Federal court blocks Florida law that bans "woke" instruction in public universities in a 2-1 ruling
- On Tuesday, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down Florida's Stop WOKE Act provisions restricting race and gender instruction at public colleges, ruling the law unconstitutionally suppresses political viewpoints in academic settings.
- Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the 2022 legislation, formally the Individual Freedom Act, to combat what he termed 'woke' ideologies and restrict how educators discuss discrimination, sexism, and bias in classrooms.
- Writing for the 2-1 majority, Judge Britt Grant called the state's position a "breathtaking assertion of power to ban unpopular ideas," stating the First Amendment protects teaching and scholarship from government censorship.
- Judge Barbara Lagoa dissented, arguing Florida acted within its authority to control speech in state-sponsored classrooms; the state can seek rehearing or appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
- LeRoy Pernell, a Florida A&M University College of Law professor and lead plaintiff, said the ruling allows students to discuss racism without state restriction, while ACLU attorney Leah Watson called it a "strong precedent" protecting higher education from political control.
37 Articles
37 Articles
Florida cannot restrict faculty speech with ‘Stop WOKE Act,’ court rules
‘First Amendment trusts students to figure it out for themselves,’ judge writes A federal appeals court struck down Florida’s “Stop WOKE Act,” which restricts the topics professors can discuss in public university classrooms, in a Tuesday ruling. Siding with a lower court decision that had blocked the law from taking effect, Judge Britt Grant of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the… Source
Florida’s ‘Stop WOKE Act’ at Universities Ruled Unconstitutional in Blunt Decision by Trump Appointee
A federal appeals court decisively ruled Florida's Stop WOKE Act unconstitutional in public university classrooms. The Eleventh Circuit panel affirmed that the First Amendment protects academic freedom, preventing viewpoint discrimination by the state government. The ruling blocks Florida from restricting diverse classroom discussions regarding Critical Race Theory and marks a major constitutional legal defeat for the DeSantis administration's e…
Appeals Court Blocks Florida’s ‘Stop Woke’ Teaching Law
A divided federal appeals court ruled on July 7 that Florida’s restrictions on how public university professors could teach certain concepts about race, sex, and diversity violated the First Amendment. In a 2–1 decision, the court upheld a judge’s order blocking part of the state’s Individual Freedom Act, also known as the Stop WOKE Act. The law banned the teaching of eight specific concepts associated with critical race theory, white privilege,…
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