Well..it appears that there are still some sane people left in Florida..who knew?
A federal court in Florida has denied an attempt to block an injunction issued against Governor Ron DeSantis' flagship "Stop WOKE Act" which prevents it from being implemented at universities.
On Thursday, a three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a request from the DeSantis administration to overturn a previous ruling which blocked the Individual Freedom Act, also known as the Stop the Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees Act, being used in higher education institutions.
The legislation is a continuation of DeSantis' battle against the "woke agenda" and education, which has also seen the governor introducing the "Don't Say Gay" bill and banning the teaching of critical race theory in K-12 classes. Critics have accused the Act of violating the First Amendment, as well as having the potential to harm race relations.
DeSantis' office said they still expect the policy will be fully passed into law.
"The Court did not rule on the merits of our appeal. The appeal is ongoing, and we remain confident that the law is constitutional," Bryan Griffin, DeSantis' press secretary, told Newsweek.
In his ruling, Walker made a reference to George Orwell's novel 1984 while condemning the legislation as "positively dystopian."
"'It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking 13,' and the powers in charge of Florida's public university system have declared the state has unfettered authority to muzzle its professors in the name of 'freedom,'" Walker wrote.
"Defendants argue that, under this act, professors enjoy 'academic freedom' so long as they express only those viewpoints of which the State approves. This is positively dystopian."
A federal court in Florida has denied an attempt to block an injunction issued against Governor Ron DeSantis' flagship "Stop WOKE Act" which prevents it from being implemented at universities.
On Thursday, a three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a request from the DeSantis administration to overturn a previous ruling which blocked the Individual Freedom Act, also known as the Stop the Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees Act, being used in higher education institutions.
The legislation is a continuation of DeSantis' battle against the "woke agenda" and education, which has also seen the governor introducing the "Don't Say Gay" bill and banning the teaching of critical race theory in K-12 classes. Critics have accused the Act of violating the First Amendment, as well as having the potential to harm race relations.
DeSantis' office said they still expect the policy will be fully passed into law.
"The Court did not rule on the merits of our appeal. The appeal is ongoing, and we remain confident that the law is constitutional," Bryan Griffin, DeSantis' press secretary, told Newsweek.
In his ruling, Walker made a reference to George Orwell's novel 1984 while condemning the legislation as "positively dystopian."
"'It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking 13,' and the powers in charge of Florida's public university system have declared the state has unfettered authority to muzzle its professors in the name of 'freedom,'" Walker wrote.
"Defendants argue that, under this act, professors enjoy 'academic freedom' so long as they express only those viewpoints of which the State approves. This is positively dystopian."
