Cases & Developments

Order Granting in Part Plaintiff’s Motion for a Preliminary Injunction. Plaintiff, a history professor at Bakersfield Community College, brought First Amendment facial and as-applied challenges to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) regulations governing the California Community College system, as well as a California Education Code provision permitting discipline for violations of those regulations. While the court rejected plaintiff’s facial challenge to the DEIA regulations, it found that plaintiff was likely to succeed on the merits of his as-applied viewpoint discrimination and compelled speech claims. In granting plaintiff’s motion for a preliminary injunction, the court found that defendants’ general interest in enforcing the DEIA regulations did not outweigh plaintiff’s First Amendment right not to be sanctioned for expressing a contrary viewpoint on DEIA matters and not to be compelled to speak in support of the DEIA principles. The court denied defendants’ motion to dismiss and enjoined defendants from investigating, disciplining, or terminating plaintiff based on his social or political speech in his teaching or scholarship, or in his capacity as a private citizen. However, the court clarified that the injunction would not extend to plaintiff’s speech in his official capacity on college committees or to the requirement that he complete DEIA training as a condition of serving on faculty screening committees.