Case Details
Case Status
Won and Settled
Location
Florida
Date Filed
February 16th, 2021
On February 16, 2021, Speech First, a national membership group of students, alumni, and others that defends free speech on campus, sued the University of Central Florida (UCF) in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida. The lawsuit argued that three UCF policies violated the First Amendment, which protects the right to free speech, by chilling students’ speech about the political and social issues of the day.
UCF’s “discriminatory harassment” policy banned “verbal, physical, electronic or other conduct” based on a long list of traits, including religion, gender identity, and political affiliations. The policy warned that it “may take many forms,” including “name-calling” and “graphic or written statements.” The school’s computer use policy banned “harassing or hate messages.” Its Just Knights Response Team (JKRT), which included UCF police, handled “bias-related incidents.” Under the policy, an incident counted “without regard to whether the act is legal, illegal, intentional, or unintentional.” Speech First’s student members wanted to argue that “abortion is immoral,” that “affirmative action is deeply unfair,” and that “illegal immigration is dangerous.” They held back for fear of being punished.
On April 7, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit sided with Speech First 3–0. In September 2022, UCF settled. It agreed to rewrite its harassment policy, keep its bias response team shut down for good, and pay Speech First $35,000.
“UCF’s disciplinary measures associated with their bias response team resemble reeducation camps, forcing adult college students to sit through patronizing lectures on which types of speech the university considers acceptable. Unfortunately for the school, the Constitution does not give UCF the authority to judge the content of student speech.”
Nicole Neily
Read the full complaint below: