A federal appeals court permanently blocked enforcement of Florida’s “Stop WOKE” higher education restrictions, ruling that the law violates the First Amendment rights of faculty and preserves student autonomy to engage with contested ideas. The decision came from the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in a 2–1 ruling authored by Judge Britt Grant, after lower courts had already halted enforcement at colleges. Separately, Florida also lost a separate legal fight over federal college accreditation requirements. In a different case, the 11th Circuit upheld the dismissal of Florida’s challenge to the U.S. Department of Education’s reliance on private accrediting agencies, rejecting Florida’s claim that the system delegates “unchecked authority” to private bodies. Taken together, the rulings reinforce the federal government’s leverage over eligibility for Title IV aid through accreditation—and narrow states’ ability to alter curriculum access at public institutions through speech-focused statutes. For affected colleges and universities, the decisions reduce near-term legal uncertainty but keep the political contest over curriculum governance active.