An evidentiary hearing is underway this week in the case against Alabama's law prohibiting state funding for divisive concepts.
One of the main witnesses has been a University of Alabama faculty member who faced complaints. The faculty member testified that she felt "threatened" by the lawmaker who expected her to follow the law and address student complaints or risk losing funding for her program.
The new law took effect on October 1, 2024. State Sen. Will Barfoot (R-Pike Road) sponsored the bill, which sailed through the Alabama Legislature last year and was applauded by Gov. Kay Ivey.
In a story published on Thursday, the Alabama Reflector reported on the testimony of Dana Patton, the director of the Witt Fellows Program and a political science professor at the University of Alabama. Patton is one of the parties challenging the state's law.
In February, when she joined the lawsuit, Patton responded to complaints by students that her program and courses included divisive concepts.
"I felt shocked, and I felt hurt, to be perfectly honest with you. And it came very quickly after the law went into effect. So the law went into effect on October 1. I was first notified that there had been a complaint on October 8," Patton told WVTM13.
According to the report in the Reflector, Patton received copies of anonymous complaints, which were read during her testimony. Those complaints alleged that "divisive concepts (were) embedded in UA Dr. Robert Witt Fellows program." It stated that five students complained that "the viewpoints in the required reading books are presented as the correct perspective, and other opinions are shut down," and "the students have stated they feel unsafe and scared to speak in class, unable to express their viewpoints in the classroom or in class assignments."
The Associated Press reported further details of the complaints, explaining, "The complaints alleged the program 'promoted socialism' and focused on 'systematic racism' and 'producing engaged global citizens as opposed to patriotic Americans,' according to evidence presented at the hearing. The complaints also said students "feel unsafe" because "the leadership of the program has a clear view of the world from a divisive perspective.'"
Patton went on to describe meeting State Rep. Danny Garrett (R-Trussville) at a football game where he reportedly discussed the student complaints and told her that State Rep. Susan DuBose (R-Hoover) "was not going to let this thing go" and that she was very "tenacious."
"He told me he's the chair of the budget. He's in charge of the budget. He answers to the taxpayers. He controls the budget, and all of this conversation was in relation to talking about the complaint and talking about my program and my courses. Well, I took it very much as a threat against the budget of my program," she said.
Among the changes that Patton testified she has made as a result of the state law is the removal of the Harvard Implicit Association Test. Implicit bias tests have been widely discredited.
According to the Associated Press, "Jay Ezelle, the defense attorney for the University of Alabama Board of Trustees, said the school had an obligation to investigate if students complain about being tested on an opinion, not on a performance."
"If that's violated, the university has to investigate, correct?" Ezelle asked during cross-examination.
The AP reports, "Federal U.S. Chief Judge R. David Proctor said the case will largely hinge on whether classroom speech is protected under the First Amendment and whether the state has a right to influence curriculum. Proctor will also consider if the six students and professors who brought the lawsuit against the University of Alabama have been harmed by the new law."
He said he will make a decision in time for Alabama schools to have "clarity by the start of school."
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