Case 4:22-cv-00324-MW-MAF Document 44 Filed 11/17/22 Page 120 of 139
http://bit.ly/3zcLbB1 (last visited October 24, 2022)), the term loses that meaning when paired with the adverbial phrase “without endorsement of the concepts.” Simply put, “objective” instruction allows for the most zealous condemnation of the eight concepts—motivated by an instructor’s own personal prejudice or biases—but apparently permits not a single classroom debate between instructors or guest speakers who wish to promote the merits of their position, so long as one of their viewpoints falls on the list of specified concepts. The State of Florida has redefined “objectivity” in a manner that does not comport with common sense. No ordinary person would understand “objective” instruction to allow for this imbalance.[1] Cf. Arnett v. Kennedy, 416 U.S. 134, 159–60 (1974) (holding that federal statute authorizing discharge of federal employees for “such cause as will promote the efficiency of the service” was neither void for vagueness nor overbroad in light of “longstanding principles of employer-employee relationships” and “[the availability of legal counsel] to employees who [sought] advice on the interpretation of the Act and its regulations”); see also San Filippo v. Bongiovanni, 961 F.2d 1125, 1137 (3d Cir. 1992) (rejecting vagueness challenge to university regulation that permitted
- ↑ Indeed, Representative Avila suggested that the Florida Legislature was more concerned about teachers injecting any personal opinions into the class discussion. See ECF No. 19-1 at 8 (“We’re not saying that you can’t have those discussions. What we’re saying is you can’t inject your own personal point of view into the discussion.”). But the challenged provisions don’t just regulate personal opinions—they also prohibit any viewpoint, whether personally held or not, that contradicts the State’s opinion on the specified concepts. Indeed, it bears repeating that the IFA considers professors who inject their own point of view condemning the specified topics to be teaching in an “objective manner.”
120
