Florida’s request to have its “Stop Woke” law enforced by the federal appeals court rejected by the court. Ron DeSantis continues to block some of its provisions, while legal challenges are fought in court.
DeSantis is a Republican and signed the legislation that was passed by the GOP-led state Legislature in April last year. In November, Tallahassee U.S. district judge Mark Walker temporarily blocked certain provisions of the law, which limit discussions about race, gender, and inequality, from being enforced at public colleges and universities. He called it “positively dystopian”. ”
The administration of DeSantis appealed the decision and requested that the court lift Walker’s injunction. The 11th U.S. denied the motion. Circuit Court of Appeals, Thursday.
“The Court didn’t rule on the merits” Jeremy Redfern (DeSantis’ deputy press secretary) stated in a statement to respond to the decision. “The appeal continues, and we remain confident in the constitutionality of the law,”
The state has multiple legal challenges.
The ACLU, the ACLU of Florida and the Legal Defense Fund filed a lawsuit in August against the legislation for a group of educators and students.
They called it racially motivated, censorship that was enacted by the state legislature in order to curb widespread demand to address systemic inequalities.
Adam Steinbaugh is an attorney representing FIRE, which was involved in a separate lawsuit against this legislation. He stated, “In college, you’re supposed learn from an exchange, which means it’s not just one viewpoint being inculcated.”
Steinbaugh stated that you cannot replace one orthodoxy by another and that freedom of speech is not possible through censorship. He also said that DeSantis’ legislation has a chilling effect because professors fear severe repercussions for teaching them.
DeSantis’ message has been dominated by issues of race and gender education ahead of the potential 2024 presidential campaign.
Rep. Alex Andrade (Republican from Pensacola) introduced House Bill 9999. This would allow the state Board of Governors direction to universities to remove majors or minors in subjects such as critical race theory and gender studies and prohibit spending on activities or programs that support these curricula.
DeSantis advocated for such measures during his remarks to the public.
ACLU argued that the law infringes the First, 14th and Equal Protection Clauses.
Leah Watson, a senior attorney with the ACLU Racial Justice Program, stated that “the ‘Stop WOKE Act’ limits professors only to one perspective about systemic racism or sexism.” “In many cases, as our professor plaintiffs showed, this viewpoint doesn’t even have the support of years of scholarship or research on behalf of academics.
The law’s supporters argue that it prevents mandatory workplace training and classroom instruction that could cause people to feel guilt or despair because of their race or sexual orientation.
Walker, in his November ruling, challenged such arguments. He cited George Orwell’s dystopian novel “1984” as an example.
Manny Diaz Jr. was the commissioner of Florida Department of Education. He did not respond immediately to inquiries for comment.
