Federal Judge Expected to Rule on Attempt to Block Florida Law Regarding Woke Teaching

In Tallahassee, Florida, a federal judge is expected to decide later this week whether to block a new state law, backed by GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis, that restricts how educators teach race-related concepts in public schools or as it applies to workplace training.

Politico reports that Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker heard on Tuesday arguments and promised an order "in a couple of days" on the plaintiffs' request for a preliminary injunction.

The plaintiffs' attorneys argued that Florida's leaders are endeavoring to "canonize" a separate "reality of history." Politico adds that Democrats have also made claims that the legislation would "whitewash" the teaching of social studies.

While Walker didn't make a decision, he did say he had "grave concerns" about the plaintiffs' lawsuit, whose only student defendant is an incoming kindergartner.

The backdrop of the case pertains to the teaching of critical race theory. The Encyclopedia Britannica defines the theory, as its advocates maintain, as a theory "that racism is inherent in the law and legal institutions of the United States insofar as they function to create and maintain social, economic, and political inequalities between whites and nonwhites, especially African Americans."

The group of plaintiffs filed the overall lawsuit on April 22, the day Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the Stop WOKE Act.

• Florida State Senator: DeSantis' Woke Act Necessary to Stop 'Absurd' CRT
• Florida Textbook Publishers Removing 'Woke Content'