TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit struck down parts of the Stop WOKE Act pertaining to higher education restrictions.<\/p>\n
The higher education portions of the Stop WOKE Act created a broad set of speech restrictions banning certain viewpoints relating to race, color, sex and national origin, barring Florida educators from promoting or endorsing those disfavored ideas when instructing students. <\/p>\n
The court ruled that the higher education part of the law was unconstitutional. In the 85-page opinion, the court examined the state\u2019s control in public colleges and universities, which raised the notion that if the government pays a professor\u2019s salary, it had total control over classroom speech.<\/p>\n
The court disagrees, saying that \u201cis not a blessed union.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cFlorida\u2019s salary-for-speech rule is a breathtaking assertion of power to ban unpopular ideas from public discourse in the very places the State\u2019s own statutes recognize as centers of inquiry-classrooms where students are trusted to puzzle through ideas that are good and bad, easy and hard, ideally getting ever closer to the truth,\u201d the opinion read.<\/p>\n
The court said whether or not the state of Florida agrees or disagrees with the ideas does not matter and the First Amendment \u201ctrusts students to figure it out for themselves.\u201d <\/p>\n
In a press release from the Florida American Civil Liberties Union, the organization celebrated the decision, saying this ruling sets a strong precedent that higher education cannot be limited by politics.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll students and educators deserve to have a free and open exchange about ideas without government control. Students can\u2019t fight racial discrimination that they don\u2019t see; training and instruction is key to empowering future leaders to pursue racial injustice,\u201d Leah Watson, senior staff attorney with the ACLU\u2019s Racial Justice Program, said.<\/p>\n
A Florida A&M University professor, LeRoy Pernell, named as a plaintiff in the lawsuit also responded to the decision. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe are thrilled the court has stopped the erasure of topics that have real implications for our students, allowing them to learn, discuss, and develop tools for combatting the complex issue of racism in our country without being gagged by those who would dictate that only state-approved thought may be promoted,\u201d Pernell said.<\/p>\n
A dissenting circuit judge said the task at hand is not to decide what the State should do but what it can do. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe professor-plaintiffs are state employees, and the speech issue here occurs during their state-sponsored instruction in a course taken for credit by students enrolled in the State\u2019s public universities,\u201d the dissent read. \u201cThe State\u2019s authority in this context is not the nullity the majority suggests.\u201d <\/p>\n
The dissenting opinion said agreeing or disagreeing with Florida that the viewpoints at issue here constitute racial discrimination is not necessary.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need only acknowledge that the State is allowed to decide what is endorsed by its professors in its own classrooms,\u201d the dissent read.<\/p>\n
The \u201cStop WOKE Act\u201d was signed into law in 2022<\/a>, putting in new guidelines involving race-based discussion in businesses and schools. <\/p>\n The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals previously said <\/a>the part of the law targeting businesses is unconstitutional.<\/p>\n You can read the full opinion here.<\/a><\/p>\n To keep up with the latest news as it develops, follow WCTV on Facebook<\/a>, Instagram<\/a>, YouTube<\/a>, Nextdoor<\/a> <\/a>and X<\/a> (Twitter<\/a>).<\/p>\n Have a news tip or see an error? Write to us here<\/a>. Please include the article\u2019s headline in your message.<\/p>\n Be the first to see all the biggest headlines by downloading the WCTV News app. Click here<\/a> to get started.<\/p>\n Copyright 2026 WCTV. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n