Florida House Bill H-837

[1][2] The bill was heavily criticized as an attack on free speech in academia, and raised concerns about potential abuse by those with fringe beliefs.

Neoconservative activist David Horowitz, believing that the amount of liberal college professors was stifling discussion of conservative beliefs, decided to found Students for Academic Freedom (a subgroup of his Center for the Study of Popular Culture).

[7][6] In 2004, Florida Representative Dennis Baxley (R-Ocala) began considering an Academic Bill of Rights after listening to Horowitz's speech at a conference.

)[8][6] Democrats and academics largely opposed the bill, citing the unclear language and government interference in situations handled by educational boards.

[9] Auxter characterized H-837 as "a right-wing political takeover" of higher education,[1] and later testified about the unclear guidelines the bill would set, saying, "The standard will be the most easily offended student and whether or not that person will react against what you are saying".

[10] While there was a general consensus that it was inappropriate for professors to push their own views on students or punish them for ideological disagreements, many academic faculty (including Columbia University president Lee Bollinger, in a speech making mention of the bill) stated that discipline for those offenses should be the burden of schools, not courts or legislators.

[9] In addition, claims of anti-conservative discrimination on campus were often viewed with skepticism; many anecdotes lacked proof, and typically did not name students or professors involved.

[12][13] Nationally, professors who were accused of anti-conservative bias denied the allegations, asserting that details were left out or falsified; faculty members and student witnesses affirmed their statements.

Baxley described liberal professors as "leftist totalitarians," "dictators," and "arrogant elitists",[8] and dubbed critics of the bill "inflexible".

[19] Horowitz himself also received criticism for sharing unverified stories of ideological discrimination from professors; at least one claim was heavily fabricated, and he later admitted to lacking evidence of two others.

In April 2021, Baxley, now a member of the Florida Senate, voted in favor of HB-233,[21] an "intellectual freedom" law that allowed students to film perceived bias from their professors, and barred university faculty from censoring "uncomfortable" or "offensive" speech on campus.