A group of six community college professors in California are suing the state over its requirements to include diversity, equity, and inclusion elements in their courses.

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression filed a lawsuit on behalf of the professors from three community colleges in Fresno County earlier this week. The professors claim the mandate violates their First Amendment rights.

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“These regulations are a totalitarian triple-whammy,” FIRE attorney Daniel Ortner said in a statement Thursday. “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 colleges represented in the lawsuit include four professors from Madera Community College, one from Reedley College, and one from Clovis Community College.

The new mandates require professors to “promote and incorporate culturally affirming DEIA and anti-racist principles to nurture and create a respectful, inclusive, and equitable learning and work environment.” The guidelines also instruct professors to “respect and acknowledge the diversity of students and colleagues.”

Under the new requirements, even using the term “I grade my class based on merit” is not allowed, because merit is “embedded in the ideology of Whiteness and upholds race-based structural inequality,” a glossary of terms claims. “Merit protects White privilege under the guise of standards … and as highlighted by anti-affirmative action forces.”

The plaintiffs claimed the new guidelines will affect their academic freedom because they are all being evaluated based on their inclusion of diversity and inclusion concepts in their classrooms.

The professors claim they are being forced to include elements that are not necessary to their fields.

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“I’m a professor of chemistry. How am I supposed to incorporate DEI into my classroom instruction?” asked Reedley College professor Bill Blanken. “What’s the ‘anti-racist’ perspective on the atomic mass of boron?”

The suit targets State Chancellor of California Community Colleges Sonya Christian, the members of the board of governors of the California Community Colleges, Chancellor of State Center Community College District Carole Goldsmith, and the board of trustees of the State Center Community College District.