Eleventh Circuit Strikes Down Higher-Education Portion of Florida’s Stop WOKE Act

On July 7, 2026, 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in a 2-1 decision, struck down higher-education provisions of Florida’s 2022 Stop WOKE Act, finding the ban on eight concepts unconstitutional and leaving 2022 district injunction intact.

Orlando Sentinel

Governor Ron DeSantis enacted Stop WOKE Act in 2022 to block “woke” ideology in schools and workplaces. It barred faculty from promoting or endorsing eight concepts on race, gender, color or origin and imposed fines or termination. The workplace-training ban was struck down in 2024.

Orlando Sentinel

Judge Britt Grant, a Trump appointee, authored the majority with Judge Charles Wilson, a Clinton appointee. Judge Barbara Lagoa, a Trump appointee and former justice, dissented. Plaintiffs were led by Florida A&M Law professor LeRoy Pernell, supported by ACLU of Florida, NAACP Legal Defense Fund and FIRE.

WLRN - NPR - Miami

Act barred eight ideas, including that a person is inherently biased by race or sex, that privilege is determined by those identities, and that merit, “colorblindness” or “objectivity” are racist. Majority said treating professors’ speech as state speech because state pays salaries is a “breathtaking assertion of power” that exceeds First-Amendment limits.

VICTORY: Federal appeals court decisively rejects Florida’s ‘Stop WOKE Act’

LeRoy Pernell said the ruling stops erasing topics to confront racism. ACLU of Florida hailed it as a victory. Legal Defense Fund director Jin Hee Lee called law “egregious” for forcing state-approved viewpoints on Black and LGBTQ+ people. ACLU attorney Leah Watson praised precedent that education cannot be limited to politicians’ whims.

Orlando Sentinel

Critics argue Act silences discussion of racism and gender discrimination, censoring Black and LGBTQ+ perspectives. Judge Lagoa’s dissent said states can decide which viewpoints get endorsement and accused majority of “rewriting precedent” to suit ideology. Uthmeier praised Lagoa on X, calling her “the best jurist in our country.”

CNBC

DeSantis administration has not commented, leaving Florida’s next legal step uncertain. Majority emphasizes First-Amendment limits, while dissent argues the state can lawfully restrict professor-endorsed speech. No appeal to full Eleventh Circuit or Supreme Court has been announced.

Washington Examiner

Florida may seek en banc rehearing or petition Supreme Court; no appeal has been filed.

CNBC

• “Because the government pays the professors’ salaries, Florida says, their speech is the state’s speech,” Britt Grant wrote. “Emphatically no.” — Judge Britt Grant, 11th Circuit

Washington Examiner

• “The First Amendment protects all viewpoints in the public square, whether they are conventional or controversial,” Barbara Lagoa wrote. “But it does not compel all viewpoints to be worthy of state-sponsored endorsement.” — Judge Barbara Lagoa, 11th Circuit

Miami Herald

• “This ruling was worth the wait. It sets a strong precedent that higher education cannot be limited to the whims of politicians.” — Leah Watson, senior staff attorney, ACLU Racial Justice Program

CNBC

• “Though the government has plenty of ways to promote its own viewpoint, puppeteering every university professor in the state is not one of them.” — Britt C. Grant, 11th Circuit

Appeals Court Rules Florida’s ‘Stop WOKE Act’ Violates First Amendment