The First Amendment’s ‘trust’ in young adults

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit ruled on July 7 against part of Florida's Stop WOKE Act, a law signed by Governor Ron DeSantis in 2022 restricting how colleges, schools and workplaces could discuss certain viewpoints on race, sex and history. The panel's decision upheld a prior federal district court injunction blocking the law's application to public university classrooms, finding the restriction incompatible with the First Amendment. The ruling followed an earlier 11th Circuit decision that had blocked the law's application to private employers. The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, which had helped bring the original legal challenge against the law's application to colleges and universities, commented on the appeals court's decision through senior attorney Greg H. Greubel.