It’s me again - jumping in before I head back to campus to share the latest installment of “Conservative Legislators Writing The Rules In Their Favor.” Here’s what you need to know.

Ron DeSantis and Florida’s state legislature are at it again. First, they banned Florida’s public schools from teaching critical race theory. Now they’re threatening to pull funding from public colleges that “discriminate against conservative viewpoints” (their words, not mine 🙄). Under HB233, a law Governor DeSantis signed in June, public universities must meet a certain threshold for “viewpoint diversity” and “intellectual freedom” on their campuses. Basically, schools whose students’ and professors’ views differ from the Governor’s political beliefs are at risk of losing their funding. The worst part of it? Judicial experts are predicting this bill will serve as a model for conservative-led states nationwide.

This is yet another attempt by corrupt conservative politicians to cling onto their power by silencing student voices. The stakes for our movement, and for student organizers and activists at large, are too high. So March For Our Lives filed our first lawsuit. You heard that right -- we’re suing Florida’s Board of Governors. And I’m asking for your support to give us the momentum and resources we need to fund this work.

March For Our Lives is ushering in a new era of student-led judicial advocacy work, and we’re just getting started. Our movement began with school walkouts and marches; with demands to make our voices heard. The constitutional right to speak freely without threat of punishment is critical for my classmates and me to do this work. And too often, it’s student voices like ours that must hold the moral conscience of public institutions and universities accountable. HB233 is an existential threat to our movement. Just as we organized and rallied against HB1 in Florida and played a major role in the historic free speech case Mahanoy v. BL, we’re showing up for this one in full force.

By signing onto this lawsuit as a plaintiff alongside college students and faculty from across the state, we are taking a stand -- not only in the streets, but also in the courtroom -- against these brazen attempts to limit our free speech. We will not stand by as corrupt politicians try to censor our education, defund our schools, and silence our voices.

When they don’t like our social media posts, they try* to silence us. When they don’t like how we learn, they threaten to defund our schools. But our voices are our greatest weapon. And we will continue to use them -- because we can’t afford to lose them. 

We could not do this without your support, John. See you in court!

In pursuit of justice,
Travis Harper
Judicial Advocacy Associate
March For Our Lives

*ICYMI, see my last email or this article to read more about how we went up against the NRA at the Supreme Court, and won.