "with it being summer and over the weekend before a holiday," they would be unable to provide a comment.
Alabama lawmakers have passed two bills in recent years that protect individual rights from compelled ideological ideas, including the Divisive Concepts bill and the What is a Woman Act, which defines sex as a biological reality of men and women.
State Rep. Susan DuBose (R-Hoover) told 1819 News, "Our 'What is a woman' bill goes into effect Oct. 1, 2025, and I expect the University to follow the law defining male and female."
The Non-Discrimination Policy last updated April 18, 2025 includes the language saying, "UA prohibits discrimination on the basis of genetic or family medical history information, race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, age, disability, protected veteran status, or any other legally protected basis in terms, conditions or privileges of employment and its programs and services."
This policy differs from the language the University requires of groups as of March.
The original language student groups were instructed to include in their constitution verbatim was:
"Membership in registered student organizations shall be open to all students of The University of Alabama, without regard to race, religion, sex, ability status, national origin, color, age, gender identity, gender expression, sexual identity, or veteran status except in cases designated fraternal organizations exempted by federal law from Title IX regulations concerning discrimination on the basis of sex."
The statement now reads:
Membership in registered student organizations shall be open to all students of The University of Alabama, without regard to any legally protected class, except in cases of designated fraternal organizations exempted by federal law from Title IX regulations concerning discrimination on the basis of sex.
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email [email protected]
Don't miss out! Subscribe to our newsletter and get our top stories every weekday morning or become a member to gain access to exclusive content and 1819 News merch.
