CA Community College Profs Sue State Over DEI Teaching Requirements
Lawsuit Seeks to Halt New Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Standards at California’s Community Colleges
A lawsuit filed in federal court last week is making waves as it seeks to put a stop to the implementation of new diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) standards at California’s community colleges.
The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) has taken up the cause on behalf of six professors from Clovis, Madera, and Reedley community colleges. Their aim is to challenge the constitutionality of these standards under the First and 14th Amendments.
The DEI standards, which were adopted in 2022 by the State Center Community College District, have raised concerns among professors. They caution against using academic freedom to hinder equity or cause curricular trauma for students.
Furthermore, the standards require professors to possess knowledge of the intersectionality of social identities and the various forms of oppression faced by individuals from different racial, ethnic, and other marginalized groups.
FIRE’s press release highlights that these regulations “explicitly require professors to pledge allegiance to contested ideological viewpoints.”
This is not the first time the community college district has faced legal trouble regarding First Amendment violations. In a previous case, FIRE sued Clovis Community College on behalf of Young Americans for Freedom after the group’s chapter was prohibited from displaying supposedly “offensive” flyers.
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