Florida Capitol bill aims to control
‘leftist’ profs THE LAW COULD LET STUDENTS SUE FOR UNTOLERATED
BELIEFS.
By JAMES VANLANDINGHAM Alligator Staff
Writer
TALLAHASSEE Republicans on the Florida
House Choice and Innovation Committee voted along party lines
Tuesday to pass a bill that aims to stamp out “leftist
totalitarianism” by “dictator professors” in the classrooms of
Florida’s universities.
The Academic Freedom Bill of Rights,
sponsored by Rep. Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala, passed 8-to-2 despite
strenuous objections from the only two Democrats on the
committee. The bill has two more committees to pass before it can be
considered
While promoting the bill Tuesday, Baxley
said a university education
should be more than “one biased view by the
professor, who as a
dictator controls the classroom,” as part of
“a misuse of their
platform to indoctrinate the next generation
with their own views.”
The bill sets a statewide standard that
students cannot be punished
for professing beliefs with which their
professors disagree. Professors
would also be advised to teach alternative
“serious academic theories” that may disagree with their
personal views.
According to a legislative staff analysis of
the bill, the law would
give students who think their beliefs are
not being respected legal
standing to sue professors and universities.
Students who believe their professor is
singling them out for “public
ridicule” – for instance, when professors
use the Socratic method to
force students to explain their theories in
class – would also be given
the right to sue.
“Some professors say, ‘Evolution is a fact.
I don’t want to hear about
Intelligent Design (a creationist theory),
and if you don’t like it,
there’s the door,’” Baxley said, citing one
example when he thought a
student should sue.
Rep. Dan Gelber, D-Miami Beach, warned of
lawsuits from students
enrolled in Holocaust history courses who
believe the Holocaust never happened. Similar suits could be filed by
students who don’t believe astronauts landed on the moon, who believe
teaching birth control is a sin or even by Shands medical students who
refuse to perform blood transfusions and believe prayer is the only
way to heal the body, Gelber added.
“This is a horrible step,” he said.
“Universities will have to hire
lawyers so our curricula can be decided by
judges in courtrooms.
Professors might have to pay court costs
even if they win from
their own pockets. This is not an innocent
piece of legislation.”
The staff analysis also warned the bill may
shift responsibility for
determining whether a student’s freedom has
been infringed from the
But Baxley brushed off Gelber’s concerns.
“Freedom is a dangerous
thing, and you might be exposed to things
you don’t want to hear,” he
said. “Being a businessman, I found out you
can be sued for anything.
Besides, if students are being persecuted
and ridiculed for their
beliefs, I think they should be given
standing to sue.”
During the committee hearing, Baxley cast
opposition to his bill as
“leftists” struggling against “mainstream
society.” “The critics ridicule me for daring to stand up for
students and faculty,” he said, adding that he was called a
McCarthyist. Baxley later said he had a list of students who
were discriminated against by professors, but refused to reveal
names because he felt they would be persecuted.
Rep. Eleanor Sobel, D-Hollywood, argued
universities and the state
Board of Governors already have policies in
place to protect academic freedom. Moreover, a state law
outlining how professors are supposed to teach would encroach on
the board’s authority to manage state schools.
“The big hand of state government is going
into the universities
telling them how to teach,” she said. “This
bill is the antithesis of
But Baxley compared the state’s universities
to children, saying the
legislature should not give them money
without providing “guidance” to their behavior.
“Professors are accountable for what they
say or do,” he said.
“They’re accountable to the rest of us in
society … All of a sudden the
faculty think they can do what they want and
shut us out. Why is it so
unheard of to say the professor shouldn’t be
a dictator and control
that room as their totalitarian niche?”
In an interview before the meeting, Baxley
said “arrogant, elitist
academics are swarming” to oppose the bill,
and media reports
misrepresented his intentions. “I
expect to be out there on my own pretty far,” he said. “I don’t
expect to be part of a team.”