A federal appeals court has rejected an attempt by a chapter of the conservative group Moms for Liberty to block restrictions that the Brevard County School Board placed on public participation at board meetings. The Brevard rules are almost identical to those of the Flagler County School Boards, which had been at the center of controversy two summers ago.
First Amendment
Citing Orwell, Federal Judge Calls DeSantis’s ‘Stop Woke Act’ Unconstitutional Muzzling of Academic Freedom
Calling the state’s approach “positively dystopian,” a federal judge on Thursday blocked a law championed by Gov. Ron DeSantis that restricts the way race-related concepts can be taught in universities. The law is “antithetical to academic freedom and has cast a leaden pall of orthodoxy over Florida’s state universities,” Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker wrote in the 139-page ruling.
In latest Intrusion on Academic Freedom, Tenure Review Could Be Tied to How Professors Teach Race
A controversial law designed to restrict the way certain race-related topics can be taught in Florida classrooms could factor into a new tenure-review process for university professors, under a proposal that higher-education officials will consider next week.
Flagler Schools Have Been Quietly Banning or ‘Removing’ Many Books Since Summer in Bow to ‘Moms for Liberty’
The school district has been quietly and steadily banning books from library shelves at Flagler Palm Coast and Matanzas High, and at Indian Trails and Buddy Taylor middle schools since summer, FlaglerLive has found, with every title part of a list of challenges from just three members of the group known as “Moms for Liberty.” There is no indication that the challengers are reading the books, but they have been asked to join the district’s review committee.
Elon Musk Is Wrong: Content Rules Preserve Free Speech
Musk’s likely acquisition of Twitter raises concerns that the social media platform could decrease its content moderation. Research shows that stronger, not weaker, moderation of the information ecosystem is called for to combat harmful misinformation. It also shows that weaker moderation policies would ironically hurt free speech.
Trump-Appointed Judge Refuses to Block Florida Law Muzzling Gender ‘Instruction’ In Schools
Skirting merits of the law by citing lack of standing, U.S. District Judge Wendy Berger refused to block school districts from carrying out a new state law that restricts instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation in classrooms. She rejected arguments by parents, students and a non-profit organization.
Federal Judge Refuses to Block Law Banning Payments to Petition Gatherers for Ballot Measures
The law, passed by the Republican-dominated Legislature and signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, made it a crime to continue a longstanding practice of paying petition gatherers based on the number of signatures they collect. Experts have said the changes doubled the cost of getting initiatives on the ballot.
School Boards Now Required to Out LGBTQ Bathrooms and Muzzle Discussions of Gender and Race
County school boards and charter schools will have to follow new requirements for notifying parents about policies involving access to bathrooms and locker rooms, and teachers could be fired if they violate two controversial new laws muzzling discussion of gender identity and racial matters.
Federal Judge Weighs ‘Stop Woke Act”s Gag on Certain Forms of Instruction About Racism
A federal judge on Thursday sparred with attorneys about a controversial state law that restricts the way race-related concepts can be taught in classrooms, as university professors argue it violates speech rights.
At Flagler Public Library, Freedom Readers’ Club and Other Page-Turners Boldly Defy Book Bans
Freedom Readers, a book club for teens focused on banned and challenged books, emerged at the Flagler County Public Library in response to the book-banning controversies at the Flagler school board last fall. The club is one of several initiatives countering “what feels like a lot of repression,” in the words of Youth Services Librarian Gemma Rose.