Florida’s “anti-woke law” that restricts how professors teach about race and gender at public universities violates the First Amendment, a divided federal appeals court ruled Tuesday. This is a major blow to one of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ signature culture war policies.
A 2-1 decision by the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals prevents Florida from enforcing the higher education provisions of the so-called Stop WOKE Act. The 2022 law was championed by DeSantis as part of a broader campaign on critical race theory, diversity programs, and what he calls “woke” ideology in schools and workplaces.
Judge Britt Grant, appointed by President Donald Trump, rejected Florida’s argument that professors’ classroom lectures belong to the state because they are paid by the government.
“If the First Amendment establishes any protective boundaries for public university classrooms, this law crosses those boundaries,” Grant wrote.
The majority said the case forced the court to grapple with a question left unresolved by the Supreme Court: the extent to which professors at public universities enjoy First Amendment protections when teaching.
“Hearing ideas you disagree with is not discrimination; it is an opportunity to come up with a better idea or change your mind,” Grant wrote.
The split ruling gave Florida a way to continue the fight. A three-judge panel upheld the preliminary injunction. This means that the law remains blocked while litigation continues. Florida can ask the entire 11th Circuit to reconsider the case or petition the Supreme Court for rehearing.
DeSantis did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The law, officially known as the Personal Liberties Act, prohibited instruction that “advocates, promotes, promotes, inculcates, or forces” students to believe in a set of concepts tied to race, gender, national origin, or privilege.
These included the idea that people are inherently racist or sexist because of their race or gender, and that they should feel guilt or emotional distress because of past acts committed by members of their own race or gender.
Grant, along with Charles Wilson, an appointee of former President Bill Clinton, called Florida’s position “a breathtaking assertion of power to ban unpopular ideas from public discussion” in public university classrooms.
Former Florida Supreme Court Justice Barbara Lagoa, also appointed by President Trump and chosen by DeSantis, dissented. Lagoa argued that Florida is acting within its authority to control what professors stand for in state-supported classrooms.
“The First Amendment protects all viewpoints in the public sphere, whether conventional or controversial,” Lagoa wrote. “But it does not mandate that all views are worthy of state support.”
Lagoa said the majority unduly limits the state’s authority to direct public universities.
“This commission is not free to rewrite precedent simply because it doesn’t like it,” she wrote.
Florida Attorney General James Usmeyer praised Lagoa after the ruling, writing to X that “she may be the best jurist in our country” and “she should be on SCOTUS.”
Tuesday’s ruling is the latest legal defeat in DeSantis’ broader fight over schools, universities and race. The same appeals court previously blocked another part of the Stop WOKE Act that restricted on-the-job training.
The ruling came in two lawsuits brought by professors, students, and student groups who argued the law amounted to unconstitutional classroom censorship. One challenge was filed by the Individual Rights and Expression Foundation, and the other was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Florida, the Legal Defense Fund and the law firm Ballard Spahr.
“This ruling was worth the wait. It sets a strong precedent that higher education cannot be limited to the whims of politicians,” Leah Watson, senior staff attorney for the ACLU’s Racial Justice Program, said in a statement.
