TALLAHASSEE, FL (February 10, 2026) — Today, HB 1071 advanced in the Florida Legislature. The ACLU of Florida strongly condemns the bill, which restricts social and political activism in K-12 schools, censors student expression, civic engagement, and classroom discussion.
HB 1071 seeks to silence students and educators by treating civic participation and political expression as threats rather than core components of education in a democratic society. The bill’s vague and sweeping language invites over-enforcement, confusion, and self-censorship – discouraging students from engaging with real-world issues that shape their lives and communities.
Kara Gross, Interim Political Director of the ACLU of Florida, shared the following statement:
“HB 1071 sends a dangerous message to students: that speaking up, organizing, or engaging with social and political issues is something to fear rather than a fundamental part of learning how democracy works. When students are discouraged from expressing their views, asking hard questions, or organizing around issues that affect their lives, schools stop being places of learning and become places of silence and complicity.
Florida’s classrooms should equip students with the tools to think critically and engage responsibly with the world around them. This bill does the opposite by replacing education with censorship and fear, and by denying young people the opportunity to develop the skills necessary to be informed, engaged members of our democracy.”
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