New College professors, students file lawsuit to block DeSantis' higher education law

A group formed to push back against Gov. Ron DeSantis' conservative takeover of New College of Florida has joined with professors and students at the college to file a lawsuit alleging a new law pushed by DeSantis violates free speech protections.

The lawsuit seeks to have SB 266, signed into law by DeSantis during a press conference at New College in May, declared unconstitutional.

A provision in the law that prohibits Florida colleges and universities from funding diversity, equity and inclusion programs has received the most attention, but the law also restricts classroom instruction.

The law directs the Board of Governors − the governing body for Florida's university system − to periodically review academic programs to ensure they align with a university's mission and issue a "directive" to universities concerning course materials that include "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."

The law also specifically prohibits general election courses from containing such teachings, and adds that these courses "may not distort significant historical events or include a curriculum that teaches identity politics." And it outlaws university spending on any programs that "promote or engage in political or social activism."

NCF Freedom Inc, which has applied for nonprofit status, filed a lawsuit in federal district court challenging SB 266. The group is run by New College alumni and supporters.

“NCF Freedom is committed to improving New College through a collaborative process that complies with constitutional principles,” NCF Freedom President Jono Miller said in a statement. “We intend to act when we see academic freedom, shared governance, or student agency threatened.”

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Joining NCF Freedom as plaintiffs in the lawsuit are New College professors Sarah Hernandez, Maribeth Clark and Kim Anderson and students Sara Engels, Carlton Leffler and Shelby Nagle.

The plaintiffs allege that their constitutional rights are being violated in a variety of ways, including "content based and viewpoint based censorship of speech in violation of the First Amendment." In addition, they claim that SB 266 violates the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment by being vague and overbroad.

The law "directly infringes upon their academic freedom as well as their right to freely engage in free speech and debate on all topics of interest and concern," the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit names Florida Education Commissioner Manny Diaz, members of the Board of Governor, members of the New College board and New College Interim President Richard Corcoran as defendants.

Hernandez teaches sociology at New College, while Clark teaches music and Anderson teaches art. They allege that some of their courses can't be taught or funded based on SB 266.

"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," according to the lawsuit.

Among the courses that the lawsuit alleges are "likely to be prohibited outright, or at risk of being chilled" are "Queer History," "Queer Studies," "Sociology of Gender and The Body," "Social Movements," "Topics in Feminist Philosophy," "The Rise of Urban America," "Race and Ethnicity in Global Perspectives," "Introduction to Sociology Through Inequality" and "Death, Hell and Capitalism."

"It is doubtful that even the hard sciences escape the censor’s cudgel," the lawsuit states, noting New College has a biology course titled “Sex, Gender, Mind and Brain."

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Hernandez believes that SB 266 "essentially prohibits the teaching of sociology as a scientific discipline, or at the very least, most subfields within sociology," according to the lawsuit, which quotes are as saying that "the basis of much sociological analysis is to explore how social organization is anchored in institutions and hence social structures, discriminatory behaviors are understood not as individual preferences but rather structurally embedded."

Clark's music classes could be impacted by SB 266 because she "takes an interdisciplinary approach to music instruction to ask probing questions about the relationship between the arts and culture and how music may reflect aspects of social class, gender disparities, conditions of servitude, social progress and social discord."

"Dr. Clark reasonably believes that her specific viewpoint with respect to music and its place in our culture cannot be taught to her university students given the restrictions imposed by SB 266," the lawsuit states.

Additionally, Anderson teaches "that art cannot be understood without reference to the society which spawns it – including the darker and more oppressive aspects of culture" and worries that such instruction could run afoul of SB 266.

Engels, Leffler and Nagle fear that classes they plan to take either won't be offered or will be censored, according to the lawsuit.

Asked for comment on the lawsuit, DeSantis spokesman Jeremy Redfern said "any response will be contained within our legal filings."

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This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Lawsuit accuses DeSantis of violating free speech with higher ed law