Beyond the Classroom: The Future of Academic Freedom in Florida

The Pro Bono Institute spoke with Jason Leckerman, chair of the firm's Litigation Department, and Jacqueline Mabatah about Ballard Spahr's work in Pernell vs. Lamb to challenge Florida's Stop Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees (W.O.K.E.) Act, a controversial censorship law that restricts education and discussion around race and gender in public schools. In this discussion for The PBEye, Ballard Spahr attorneys examine the legal and ethical implications of this act on academic freedom.

"In August 2022, with our co-counsel the ACLU, ACLU of Florida, and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, we brought a lawsuit in federal district court in Florida on behalf of seven educators and one student from public universities in Florida challenging the Act as violative of the First and Fourteenth Amendments," said Jacqueline, a Litigation associate at Ballard Spahr. "Specifically, the lawsuit alleges the Act imposes viewpoint restrictions in violation of the First Amendment, is unconstitutionally vague in violation of the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, and was enacted with a racially discriminatory purpose in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment."

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