11th Circuit Court Strikes Down Florida Stop WOKE Act

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit ruled 2-1 on Tuesday that the higher-education provisions of Florida's Stop WOKE Act, also known as the Individual Freedom Act, are unconstitutional. The court upheld a preliminary injunction against the 2022 law, which sought to prohibit university professors from teaching identity-based concepts, including Critical Race Theory, that could cause students to feel guilt or psychological distress.

Writing for the majority, Judge Britt Grant described the law's "salary-for-speech rule" as a "breathtaking assertion of power to ban unpopular ideas from public discourse." Grant rejected the state's argument that taxpayer funding allows the government to "puppeteer" professors, stating that the First Amendment trusts students to evaluate ideas for themselves. Judge Barbara J. Lagoa dissented, arguing that the statute distinguishes between the discussion and the endorsement of discriminatory ideologies.

Governor Ron DeSantis condemned the ruling as "judicial overreach," asserting the state's responsibility to exclude "indoctrination and ideological agendas" from universities. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier called the decision "totally incoherent," claiming it allows the teaching of white supremacy. The ruling follows consolidated lawsuits from the ACLU, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, and professors such as LeRoy Pernell of Florida A&M University. Florida may seek reconsideration from the full 11th Circuit or appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.