Federal judge blocks DeSantis' 'Stop WOKE' education bill


A federal judge on Thursday blocked a key portion of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' (R) "Stop WOKE" Act intended to police speech and classroom content at state colleges and universities.
Calling it "positively dystopian," District Judge Mark Walker said the bill violated the First Amendment rights of both students and faculty, who — under the 2022 law — had been given standing to sue educational institutions for exposing them to potentially uncomfortable material, such as the 1619 Project on American racial history.
"One thing is crystal clear — both robust intellectual inquiry and democracy require light to thrive," Walker wrote in his nearly 140-page ruling. "Our professors are critical to a healthy democracy, and the State of Florida's decision to choose which viewpoints are worthy of illumination and which must remain in the shadows has implications for us all." This summer Walker blocked a separate provision of the law relating to workplace trainings.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
When he unveiled the bill in late 2021, DeSantis touted it as providing "businesses, employees, children, and families tools to fight back against woke indoctrination," citing critical race theory, a branch of legal academic inquiry, as "state-sanctioned racism." During his midterm election night victory speech, DeSantis boasted that under his leadership "we fight the woke in the Legislature. We fight the woke in the schools. We fight the woke in the corporations. We will never, ever surrender to the woke mob."
"Florida," he insisted, "is where woke goes to die."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Rafi Schwartz has worked as a politics writer at The Week since 2022, where he covers elections, Congress and the White House. He was previously a contributing writer with Mic focusing largely on politics, a senior writer with Splinter News, a staff writer for Fusion's news lab, and the managing editor of Heeb Magazine, a Jewish life and culture publication. Rafi's work has appeared in Rolling Stone, GOOD and The Forward, among others.
-
May 26 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Monday's political cartoons feature Donald Trump's red tie, Hunter Biden's crypto lament, and one meaning of Memorial Day
-
3 tips for coping with financial stress
The explainer Feel more at peace in an unpredictable economy
-
Crossword: May 26, 2025
The Week's daily crossword
-
Tied Supreme Court blocks church charter school
speed read The court upheld the Oklahoma Supreme Court's decision to bar overtly religious public charter schools
-
GOP megabill would limit judicial oversight of Trump
speed read The domestic policy bill Republicans pushed through the House would protect the Trump administration from the consequences of violating court orders
-
Judge scolds DOJ over Newark mayor arrest
speed read Ras Baraka was arrested during a May 9 surprise visit to a migrant detention facility
-
Trump lectures South Africa president on 'white genocide'
speed read Trump has cut off aid to South Africa over his demonstrably false genocide claims
-
Trump twists House GOP arms on megabill
speed read The bill will provide a $350 billion boost to military and anti-immigration spending and 'cuts to Medicaid, food stamps and green energy programs'
-
Medicaid: Will millions lose coverage?
Feature House Republicans have proposed a plan to cut Medicaid coverage for millions to help fund the GOP's tax cuts
-
A running list of Trump's conflicts of interest
In Depth A potential Qatari plane is the latest in a series of problematic connections
-
Trump DOJ said to pay $5M to family of Jan. 6 rioter
speed read The US will pay a hefty sum to the family of Capitol rioter Ashli Babbitt, who was fatally shot on January 6