“Despite the Trump and DeSantis administrations’ crackdown on gender ideology, three public universities in Florida still have allegedly ‘unconstitutional’ policies that penalize students who refuse to use someone else’s ‘preferred pronouns,’ according to a legal expert” cited by The College Fix.
The Southeastern Legal Foundation sent letters in June to Florida International University, the University of West Florida, and the University of North Florida demanding that they revise their Title IX policies to stop restricting students’ free speech rights.
Cece O’Leary, vice president of legal initiatives, says that “we’re seeing this culture of censorship everywhere you look.”
Southeastern Legal Foundation argues that each of the universities has policies that violate students’ First Amendment right to free speech. It calls the policies “overly vague,” and says they “create an environment where students will be afraid to voice their beliefs or questions in regard to ‘gender identity’ and biological sex.”
The College Fix adds:
When asked about examples of how these school’s policies could stifle free speech, O’Leary cited a Florida International University policy that she said redefines sex to include “gender expression, gender identity, and sexual orientation.”
An implication of policies like this is that students who complain “about the biological male in the women’s restrooms” or refuse to “recognize preferred pronouns” could be considered guilty of discrimination, she told The Fix.
Another example O’Leary cited was a University of West Florida “harassment” policy that “raises due process concerns” by allowing the institution to take “disciplinary measures against a speaker” before they are given a “fair trial.”
Even if a student gets a trial, the panel often consists of “one or two” administrators who “tend to side with woke ideologies,” she told The Fix. Additionally, students sometimes aren’t given an advisor or notice of upcoming hearings or charges, she said.
In the letter to UWF, the foundation also alleges its policy “will leave students who believe in the biological reality that only two sexes exist wondering when and how they will be punished for speaking the truth.”…
O’Leary said their policies are “remnants” of former President Joe Biden’s attempts to rewrite Title IX, which many federal courts found to be “unconstitutional” prior to President Donald Trump restoring these “common-sense protections.”
Progressive legislators have called for laws that would penalize parents’ speech, such as when they use a child’s birth name and pronouns rather than trans pronouns or trans-affirmative names.
In Meriwether v. Hartop (2021), a federal appeals court ruled that a professor likely had the First Amendment right to refuse to use a transgender student’s preferred pronouns.
