Florida’s anti-woke law restricting how professors at public colleges and universities can teach about race and gender violates the First Amendment, a divided federal appeals court ruled. Government Tuesday It’s a major blow to one of Republican Governor Ron DeSantis’ signature culture war policies.
2-1 decision US Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit blocks Florida from enforcing so-called higher-education provisions stop wok actA 2022 law DeSantis supported as part of his broader campaign against Critical Race Theory, diversity programs and what he called “woke” ideology in schools and workplaces.
Judge Britt Grant, appointed by President Donald Trump, rejected Florida’s argument that the professors’ classroom speech belongs to the state because they are paid by the government.
“If the First Amendment provides any limits on protection for public university classrooms, this statute exceeds it,” Grant said. wrote.
The majority said the case forced the court to address a question the Supreme Court had left open: how much First Amendment protection public university professors have when teaching.
Grant wrote, “Listening to an idea with which you disagree is not discrimination; it is an opportunity to come up with a better idea, or perhaps even change your mind.”
The split decision gives Florida a way to continue the fight. The three-judge panel affirmed the preliminary injunction, meaning the law will remain blocked while the case continues. Florida could ask the entire 11th Circuit to rehear the case or petition the Supreme Court for review.
DeSantis did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
law, formally called personal freedom actProhibited instruction that “accomplishes, promotes, advances, teaches, or forces” students to believe a range of concepts associated with race, gender, national origin, and privilege.
They included ideas that a person is inherently racist or sexist because of race or gender, or that a person should feel guilt or psychological distress because of past actions taken by members of the same race or gender.
Grant, joined by Charles Wilson, an appointee of former President Bill Clinton, called Florida’s position “a breathtaking assertion of the power to ban unpopular ideas from public discourse” in public university classrooms.
Judge Barbara Lagoa, another judge appointed by Trump and a former Florida Supreme Court justice selected by DeSantis, dissented. Lagoa argued that Florida acted within its authority to control what professors could support in state-sponsored classes.
Lagoa wrote, “The First Amendment protects all viewpoints in the public forum, whether traditional or controversial.” “But this does not obligate all approaches to be eligible for state-sponsored support.”
Lagoa said the majority was unfairly limiting the state’s authority over public university education.
“This panel is not free to rewrite precedent just because we don’t like where it goes,” he wrote.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeyer praised Lago after the verdict, writing on Twitter that she “may be the best jurist we have had in our country” and “should be on scotus“
Tuesday’s decision is the latest court defeat for DeSantis’ broader battle over schools, universities and race. The same appeals court previously blocked another part of the Stop Voke Act that prohibited workplace training.
The latest decision came in two lawsuits brought by professors, students and a student group who argued that the law amounts to unconstitutional classroom censorship. One challenge was filed by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, while the other was filed by the ACLU of Florida. legal defense fund and Ballard Spahr.
“This decision was worth the wait. It sets a strong precedent that higher education cannot be reduced to the whims of politicians,” Leah Watson, senior staff attorney for the ACLU’s Racial Justice Program, said in a statement.