Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
State Center Professors File Federal Suit Over 'Diversity, Equity' Teaching Requirements
NANCY WEBSITE HEADSHOT 1
By Nancy Price, Multimedia Journalist
Published 2 years ago on
August 17, 2023

Share

Six State Center Community College District professors filed suit Thursday against California Community College and State Center Community College District officials, alleging that they are being forced to teach “controversial” views about diversity, equity, and inclusion.

The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California in Fresno, challenges regulations approved by the California Community College system board of governors in March to include diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility standards when evaluating and conducting tenure review of district employees.

Such is a violation of their free speech rights and are unconstitutional under the First and Fourteenth Amendments, the lawsuit contends.

“These regulations are a totalitarian triple-whammy,” FIRE attorney Daniel Ortner said in a news release. “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 suit was filed on their behalf by The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, or FIRE, which is based in Philadelphia.

It’s the latest lawsuit by FIRE against State Center. Conservative Clovis Community College students sued college officials last year when they were prohibited from using internal bulletin boards for their organization’s flyers, which had been deemed by some college officials as offensive and prohibited under the college’s then-flyer policy.

A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction in October 2022 against the college that was appealed. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently upheld the lower court decision and ruled that the college officials had violated the students’ free-speech rights.

Humanities, Sciences

The six plaintiffs in the new federal lawsuit are English professor Loren Palsgaard, philosophy professor James Druley, history professor David Richardson, and chemistry professor Linda De Morales, all on the Madera Community College faculty; chemistry professor Bill Blanken of Reedley Community College; and philosophy professor Michael Stannard of Clovis Community College. All six are tenured.

The defendants are Sonya Christian, chancellor of the California Community Colleges system, the State Board of Governors, State Center Chancellor Carole Goldsmith and the district’s Board of Trustees.

“I’m a professor of chemistry. How am I supposed to incorporate DEI into my classroom instruction,” Blanken said in the news release. “What’s the ‘anti-racist’ perspective on the atomic mass of boron?”

Richardson and Stannard are no strangers to what’s deemed by some to be the nation’s “culture wars.” Richardson, a self-described gay conservative, was put on administrative leave this year after handing out chocolate bars with wrappers that some considered “transphobic.”

Richardson remains on paid leave while the investigation continues, State Center spokeswoman Jill Wagner said.

And Richardson and Stannard filed suit in 2022 in Fresno County Superior Court, claiming their First Amendment rights had been violated because they were being punished for expressing views that were deemed politically incorrect.

State Center and the California Community College system did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday afternoon.

Wagner said later Thursday that the district had not yet been served with the lawsuit and would need to review it before providing any comment.

On Friday morning, California Community College spokeswoman Melissa Villarin said the system had no comment at this time and noted that it’s being represented by the California Attorney General’s Office.

“Our response opposing the plaintiffs’ request will be in court filings expected to be filed soon,” she said.

Professors’ Lawsuit

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Hey PG&E Customers, Get Ready for New ‘Transaction Fees’

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Ending ‘Squaw Valley’ Fight After Latest Court Ruling

DON'T MISS

Exclusive: Tesla to Delay US Launch of Affordable EV, a Lower-Cost Model Y, Sources Say

DON'T MISS

Clovis Reconsiders Recycling Vote. Will a Campaign Contribution Matter?

DON'T MISS

Gov. Newsom Offers $50K Reward in 2022 Kings County Homicide

DON'T MISS

Trump’s White House Launches COVID Website That Criticizes WHO, Fauci and Biden

DON'T MISS

Fresno ‘Powers Up’ the Nation’s Largest Combined Solar and Battery Storage Project

DON'T MISS

Trump Admin Asserts COVID-19 Originated in Chinese Lab, Targets Fauci

DON'T MISS

Vendors Back at Fresno’s Art Hop? Survey Wants to Know What You Think

DON'T MISS

Russian Missile Attack Kills One, Wounds 112 in Ukraine’s Kharkiv, Officials Say

UP NEXT

Why Fresno Unified Tried to Keep Superintendent Search Secret

UP NEXT

2 Killed and 5 Hurt in Florida State University Shooting; Gunman in Custody

UP NEXT

Fresno Unified Trustees Passed Over a National Superintendent of the Year

UP NEXT

More Than 1,000 International Students Have Had Visas or Legal Status Revoked

UP NEXT

LA’s Schools Chief Knows What It’s Like to Be Undocumented

UP NEXT

Shooting at Florida State Sends Students Running; Nearby Hospital Says It’s Treating People

UP NEXT

ACLU Sues Defense Department Schools Over Book Bans

UP NEXT

Why Harvard Decided to Fight Trump

UP NEXT

Fresno Unified’s Likely New Special Ed Bus Contractor Will Keep Current Employees

UP NEXT

NAACP Sues US Education Department Over DEI School Funding Cuts

Nancy Price,
Multimedia Journalist
Nancy Price is a multimedia journalist for GV Wire. A longtime reporter and editor who has worked for newspapers in California, Florida, Alaska, Illinois and Kansas, Nancy joined GV Wire in July 2019. She previously worked as an assistant metro editor for 13 years at The Fresno Bee. Nancy earned her bachelor's and master's degrees in journalism at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. Her hobbies include singing with the Fresno Master Chorale and volunteering with Fresno Filmworks. You can reach Nancy at 559-492-4087 or Send an Email

Clovis Reconsiders Recycling Vote. Will a Campaign Contribution Matter?

13 hours ago

Gov. Newsom Offers $50K Reward in 2022 Kings County Homicide

13 hours ago

Trump’s White House Launches COVID Website That Criticizes WHO, Fauci and Biden

14 hours ago

Fresno ‘Powers Up’ the Nation’s Largest Combined Solar and Battery Storage Project

14 hours ago

Trump Admin Asserts COVID-19 Originated in Chinese Lab, Targets Fauci

15 hours ago

Vendors Back at Fresno’s Art Hop? Survey Wants to Know What You Think

15 hours ago

Russian Missile Attack Kills One, Wounds 112 in Ukraine’s Kharkiv, Officials Say

15 hours ago

Iran Says Nuclear Deal Is Possible if Washington Is Realistic

15 hours ago

49ers Look to Strengthen Depleted Defense in NFL Draft

16 hours ago

Habit Burger & Grill Quietly Drops Impossible Burger From Menu

16 hours ago

Hey PG&E Customers, Get Ready for New ‘Transaction Fees’

Pacific Gas & Electric customers are already paying some of the nation’s highest rates for electricity, and their bills could be g...

12 hours ago

12 hours ago

Hey PG&E Customers, Get Ready for New ‘Transaction Fees’

12 hours ago

Fresno County Ending ‘Squaw Valley’ Fight After Latest Court Ruling

Tesla Inc. vehicle facility is pictured in Costa Mesa, California, U.S., November 1, 2023. (REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo)
12 hours ago

Exclusive: Tesla to Delay US Launch of Affordable EV, a Lower-Cost Model Y, Sources Say

13 hours ago

Clovis Reconsiders Recycling Vote. Will a Campaign Contribution Matter?

California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during a press conference in Los Angeles, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. Newsom vetoed a landmark bill aimed at establishing first-in-the-nation safety measures for large artificial intelligence models Sunday, Sept. 29. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer, File)
13 hours ago

Gov. Newsom Offers $50K Reward in 2022 Kings County Homicide

The logo of the World Health Organization is seen at the WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, January 28, 2025. (REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo)
14 hours ago

Trump’s White House Launches COVID Website That Criticizes WHO, Fauci and Biden

14 hours ago

Fresno ‘Powers Up’ the Nation’s Largest Combined Solar and Battery Storage Project

15 hours ago

Trump Admin Asserts COVID-19 Originated in Chinese Lab, Targets Fauci

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend