Professors Fight for Free Speech in Classrooms
August 30, 2023 | California
Six California community college professors asked a federal court last week to block new regulations that could force professors to teach divisive and controversial concepts.
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) filed the Aug. 17 lawsuit on behalf of six professors in the State Center Community College District representing three schools: Madera Community College, Reedley College, and Clovis Community College.
The new regulations would require professors across 116 community colleges in California to incorporate “DEIA”—or diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility—and “anti-racist” viewpoints into classroom teaching, according to FIRE’s suit.
“Our clients … want to be able to teach different viewpoints in the classroom, they want debate and discussion—that’s what our education is for. That’s why we have colleges and universities,” said Daniel Ortner, an attorney at FIRE. He added that the California Community Colleges system is “trying to end the debate and put a straightjacket on what they can teach in the classroom.”
The California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office proposed the new rules in March 2022 and opened a public comment period. FIRE submitted a public comment voicing First Amendment concerns. (Excerpt from World.)
