Eleventh Circuit Strikes Down Florida's 'Stop W.O.K.E. Act' Speech Limits
Eleventh Circuit ruled Florida's Stop W.O.K.E. Act unconstitutional for professors' speech.
Why it matters: This decision protects academic freedom and free speech rights for university faculty. It limits state power to restrict classroom discourse on race, gender, and related topics.
- The 2-1 ruling was issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit on July 7, 2026.
- The Stop W.O.K.E. Act, signed in 2022 by Governor Ron DeSantis, barred professors from endorsing eight specific ideas about race, sex, and oppression in classrooms.
- The court found the law's speech restrictions were viewpoint discrimination violating the First Amendment.
- The ruling upheld a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of the law's higher education provisions.
On July 7, 2026, a federal appeals panel struck down Florida's "Stop W.O.K.E. Act" as unconstitutional as applied to university professors, by a narrow 2-1 vote. The law, enacted in 2022, prohibited public university faculty from endorsing certain concepts related to race, sex, and national origin in classroom instruction.
The law singled out eight forbidden ideas, including claims of moral superiority based on race or sex, inherent racism or oppression, and that virtues like merit or colorblindness are racist or sexist. The Eleventh Circuit's majority concluded these restrictions amounted to unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination in violation of the First Amendment.
Crucially, the court rejected arguments that public-employee or government speech doctrines justified the law’s suppression of disfavored ideas in teaching. The ruling reinforced that students must be free to explore all ideas, even those the State disagrees with. As the court stated, the law was "a breathtaking assertion of power to ban unpopular ideas from public discourse in the very places the State’s own statutes recognize as centers of inquiry".
The decision also upheld a preliminary injunction that had previously prevented the law’s enforcement in higher education settings. The case was brought by the ACLU, ACLU of Florida, the Legal Defense Fund, and Ballard Spahr on behalf of Florida public university professors.
Leah Watson, Senior Staff Attorney with the ACLU’s Racial Justice Program, called the ruling "a strong precedent that higher education cannot be limited to the whims of politicians." Florida A&M University law professor LeRoy Pernell added that the decision "allows [students] to learn, discuss, and develop tools for combatting the complex issue of racism in our country without being gagged by those who would dictate that only state-approved thought may be promoted."
By the numbers:
- 2-1 — Eleventh Circuit panel vote to strike down the law
- 8 — Specific concepts professors are barred from espousing under the Act
- 2022 — Year the Stop W.O.K.E. Act was signed into law
- July 7, 2026 — Date of Eleventh Circuit ruling