U.S. Appeals Court Void Florida's Stop WOKE Act in Higher Education

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit ruled 2‑1 that the higher‑education provisions of Florida’s Stop WOKE Act violate the First Amendment. Judges Britt C. Grant and Charles Wilson wrote that the state’s “salary‑for‑speech rule is a breathtaking assertion of power to ban unpopular ideas from public discourse” in university classrooms, while Judge Barbara Lagoa dissented. The law, signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2022, had barred professors from teaching or discussing concepts related to race, gender, privilege and bias. The panel reinstated a preliminary injunction, halting enforcement of that portion of the statute and preserving academic freedom for public‑university faculty and students. The ruling follows earlier district‑court findings that the law amounted to viewpoint discrimination and comes as more than 30 states have pursued similar “anti‑woke” legislation. Civil‑rights groups including the ACLU and the Legal Defense Fund, which brought the suit, hailed the decision as a strong precedent for free‑speech protections in higher education.