The University of Alabama System removed explicit references to "sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression" from its nondiscrimination policy in November 2025, according to archived pages and reporting by The Crimson White. University officials say the edit was an administrative step to conform with current federal interpretations of Title VII and Title IX and that enforcement has not changed. The change has prompted criticism from students and alumni groups and comes amid broader legal and political debates over LGBTQ+ protections in schools and workplaces.
University Of Alabama System Removes Explicit LGBTQ+ Protections From Nondiscrimination Policy
university of alabama
The University of Alabama System quietly removed explicit references to protections for LGBTQ+ people from its Equal Opportunity and Non-Discrimination policy in November 2025, archived pages show. The deletion removed language identifying "sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression" as protected categories — wording that remains visible in documents preserved by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression.
What Changed
Archived versions of the Equal Opportunity and Non-Discrimination Program pages for the system and its Birmingham and Huntsville campuses indicate the explicit LGBTQ+ protections were deleted in November 2025. The revisions were first reported by the student newspaper The Crimson White.
University's Explanation
System officials told the student newspaper the wording change was made to align the policy with current federal interpretations of Title VII and Title IX. Officials described the edit as an "administrative change," and said enforcement of nondiscrimination rules has not changed.
"The University will continue to promote a welcoming environment that is free from discrimination for all members of our campus community," university spokesperson Alex House told the student newspaper.
Reaction On Campus
The change drew criticism from students and alumni. Will Thomas, vice president of the Lambda Society and co-founder and president of UA's LGBTQ Alumni Association, called the move part of a "longer and darker pattern of erosion of rights and guarantees for LGBTQ communities" in a guest essay for AL.com.
Other Alabama public institutions — including Auburn University, Samford University, the University of South Alabama and the University of West Alabama — continue to list sexual orientation and gender identity or expression explicitly among prohibited bases for discrimination, according to Yellowhammer News.
Broader Context
The policy change comes amid shifting federal legal interpretations. The article cites a recent Supreme Court decision involving a straight woman who alleged workplace discrimination because she was not gay and mentions investigations by the Justice Department under the Trump administration into school policies allowing transgender students to participate in sports consistent with their gender identity. Those developments reflect a narrower federal view in some contexts of what constitutes discrimination "on the basis of sex."
The system's removal of explicit protections also followed the university's decision to allow a campus chapter of Young Americans for Freedom to remove references to gender ideology from its constitution — a move the chapter called an end to "compelled speech."
This article originally appeared on The Advocate and was first reported locally by The Crimson White.
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