I'll put in some $0.02 that are worth even less than that. Take this as me talking out of my @ss.
My sense is that UAB isn't going to care. And if they did the paranoid thing, which would be find out then withdraw their readmission, then I'm sure you could certainly appeal THAT decision. You have to look out for yourself, and losing a year for nothing isn't a small thing. They aren't just a School of Optom - they are under the auspices of a larger school. Any appeal to the governing body "above them" could simply point out that you were being held back a year, and that the entire process to get you reinstated made you feel unsure that the school wanted you back, and so you researched your options. If you were able to somehow prove that their withdrawal of your readmission was due to cynical reasons, you could easily get some School of Optom administrators in serious trouble. Bottom line is, I think once you have that offer of readmission in writing, it will remain good.
As for FinnMac's input about "standing". Although I can see where that's coming from, my sense is if such a policy does exist, I have my doubts as to how seriously it is enforced. I know a student who failed out of first year in UW was allowed to continue at SUNY, and I think ended up doing quite well there - getting a residency etc. (I'm not sure how analogous his situation was to yours - I'm not sure if he was failed out completely, or was simply told to redo 1st year). UAB is well regarded, so some "lower-ranked" schools may deem a weak UAB student to still be at least as strong as some of its active students. So why would they decline to have you, given they have academically less talented students than you going through their program? Further, OD students being held back etc. happens every year at all schools. All the schools get approached by these students for second chances, so I assume there is a mechanism for transfer. If you were failing out of the last-ranked optom school, maybe that would be a concern, but you're coming out of UAB. So provided you can prove the "being held back" is due to academic reasons "only", I'm pretty sure some schools will give you a second look, given that they lost some students to academic failure also, and now have available spots in their classes.
