The University of Central Florida‘s policies on harassment and utilization of a bias response team likely violate the First Amendment, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday.
In a unanimous opinion, a three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the campus free speech organization, Speech First, was likely to prevail in its challenge against several UCF policies that governed campus speech.
“Nowhere is free speech more important than in our leading institutions of higher learning,” Judge Kevin Newsom, a Trump appointee, wrote in the unanimous opinion. “Colleges and universities serve as the founts of — and the testing grounds for — new ideas. Their chief mission is to equip students to examine arguments critically and, perhaps even more importantly, to prepare young citizens to participate in the civic and political life of our democratic republic.”
Speech First, which represents three anonymous students in the case, had challenged UCF’s policy on “discriminatory harassment” and its use of the “Just Knights Response Team,” which responded to incidents of “bias.”
The court granted an injunction against the harassment policy, reversing the district court’s decision, but remanded a decision about the response team to the district court after finding that the lower court erred when ruling Speech First did not have the standing to challenge the constitutionality of the team’s existence.
“This is a huge victory for every student at the University of Central Florida, as well as all students attending schools in Florida, Georgia, and Alabama,” Speech First executive director Cherise Trump said in a press release. “We are thrilled that the Court sided with us as we work to protect students’ First Amendment rights. This court decision should send an alarming message to anyone attempting to chill, silence, or bully into submission others’ opinions. Open dialogue and an exchange of ideas are how leaders are formed, censoring students will only stunt their ability to grow intellectually and contribute to society.”
The university had defined “discriminatory harassment” as actions taken against a person or a group of people based on a number of different categories, including race, sex, disability, and political affiliation.
Such actions could “take many forms, including verbal acts, name-calling, graphic or written statements (via the use of cell phones or the Internet), or other conduct that may be humiliating or physically threatening.”
In its ruling, the court said that “the discriminatory-harassment policy likely violates the First Amendment on the grounds that it is an overbroad and content-based and viewpoint-based regulation of constitutionally protected expression.”
The university had said the bias response team would respond to “bias-related incidents” and would serve as “a safe space for students, who are witnesses to or targets of bias, to communicate experiences, to ensure comprehensive responses, and proactively address issues of civility and respect.”
“A bias-related incident is any behavior or action directed towards an individual or group based upon actual or perceived identity characteristics or background,” the ruling quoted from the university’s website. “Such acts may result in creating a hostile environment and may have a negative psychological, emotional, or physical impact on an individual, group, and/or community.”
“It is imperative that colleges and universities toe the constitutional line when monitoring, supervising, and regulating student expression,” Judge Newsom wrote. “Despite what we presume to be the very best of intentions, it seems to us substantially likely that the University of Central Florida crossed that line here.”
The university did not respond to a request for comment.
