A Federal Appeals Court Just Struck Down DeSantis's 'Stop WOKE' Limits for College Classrooms

The Decision

A federal appeals court has struck down the part of Florida’s Stop WOKE Act that limited what university professors could say in the classroom. According to Courthouse News Service, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on July 7, 2026, that the provision violated the First Amendment, siding with professors and students at Florida’s public universities and against a law backed by Governor Ron DeSantis.

What the Law Did

The struck provision restricted university professors from endorsing certain viewpoints on eight concepts related to race, color, national origin, or sex during classroom instruction. In practice, it told instructors at public universities which positions they could not advance while teaching. The court found that a state cannot police classroom viewpoints that way. “If the First Amendment offers any boundary of protection at all for public university classrooms, this statute crosses it,” Judge Grant wrote for the majority.

The Argument Florida Lost

Florida had argued that because professors at public universities are paid by the state, their classroom speech amounts to government speech that the state can control. The court rejected that reasoning, according to Courthouse News Service. The distinction matters well beyond Florida: had the argument prevailed, states could have claimed broad authority over what public-university instructors are allowed to say. Instead, the ruling reaffirmed that classroom instruction retains First Amendment protection.

Winners and Losers

The winners are the professors, students, and a student organization at six Florida public universities who challenged the law, represented by the ACLU and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, according to Courthouse News Service. They regain the ability to teach and discuss the restricted concepts. The loser is the state and the governor who signed the broader legislation, whose classroom provision is now blocked. It is a concrete outcome, not an abstract debate: a rule that governed what could be said in a lecture hall no longer stands.

The Second Beat

The decision was not unanimous. It was a 2-1 ruling, with Judges Grant and Wilson in the majority and Judge Lagoa dissenting, according to Courthouse News Service. A divided appellate panel on a high-profile First Amendment question is often a signal that the fight is not over, and the case could ultimately reach the Supreme Court. For now, the classroom provision is struck, but the split leaves the door open to a further round.

References: 11th Circuit Strikes Down Part of Floridas Stop Woke Act as Unconstitutional | Florida Stop Woke Act Commits