New College group sues state, says law censors courses
TALLAHASSEE — Alleging that numerous courses and topics will be prohibited or “severely curtailed” by a new state law, a group that opposes Gov. Ron DeSantis’ efforts to remake New College of Florida filed a federal lawsuit Monday challenging the statute.
Plaintiffs in the lawsuit include the group NCF Freedom Inc. and New College professors and students. The legal challenge asked a judge to block the state from enforcing the 2023 law and to declare the measure unconstitutional.
The suit argues that DeSantis and Republican state lawmakers, who control the House and Senate, have “adopted as state policy the goal of prohibiting the dissemination of certain ideas,” through a series of measures over the past few years.
“The state of Florida leads the country in efforts to censor academic freedom and instruction in its college classrooms,” the lawsuit said.
Defendants in the lawsuit are state Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr., members of the state university system’s Board of Governors, members of the New College Board of Trustees and New College Interim President Richard Corcoran.
The legal challenge, filed in the Northern District of Florida, focused largely on a part of the law (SB 266) that sets strict prohibitions on instruction of certain topics in “general education core courses” at state colleges and universities.
The law says such courses “may not distort significant historical events,” teach “identity politics,” or violate another state law that restricts the way certain race-related topics can be taught in schools.
The law also prohibits curriculum that is “based on theories that systemic racism, sexism, oppression, and privilege are inherent in the institutions of the United States and were created to maintain social, political, and economic inequities.”
Restrictions in the 2023 law would strip away numerous course offerings from New College students, plaintiffs argued Monday.
“There are a host of programs, majors, courses and textbooks/assignments at New College which are either directly prohibited by SB 266 or which will be severely curtailed, censored and limited by that law,” the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit listed a number of the programs and courses that would be on the chopping block.
Classes such as “Queer History: Sexuality in the 20th Century United States,” “Queer Studies,” “Race, Gender and Sexuality,” “Sociology of Gender and the Body,” and “Topics in Feminist Philosophy,” would likely “be prohibited outright, or at risk of being chilled” by the law, the plaintiffs’ attorneys argued.
Courses in philosophy, sociology, anthropology, urban studies and English also could violate the law, the plaintiffs’ lawyers argued.
The New College Board of Trustees last week voted to begin a process that would eliminate the school’s gender studies program, with the student and faculty members of the trustees voting against the plan.
New College has drawn heavy attention amid efforts by leadership to make sweeping changes at the school, which was revamped by DeSantis in January through a slew of conservative appointees to the trustees board.
Since the governor’s appointments, the board has removed former New College president Patricia Okker and replaced her on an interim basis with Corcoran, a former state House speaker and state education commissioner.
With Corcoran at the helm, the New College trustees also eliminated an on-campus office that handled issues related to diversity, equity and inclusion.
The law also is the subject of a separate legal challenge filed this month in Leon County Circuit Court by faculty unions and a New College professor who was denied tenure.
That lawsuit challenges a part of the law that did away with arbitration in university employment disputes. The plaintiffs, including New College professor Hugo Viera-Vargas, argued that the law violates collective-bargaining rights and unconstitutionally “impairs” an existing union contract.