The initial suit refers to guidance released by the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office in May mandating that all Bakersfield College employees exhibit the ability to work, teach, and lead in a diverse environment, along with a commitment to enhancing their own DEI and antiracism knowledge.

Johnson, who leads a conservative group on campus called the Renegade Institute for Liberty, stated in the judge’s recommendation that he rejects DEIA as an official political ideology and says that college officials have targeted him and a previous organization leader because of their viewpoints.

“(A)lmost everything I teach violates the new DEIA requirements — not just by failing to advance the DEIA and anti-racist/racist ideology, but also by criticizing it,” Johnson wrote.

CCC Chancellor Sonya Christian defended the board’s decision during the Tuesday hearing, describing the new diversity standards as “aspirational” objectives for colleges to strive toward that “do not target speech or discriminate on the basis of its content, but instead serve to remove access barriers imposed against groups that have historically been excluded.”