US appeals court partially strikes down Florida law restricting campus race and gender discussions

Ron DeSantis’s Stop Woke Act suffers another legal setback, with the state accused of ‘puppeteering’

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A federal appeals panel struck down a significant chunk of Florida governor Ron DeSantis’s so-called Stop Woke Act on Tuesday, delivering another rebuff to the Republican’s efforts to stifle free speech in higher education.

In a scathing order, judges of the 11th circuit court of appeal said by a 2-1 majority that the higher education component of the law – which prevented college and university professors teaching or sharing thoughts on concepts of race and gender – breached the free expression rights guaranteed under the US constitution’s first amendment.
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