An appeals court ruled this week that the First Amendment’s freedom of speech principle protects the right of academics in Florida to discuss topics in class that some might view as discriminatory or even offensive.
The 2-1 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit struck down Florida’s 2022 W.O.K.E. Act, which sought to define how professors at higher education institutions could teach or present what it called “divisive concepts” of race and gender. Supporters of the law said it helped prevent teaching theories that could promote discrimination against students for actions “committed in the past by other members of the same race, color, national origin or sex.” Critics viewed it as an attempt to quash candid inquiry into historical and current debates around race and rights.
Debate between liberal and conservative viewpoints of what should or should not be taught on campus is likely to continue in the public arena and, possibly, in further legal appeals.
Yet there is one point in the ruling worthy of nonpartisan attention and respect: the assertion that young adults should have the right and privilege of deciding for themselves what ideas or concepts they agree with.
Florida statutes, Judge Britt Grant wrote for the majority, recognize academic settings as “centers of inquiry – classrooms where students are trusted to puzzle through ideas that are good and bad, easy and hard, ideally getting ever closer to the truth.”
And regardless of whether the state agrees or disagrees with ideas discussed in those classrooms, she averred, “The First Amendment trusts students to figure it out for themselves.”
The vast majority of college students – 84% – view the right of free speech as “extremely or very important to democracy,” according to a survey by the Knight Foundation. And 59% believe “colleges should allow students to be exposed to all types of speech.” Yet students’ confidence that free speech rights remained “secure” showed a steep drop from 73% in 2016 to 47% in 2022.
Academic freedom is essential for universities to fulfill their responsibilities to students, but is under pressure around the world. A report Friday in Times Higher Education said 50 countries have experienced a decline in academic freedom compared with 10 years ago, while only nine countries registered improvements.
As the Monitor observed this year, a core purpose of higher education is “equipping young people with the civic skills of open inquiry, free speech, and mutual respect, all essential to a thriving democracy.”
College campuses are ideal spaces for today’s students – who are tomorrow’s voters and decision makers – to learn and practice freedom of thought and expression. And the appeals court ruling appears to accord them this opportunity.