A group of students and teachers represented by the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit Thursday to upend Florida’s ban on critical race theory from being taught and discussed in classrooms.
The ACLU argues that the Stop Wrongs Against Our Kids and Employees (Stop W.O.K.E.) Act is “censorship” and discriminates against teachers’ and students’ viewpoints that are protected by the First Amendment.
“The Stop W.O.K.E. Act is racially motivated censorship that the Florida legislature enacted, in significant part, to stifle widespread demands to discuss, study, and address systemic inequalities, following the nationwide protests that provoked discussions about race and racism in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd,” the lawsuit reads.