Florida judge dismisses professors’ lawsuit over state’s anti-DEI law
U.S. District Judge Mark Walker dismissed all but one claim in the lawsuit Thursday.
The lawsuit argues that S.B. 266’s provision defining general education courses to exclude classes on oppression narratives violates a right to free expression.
A Florida federal judge dismissed most of a First Amendment lawsuit Thursday challenging a general education course provision in the state’s anti-Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion law.
The group of public university professors, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), filed the lawsuit in January. The lawsuit argues that S.B. 266’s provision defining general education courses to exclude classes on oppression narratives violates their First Amendment rights to free expression.
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“General education core courses may not distort significant historical events or include a curriculum that teaches identity politics,” the law reads. Such courses cannot be “based on theories that systemic racism, sexism, oppression, and privilege are inherent in the institutions of the United States and were created to maintain social, political, and economic inequities.”
The ACLU of Florida summarizes the Professor’s complaint that the law “violates First Amendment protections by compelling viewpoint-based censorship and undermining the free exchange of ideas in public universities.”
U.S. District Judge Mark Walker dismissed the lawsuit — except for one professor’s claim — in a Sept. 25 decision. Walker stated that there is no right to a general education designation and, furthermore, that the vast majority of the lawsuit’s claims failed to demonstrate injury.
In one case involving the general education designation, professor Jean Rahier’s courses in “Black Popular Cultures: Global Dimensions” and “Myth, Ritual, and Mysticism,” lost their general education status in 2024. Rahier is a professor of Anthropology and African and African Diaspora Studies at Florida International University.
Similarly, courses in “The Anthropology of Race and Ethnicity,” “Sociology of Gender,” “Politics of Race,” and “Black Horror and Social Justice” are no longer general education courses because of the state’s anti-DEI law.
Judge Walker dismissed claims that these changes violate the professor’s First Amendment rights.
The one claim in the lawsuit that Judge Walker didn’t dismiss is Sharon Austin’s complaint that her application for funding to attend the Diversity Abroad Conference was rejected in April 2024. Austin is a University of Florida professor of Political Science, whose name appears first in the complaint.
In his decision, Walker wrote that Austin had shown “a plausible injury in fact — the denial of funds and imminent threatened denial of funding” tied to the state’s restrictions, noting her plans to seek funding for similar conferences in the future.
Under Gov. Ron DeSantis, Florida has taken many steps to remove DEI practices from colleges and universities. In addition to the state’s anti-DEI law, DeSantis announced a new accreditation agency in June to combat DEI. The agency offers “an alternative that will break the ideological stronghold” in higher education.
Campus Reform contacted the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
