University professors and students have asked a federal court to block a new Alabama law that restricts teaching of “divisive concepts” and prohibits diversity, equity, and inclusion programs on campuses.

Professors at the University of Alabama and students at UAB on Thursday asked for a preliminary injunction to block enforcement of law, Senate Bill 129, while the court considers the plaintiffs’ claims that it violates constitutional rights of free speech and due process.

The motion comes in a lawsuit filed on Jan. 14.

Several professors and students are plaintiffs, along with the Alabama State Conference of the NAACP. They are represented by the ACLU of Alabama and others.

They wrote in the motion that the chief mission of universities and colleges is to prepare students for their civic and political responsibilities.

“To achieve this mission, professors and students must be allowed to grapple with complex histories and social theories, and to encourage discussion of difficult topics, both inside the classroom and in extracurricular campus activities,” they wrote.

“Yet, Senate Bill 129 violates Plaintiffs’ First Amendment rights by restricting their speech, their receipt of information, and their access to university space and funding, simply because the views expressed by these students and educators are disfavored by elected politicians.”

SB 129 lists eight so-called “divisive concepts,” with most covering topics related to race, ethnicity, sex, religion and national origin.

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Cassandra Simon, an associate professor of social work at UA, has been accused of breaking the law, the court motion says. Simon teaches a course titled that Anti-Oppression and Social Justice that covers what the law calls “divisive concepts.”

“She faces the constitutionally untenable position of either self-censoring her classroom instruction or materials or facing severe consequences for violating the law,” the lawyers wrote. “Last fall, while teaching this same class, she was accused of violating SB 129 and threatened with discipline or termination.”

The motion says students are being “are deprived of their right to receive information when professors do not provide the full breadth of their knowledge, expertise, and scholarship for fear of promoting a banned viewpoint.”

The Republican majority that controls the Alabama Legislature passed SB 129 last year over opposition from Democrats. Gov. Kay Ivey signed it into law.

The law took effect Oct. 1 and has led to the closing of DEI offices on university campuses.

Two of the students who are plaintiffs in the lawsuit were officers of student organizations that lost funding as a result of SB 129.

Opposition to DEI programs and restrictions on teaching certain concepts related to race is a national priority for Republicans.

In Thursday’s motion, the plaintiffs said a federal judge has blocked a similar law in Florida called the “Stop W.O.K.E.” Act.