The dispute over diversity, equity and inclusion training at Arizona State University has reached the state’s highest court, but the justices are not yet deciding whether the training itself was unlawful. Instead, they are considering whether the professor challenging it has the legal standing to bring his case.
Owen Anderson, an ASU philosophy and religious studies professor, objected to employee DEI training assigned in 2023 and argues that its content was discriminatory. With help from the Goldwater Institute, he sued the Arizona Board of Regents, which oversees the state’s public universities.
A lower court initially allowed the lawsuit to continue, but the Arizona Court of Appeals later ruled Anderson could not bring the case under the law he cited. His attorneys are now asking the Arizona Supreme Court to reverse that decision, arguing that the statute must allow some mechanism for individual employees to enforce its restrictions even if it does not explicitly grant them that right.
If the justices side with Anderson, the underlying lawsuit could proceed to discovery, potentially requiring ASU officials to provide records about how the training was developed and approved. Anderson says that process could ultimately determine whether the university violated state law.
The immediate question is narrow, but the outcome could shape how Arizona employees challenge alleged legal violations by public institutions. It also shows how disputes over university DEI policies are increasingly moving from campus debates into state courts.
