Erica Lavina v. Florida Prepaid College Board

── Erica Lavina v. Florida Prepaid College Board ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit Date: April 21, 2026 Category: NEW USCA11 Case: 25-11267 Document: 44-1 Date Filed: 04/21/2026 Page: 1 of 9 FOR PUBLICATION In the United States Court of Appeals For the Eleventh Circuit ____________________ No. 25-11267 ____________________ ERICA LAVINA, ANDREA DARLOW, individually and on behalf of all those similarly situated, Plaintiffs-Appellants, versus FLORIDA PREPAID COLLEGE BOARD, a Florida agency, JOHN ROOD, in his capacity as Chairman of the Florida Prepaid College Board, ADRIA D. STARKEY, in her capacity as Vice Chair of the Florida Prepaid College Board, MARK AGUSTIN, SLATER BAYLISS, in their capacity as members of the Florida Prepaid College Board, et al., Defendants-Appellees. USCA11 Case: 25-11267 Document: 44-1 Date Filed: 04/21/2026 Page: 2 of 9 2 Opinion of the Court 25-11267 ____________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida D.C. Docket No. 0:24-cv-60001-BB ____________________ Before WILLIAM PRYOR, Chief Judge, and BRASHER and ABUDU, Cir- cuit Judges. WILLIAM PRYOR, Chief Judge: This appeal requires us to decide whether the Florida Pre- paid College Board enjoys sovereign immunity from a suit to en- join changes to its college savings plans. After Andrea Darlow and Erica Lavina purchased college tuition savings plans for their daughters, they sued members of the Board to enjoin the applica- tion of amendments to their plan contracts as violative of the Con- tracts and Takings Clauses. See U.S. CONST. art. I, § 10, cl. 1; id. amend. V. The district court dismissed the suit as barred by the Eleventh Amendment. Because the requested relief would require specific performance of a contract, we agree that sovereign immun- ity bars the suit. But because the district court dismissed the com- plaint with prejudice, we vacate and remand with instructions to dismiss without prejudice. I. BACKGROUND The Florida Prepaid College Board offers savings plans for Florida residents to prepay for a child’s college tuition. In exchange for a fixed amount, the plan “guarantees to cover the cost” of tui- tion at “any Florida public university or community college” when a beneficiary is ready to enroll. And if the beneficiary decides to USCA11 Case: 25-11267 Document: 44-1 Date Filed: 04/21/2026 Page: 3 of 9 25-11267 Opinion of the Court 3 attend a private or out-of-state college, the plan promises to trans- fer “an amount not to exceed the current rates at state universities and community colleges in Florida” to the college. Andrea Darlow and Erica Lavina purchased plans for their daughters in 2004 and 2006, respectively. In 2007, the Florida Legislature allowed state colleges to charge a “tuition differential” fee to “improv[e] the quality of direct undergraduate instruction.” An Act Relating to Academic Fees, 2007 Fla. Laws ch. 2007-225 (codified as amended at FLA. STAT. §§ 1009.01, 1009.24, 1009.98). The statute defined the “tuition dif- ferential” fee separately from “tuition,” FLA STAT. § 1009.01(1), (3), and it exem