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There is a federal appeals court refused Florida’s government’s request to block Gov. Ron DeSantis’ injunction against enforcement of a “stop-walk” law at the state’s public universities and colleges. The law seeks to impose a broad ban on the teaching of critical race theory and topics deemed related to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion.
The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed November injunction Set up by Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker, it blocked the law from taking effect at the state’s public institutions of higher education. Once that was passed, the law was there Many Challengers including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expressions (FIRE).
“Any law restricting the free exchange of ideas in university classrooms must lose in court and in the court of public opinion,” FIRE wrote on social media.
In a statement to do Politics, Brian Griffin, DeSantis’ press secretary, said the court “has not ruled on the merits of our appeal” and that the administration “is confident the law is constitutional.”
DeSantis and the Florida government have made public education a central target in the state’s legislative culture war. In January, the governor proposed sweeping reforms to the state’s higher education system aimed at banning schools from “supporting campus activities or programs that promote divisive views such as DEI and CRT.” Earlier that month, the Florida College System (FCS), a system of 28 public community and state colleges, announced Evaluation and elimination Any instances of DEI and CRT from its syllabus by February 2024.
Despite the challenges of implementing his policies in colleges and universities, the effects of DeSantis’ policies are already in place Realized in the state. Last year, the state withdrew more than 50 math textbooks under vague complaints that they contained political and ideological language. In February, the state rejected the AP African American Studies curriculum, saying it violated “Stop-WOKE” policies.
As DeSantis ponders a possible 2024 presidential run, the governor’s record on education in Florida is already being touted by Republicans as a potential national model. While the GOP has emboldened efforts to codify state censorship in education, it remains to be seen whether the attention-grabbing legislation favored by DeSantis and his admirers will stand the test of the courts.
