Reedley College professor Bill Blanken, one of FIRE's plaintiffs suing the California Community Colleges system. Photo by Limelight Photography

Fresno-area professors have filed a lawsuit against the California Community Colleges system over regulations on faculty to teach “diversity, equity, and inclusion” principles.

The Philadelphia-based Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) filed the lawsuit on behalf of the six professors in the State Center Community College District: James Druley, David Richardson, Linda de Morales and Loren Palsgaard of Madera Community College; Bill Blanken of Reedley College and Michael Stannard of Clovis Community College.

The defendants are California Community Colleges Chancellor Sonya Christian, the State Board of Governors, State Center Community District Chancellor Carole Goldsmith and the District Board of Trustees.

In a FIRE press release, the organization stated that new regulations dictate that all 54,000-plus professors in the California Community Colleges system incorporate DEI and “anti-racist” viewpoints into classroom teaching.

A Reedley College science professor is among the plaintiffs in this suit. Bill Blanken teaches chemistry in the State Center Community District.

“How am I supposed to incorporate DEI into my classroom? What’s the ‘anti-racist perspective on the atomic mass of boron?” Blanken said.

Researchers from FIRE report that half of professors believe mandatory diversity statements violate academic freedom. FIRE attorney Daniel Ortner stated that the government is “forcing” professors to teach a viewpoint they do not share, imposing guidelines and threatening to punish professors when they cross a line.

“Hearing uncomfortable ideas is not ‘curricular trauma,’ and teaching all sides of the issue is not ‘weaponizing’ academic freedom. That’s called education,” said Palsgaard, a professor of English at Madera Community College.

State Center Community District Chancellor Carole Goldsmith and Vice Chancellor Christine Miktarian have not responded to a request for comment.