Though “promot[ing]” any of eight concepts is barred by the Act, criticizing them is not.
A federal district court did not err in preliminarily enjoining the Florida Board of Governors of the State University System from enforcing the Individual Freedom Act, which disallows any “training or instruction that espouses, promotes, advances, inculcates, or compels” students at Florida’s public colleges and universities to believe any of eight specified concepts related to topics such as race and sex, the Eleventh Circuit held. Finding that the Act violates the First Amendment, the appeals court observed that “[i]ntellectual and cultural tumult do not last forever, and our Constitution is unique in its commitment to letting the people, rather than the government, find the right equilibrium.” Judge Lagoa dissented (Pernell v. Florida Board of Governors, No. 22-13992 (11th Cir. July 7, 2026)).
Individual Freedom Act. The Individual Freedom Act, according to the court, amends the Florida Education Equality Act, implementing new speech restrictions on a range of actors. Fla. Stat. § 1000.05(4)(a). The provision at issue in the case disallows any “training or instruction that espouses, promotes, advances, inculcates, or compels” students at Florida’s public colleges and universities to believe any of eight concepts relating to topics like race and sex, specifically:
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