Academic freedom policies must have substance.

Florida’s latest higher education bill would force public colleges and universities to remove academic majors and minors focused on “Critical Race Theory, Gender Studies, or Intersectionality” or any derivative fields. The bill would also ban general education core courses from covering critical schools of thought. These efforts to subvert academic freedom and exert complete governmental control over faculty speech in public college and university classrooms reflect a debate over the extent that First Amendment rights apply to public college and university professors in carrying out their teaching, research, and service duties. The Stop WOKE Act, or Florida’s version of anti-CRT legislation, poses a threat to academic freedom, but courts have the opportunity to uphold professors’ First Amendment rights. Specifically, courts should look to the academic freedom policies adopted by public colleges and universities, including those in Florida, in defining the First Amendment rights of faculty in carrying out their professional duties. The success of public colleges and universities is premised on the academic freedom and independent speech of their faculty members. Any attempt by public higher education institutions to rescind or ignore their academic freedom policies or standards would have debilitating consequences and should not be acceptable.

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