HERNANDEZ v. BOARD OF GOVERNORS OF THE STATE UNIVERSITY SYSTEM OF FLORIDA (2026)

District Court of Appeal of Florida, First District.

Sarah HERNANDEZ and Adriana Novoa, Appellants, v. BOARD OF GOVERNORS OF THE STATE UNIVERSITY SYSTEM OF FLORIDA, Daniel Perez in his official capacity as Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives, Ben Albritton, in his official capacity as President of the Florida Senate, and Steven J. Willis, Appellees.

No. 1D2025-2008

Decided: July 08, 2026

Gary S. Edinger of Benjamin, Aaronson, Edinger, & Patanzo, P.A., Gainesville, for Appellants. James Uthmeier, Attorney General, Anita J. Patel, Special Counsel, Emily J. Witthoeft, Assistant Attorney General, and Jeffrey Paul DeSousa, Acting Solicitor General, Tallahassee; Jason J. Muehlhoff, Chief Deputy Solicitor General, and Christopher J. Baum, Senior Deputy Solicitor General, Miami, for Appellee, Board of Governors of the State University System of Florida.

Affirmed. See Martinez v. Scanlan, 582 So. 2d 1167, 1170 (Fla. 1991) (citations omitted) (“[A]lthough a court may entertain a declaratory action regarding a statute's validity, there must be a bona fide need for such a declaration based on present, ascertainable facts or the court lacks jurisdiction to render declaratory relief.”); DeSantis v. Florida Educ. Ass'n, 306 So. 3d 1202, 1213 (Fla. 1st DCA 2020) (quoting Equity Res., Inc. v. County of Leon, 643 So. 2d 1112, 1117 (Fla. 1st DCA 1994)) (“To establish standing to sue, a plaintiff must have a ‘legitimate or sufficient interest at stake in the controversy that will be affected by the outcome of the litigation.’ ”).

Per Curiam.

Osterhaus, C.J., and Lewis and Bilbrey, JJ., concur.

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