At California鈥檚 community colleges, conservative professors and students are making their voices heard 鈥� not just in the classroom but in court. Their lawsuits have already led community colleges to pay millions in settlements and legal fees.
CalMatters identified at least seven cases filed since 2020 in which professors or students have sued their community college districts for issues related to free speech. Most of the cases are still ongoing and are located in California鈥檚 Central Valley, in counties where Republicans often outnumber Democrats. Although separate, many of these lawsuits include similar allegations: that programs promoting diversity, equity and inclusion are restricting the right to free speech under the First Amendment. The University of California system is facing a in Santa Cruz.
In a state with 73 community college districts and 116 community colleges, such lawsuits are rare. Still, president-elect Donald Trump has used similar cases as fodder for national policy, such as a he signed regarding free speech on college campuses, which he justified by pointing to a few conservative and religious students who claimed colleges had restricted their rights. Throughout his campaign for this year鈥檚 election, Trump promised to continue that focus if re-elected.
鈥淭he time has come to reclaim our once great educational institutions from the radical left,鈥� he said in a campaign last year, later adding that he would protect free speech and remove 鈥渁ll Marxist diversity, equity, and inclusion bureaucrats鈥� from college campuses.
Even when these lawsuits get dismissed, community colleges can still pay a price. In a Riverside County , Moreno Valley College professor Eric Thompson claimed the community college violated his right to free speech when it fired him. The lawsuit alleges that his termination was a result of various student complaints, all stemming from opinions that Thompson had presented in class or over email with the wider college community. He argued, for example, that homosexuality is the result of social factors, not genetics, and that conversion therapy should be allowed. Thompson lost the case but public records show that the district still paid nearly $900,000 in legal costs to fight it.
鈥淚t was never about making money. It was not only about making change, but also about ensuring that change remains for future students.鈥�Juliette Colunga, former student at Clovis Community College
For Daniel Ortner, an attorney who recently helped students and professors file three different lawsuits against community college districts, these cases are part of a broader trend of cracking down on controversial speech and forcing 鈥渃onformity to a certain viewpoint,鈥� especially on topics of race. Ortner works for the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, a nonprofit organization that focuses on free speech issues.
The community college system, the California State University system, and the UC Office of the President all have policies promoting diversity, equity and inclusion on their campuses, though each system has taken a different approach.
Ortner said the policies at the community college level are the strictest, and therefore, elicit more pushback from faculty. According to state adopted in 2022, every community college district in the state must develop a policy to evaluate staff based on their ability to advance diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility.
鈥淪tudents must experience campus and classroom cultures that they , where they can thrive and succeed鈥� said Eloy Ortiz Oakley, then-chancellor of the community college system, during a 2022 presentation about the new regulations. Of the more than 2 million students who enrolled at one of the state鈥檚 community colleges last year, most are , including some students who are former foster youth or formerly incarcerated. Most students identify as Black, Hispanic, or Asian.
The California community college system has the 鈥渕ost diverse student population in the nation,鈥� said Ortiz Oakley, later adding that neither the CSU nor the UC system had similar regulations in place. 鈥淲e should be proud that we鈥檙e leading the way.鈥�
Nationally, many college systems have taken the opposite approach. A total of have proposed or signed legislation curbing how colleges support diversity, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education.
Lawsuits over pronouns, posters, and alleged censorship
Many of the California lawsuits follow the same general contours.
According to the details of , David Richardson, a professor at Madera Community College, started using the pronouns 鈥淒o, Re, Mi鈥� while attending a 2021 presentation about personal gender pronouns. When the facilitator later approached Richardson about his choice of pronouns 鈥� calling his actions 鈥渉armful to trans people鈥� 鈥� Richardson doubled down, claiming that his choice of pronouns was part of his right to free expression. After the college disciplined him, Richardson sued the State Center Community College District, which oversees Madera Community College. The case is still pending in federal court.
Another at Bakersfield College dates back to 2019, when two professors, Matthew Garrett and Erin Miller, put together about 鈥渇ree speech鈥� and 鈥渃ampus censorship.鈥� During the talk, Garrett and Miller criticized the school for supporting Kern Sol News, a nonprofit news site, and criticized specific professors at the school鈥檚 Social Justice Institute. Bakersfield College administrators then wrote a note in their personnel files, criticizing Garrett and Miller for 鈥渦nprofessional conduct,鈥� effectively 鈥渃hilling鈥� their First Amendment rights, according to the lawsuit.
The Kern Community College District settled with Garrett this summer, paying him on the condition that he drop all of his legal complaints against the district. It鈥檚 less than 1% of the district鈥檚 annual budget, but for a faculty member, many of whom make around $100,000 a year, it鈥檚 a significant sum. Miller is continuing with the case.
In the settlement, both Garrett and the district deny any wrongdoing. 鈥淭he settlement is in the best interest of the District and allows us to focus on the future and continue to deliver quality higher education for students of Kern County without any further legal distractions,鈥� said Norma Rojas, a spokesperson for the Kern Community College District, in a written statement. 鈥淭o be clear, the dispute with Matthew Garrett was a disciplinary matter due to his disruptive actions on campus, none of which concerned freedom of speech.鈥�
Miller and Garrett declined multiple requests to comment.
Another Central Valley case stems from an incident in 2021. At the time, Juliette Colunga was a student at Clovis Community College and on the leadership team of her college鈥檚 chapter of the Young America鈥檚 Foundation, a national conservative organization with local branches at over 2,000 college campuses. She and two other students placed a set of posters across campus that criticized communism, which the college then removed after other students complained. Later, Colunga and her co-leaders asked to put up pro-life posters, but school leaders said they could only be placed in a different location, far from the spot where they usually placed their content. With help from Ortner and the Young America鈥檚 Foundation, she and the other student leaders , alleging that the school district鈥檚 actions violated their First Amendment Rights.
This summer, the State Center Community College District, which oversees Clovis Community College, agreed to pay her, the other student leaders, her attorneys, and the Young America鈥檚 Foundation as part of a legal settlement. The district also to implement a new policy for displaying posters on campus and to provide 鈥淔irst Amendment training鈥� to all of its managers.
鈥淚t was never about making money,鈥� Colunga said. 鈥淚t was not only about making change, but also about ensuring that change remains for future students.鈥�
Kristen Kuenzli Corey, general counsel to the State Center Community College District, declined to comment on Colunga鈥檚 lawsuit, Richardson鈥檚 lawsuit, and another similar lawsuit. She pointed to the pleadings in the cases as evidence of the district鈥檚 position.
Do public employees, students have the right to free speech?
In general, the free speech provision of the First Amendment governs the relationship between people and government. Faculty and students at a public college have a right to free speech under the First Amendment, but in a slightly more limited manner, said David Snyder, the executive director of the First Amendment Coalition. Various courts have found that public institutions can limit the free speech rights of its employees 鈥� in this case, faculty 鈥� if an employee鈥檚 behavior runs counter to the mission of the institution. Schools also have a right to restrict their students鈥� speech, but only if it disrupts education. The most famous example is the where the U.S. Supreme Court said that students had a First Amendment right to free speech, as long as their conduct did not 鈥渕aterially and substantially interfere鈥� with education.
鈥淲hat also matters is what the school鈥檚 policies say,鈥� Snyder said. Regardless of the constitutional questions, a professor or student can sue if they feel the school鈥檚 actions contradict its policies.
In addition to its policy on diversity, equity and inclusion, California鈥檚 community college system also has on academic freedom, which states that faculty, staff, and students should have 鈥渢he opportunity to express their opinions at the campus level.鈥�
The regulations around diversity, equity and inclusion do not conflict with the academic freedom policy or otherwise 鈥渃ensor or compel speech,鈥� said Paul Feist, a spokesperson for the community college system, and he pointed to a lawsuit filed by Bakersfield College professor Daymon Johnson as evidence. Johnson does not agree with the college鈥檚 principles of diversity, equity and inclusion and claims that being forced to adhere to them would infringe on his rights, according to the case. A judge recently Johnson鈥檚 claims, though he has appealed the ruling. Neither the district nor Johnson responded to requests for comment.
Of the seven lawsuits identified by CalMatters, most have taken years to resolve.
Colunga鈥檚 lawsuit settled this summer 鈥� almost three years after she and the other student leaders first put up the posters at Clovis Community College. By the time the case settled, she had already graduated and transferred to The Master鈥檚 University, a private, four-year Christian college near Los Angeles.
She said the school doesn鈥檛 have an official chapter of Young America鈥檚 Foundation, but she鈥檚 trying to get one started.
Adam Echelman covers California鈥檚 community colleges in partnership with Open Campus, a nonprofit newsroom focused on higher education.