Case Explained: LEROY PERNELL SHARON WRIGHT AUSTIN SHELLEY PARK JENNIFER SANDOVAL v. FLORIDA BOARD OF GOVERNORS OF THE STATE UNIVERSITY, et al BRIAN LAMB ERIC SILAGY TIMOTHY CERIO RICHARD CORCORAN AUBREY EDGE, et al USCA11 Case: 22-13992 Document: 156-1 Date Filed: 07/07/2026 Page: 1 of 85 2

Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit

Filed: 2026-07-07

Docket: 4:22-cv-00304-MW-MAF

The eleventh-circuit affirmed the district court’s preliminary injunction, holding that Florida’s Individual Freedom Act violates the First Amendment as applied to public university professors. The court determined that the statute constitutes unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination by banning instructors from promoting or endorsing eight specific concepts regarding race, color, sex, and national origin during classroom instruction. The court applied a balancing test derived from *Bishop v. Aronov* and *Pickering v. Board of Education*, weighing the professors’ First Amendment interests against the state’s interests as an employer and educator. The court rejected Florida’s arguments that the statute was permissible under public-employee speech doctrines or government speech principles. Specifically, the court held that *Garcetti v. Ceballos* does not apply to classroom instruction because its rationale of workplace management is inapplicable to broad legislative bans on disfavored speech and because extending it would render academic freedom a constitutional nullity. Furthermore, the court found that professors’ lectures do not constitute government speech, as the state does not maintain sufficient control over the content of university curricula to justify such a classification. The court concluded that the state’s interest in preventing discrimination or enforcing “cherished ideals” does not outweigh the fundamental First Amendment prohibition against the government prescribing what shall be orthodox in matters of opinion within the academic setting. As a result, the preliminary injunction prohibiting the enforcement of the challenged provisions of the Individual Freedom Act and related regulations remains in effect, preventing the Florida Board of Governors from penalizing professors or universities for instruction that discusses but does not endorse the prohibited viewpoints.

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