Gov. Ron DeSantis signed House Bill 1471 into law on Monday during a news conference in Tampa, empowering Florida leaders to designate groups as domestic or foreign terrorist organizations and expel state university students who promote them.

The legislation permits the chief of domestic security at the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to propose designations, which require approval from the governor and Cabinet members including the attorney general, chief financial officer, and agriculture commissioner. Once approved, designated groups face dissolution and lose all state funding, including school vouchers for affiliated institutions. State universities must expel students whose actions "promote" these organizations by supporting, approving, or encouraging their extralegal violence, such as waving flags and recruiting others. Universities must also report expelled international students on visas to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

DeSantis highlighted the law's protective measures. "So this will help the state of Florida protect you. It’ll help us protect your tax dollars," he said. "It’ll help us protect things that should not be happening in the United States of America, but certainly shouldn’t be happening in the free state of Florida."

Sponsored by Rep. Hillary Cassel, a Republican from Broward County, the bill originated from a draft by DeSantis' office and passed the House 80-25 along party lines before Senate approval 25-11 in March. Cassel explained the expulsion criteria: "Once [terrorist groups] have gone through the judicial process [and] it’s been deemed that they are in fact committing domestic terrorism in our country, at that point if you are a student that says, ‘I wanna hold my flag for a certified domestic terrorist organization,’ and you try to promote other students into that organization, you can be expelled."

The measure takes effect July 1 and builds on prior state actions. DeSantis designated the Council on American-Islamic Relations and the Muslim Brotherhood as foreign terrorist organizations in December 2025, though a federal judge temporarily blocked enforcement last month. In 2023, his administration deactivated university chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine.

Critics raised free speech concerns. PEN America's Florida director William Johnson warned the law's vague language "could chill education at every level" and target protesters criticizing officials. ACLU of Florida Executive Director Bacardi Jackson stated it threatens academic freedom, while Common Cause Florida called it an abuse allowing blacklisting without due process. Democratic Rep. Angie Nixon compared it to the Ku Klux Klan.

The bill also addresses voucher funding for schools linked to terrorist groups, following scrutiny of Islamic academies receiving over $18 million in state funds amid questions about Sharia promotion.