Professors hopeful on outcome of ‘Stop WOKE’ lawsuit
University professors who challenged the Florida law Gov. Ron DeSantis dubbed the “Stop WOKE Act” feel hopeful they’ll succeed in striking down the measure that limits race-related discussions in higher education.
A federal appeals court heard arguments Friday in the ongoing case against the 2022 law.
Professors and student groups challenged the law just months after it was signed, claiming it violated their First Amendment rights. Business groups did, too, as the law also restricted the types of employee training programs they could run.
Sharon Austin, a University of Florida professor suing the state, on Monday called the law an “assault on democracy” during a press conference with the American Civil Liberties Union, one of the advocacy groups representing the professors.
She said she was “optimistic” the court will rule in their favor.
DeSantis championed the “first of its kind” law as a way to provide “tools to stand up against discrimination and woke indoctrination” in public schools, universities and private businesses. he said.
The law faced almost immediate legal challenges. Courts have blocked the law from going into effect since 2022.
A three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit County of Appeals ruled in March the law violated the First Amendment in the case of diversity trainings in the workplace.
Both the state and the professors’ attorneys presented oral arguments Friday to a panel at the same court. The judges appeared divided, sometimes agreeing with the state and sometimes with the professors, Politico reported.
LeRoy Pernell, a law professor at Florida A&M University and plaintiff in the case, said Monday he’s hesitant to predict where any court will land on a case, but he “felt good” about their chances.
The law prohibits curriculum that “espouses, promotes, advances, inculcates or compels” the idea that one person is inherently superior simply based on their race or ethnicity. It also says that people should not be “discriminated against or receive adverse treatment to achieve diversity, equity or inclusion.”
The lawsuit claimed the law is unconstitutional and censors important classroom conversations about race.
“Students oftentimes will ask me for my own personal opinion,” said Austin, a UF political science professor. “When I give it under this law, I’m now at risk of being told that I’m not being objective enough. That’s one of the many confusing aspects of this law.”
Charles Cooper, an attorney for the state, argued the state can dictate the content of university courses, the News Service of Florida reported.
“The cases are legion that the government gets to have a viewpoint,” Cooper said.
Because “Stop WOKE” is vaguely worded, some professors have started changing their curriculum to avoid accidentally violating it, said Jennifer Sandoval, a University of Central Florida communications professor, another plaintiff in the lawsuit.
“There are some things here that we can talk about as long as they are popular with certain folks in power in the state,” she said. “And that’s just not at all why I became a professor.”
No court has previously ruled that classroom instruction is the same as government speech — one of the state’s main arguments in favor of the law — said Leah Watson, an ACLU attorney representing the professors.
“The 11th circuit is free to rule how they may,” she said. “But that’s not a position that any court has taken so far.”
