With such things as critical race theory and sensitivity training targeted, much of the debate and public testimony centered around the bill’s effect on schools and whether it would curtail frank discussions about United States history and race.
First Amendment
Dismissing ‘Slippery Slope of Censorship,’ GOP Senators Back Stricter Scrutiny of School and Library Books
The proposal (SB 1300) would change the review process for books and other learning materials, adding requirements and making it more open to the public but also enabling regular purges of book lists to align them with standards or if the books are considered out of date.
Federal Judge Slams UF Over Muzzling Professors: ‘Stop Acting Like Your Contemporaries in Hong Kong’
In a scathing ruling Friday, Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker blocked the University of Florida from enforcing a controversial conflict-of-interest policy that gave school administrators discretion over allowing professors to serve as expert witnesses in litigation.
Flagler School District Library Plan: Parents May Ban Books for Their Own Kids, But Not Others
Book bans may be a thing of the past in Flagler County schools as the district today presented a library opt-out provision for prohibitive parents, while leaving access free to all books for all other students. The approach, as draconianly restrictive for those who want to exercise it and as liberal as a university library’s open-stack policy for the freer-minded could, in effect, make even book challenges moot.
Seditious Conspiracy in Jan. 6 Capitol Attack Faces 1st Amendment Hurdle
The seditious conspiracy charges announced by the Department of Justice against Stewart Rhodes raise the stakes and political temperature of the Jan. 6 investigation, and give rise to serious First Amendment concerns about the rights of others protesting government actions down the road.
Federal Judge Ridicules UF Attorney’s Attempt to Smear Professors in Conflict-of-Interest Battle
In a fiery hearing Friday, a federal judge excoriated a lawyer for the University of Florida who accused political science professors of having “misled” the court in a lawsuit challenging the school’s conflict-of-interest policy.
May a Christian Flag Fly at City Hall? Supreme Court Will Decide
On Jan. 18, 2022, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Shurtleff v. Boston. The case addresses whether the city violated the First Amendment by denying a request to temporarily raise the Christian flag on a flagpole outside City Hall, where Boston has temporarily displayed many secular organizations’ flags.
He Was Filming on His Phone. Then an Officer Attacked Him and Charged Him With Resisting Arrest.
Police can arrest people for “cover charges,” like resisting arrest, to justify their use of excessive force and shield themselves from liability. In Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, 73 percent of the time someone is arrested on a “cover charge” alone, they’re Black.
Banning LGBTQ-Themed Books From Flagler Schools Is an Attempt to Erase Students Like Me. We Will Not Stand For It.
Linking the vile and threatening language his student-led demonstration drew outside a school board meeting in November to the superintendent’s decision to ban an LGBTQ-themed book for now, Jack Petocz, a student at Flagler Palm Coast High School, calls on the superintendent to reconsider the decision and consider its consequences.
Superintendent’s Decision: ‘All Boys Aren’t Blue’ Banned for Now, Other Books Return to Library Shelves
Following the challenges of four titles by Flagler School Board member Jill Woolbright and a review by a book-challenge committee, the superintendent decided to return three of the four titles to their shelves but withhold a fourth pending new protocols that could still provide access.