California community college professors sue over diversity, equity and inclusion rules

California community college professors are suing state officials after new diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) rules were implemented that they allege violate their First Amendment rights. 

The lawsuit, filed in August, contends the rules “mandate viewpoint conformity” and “force professors to endorse the government’s view on politically charged questions regarding diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility.”

Six community college professors are challenging the new DEI rules, which would affect 116 community colleges and more than 1.8 million students.

The professors are working with the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), a free speech group that sued Florida last year over the “Stop WOKE Act,” which seeks to restrict instruction on race and sex and faces multiple legal challenges.

“These regulations are a totalitarian triple-whammy,” FIRE attorney Daniel Ortner said about the California rules. “The government is forcing professors to teach and preach a politicized viewpoint they do not share, imposing incomprehensible guidelines, and threatening to punish professors when they cross an arbitrary, indiscernible line.”

The lawsuit further alleges the DEI requirements threaten professors going for promotions and tenure, arguing they will be punished if they don’t abide by the state’s definitions of diversity, equity and inclusion.

“I’m a professor of chemistry. How am I supposed to incorporate DEI into my classroom instruction?” Bill Blanken, a professor at Reedley College located southeast of Fresno, said in a statement. “What’s the ‘anti-racist’ perspective on the atomic mass of boron?”

The state has defended its rules, arguing they “do not restrict” free speech.

The Hill has reached out to the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office and the governor’s office for comment. 

The lawsuit is among the latest in fights surrounding DEI as Republican-led states such as Florida and Texas have been working to eliminate DEI in their universities.