Overview:
State Board of Education in Florida introduced regulations restricting public funds for (DEI) programs, activities, and policies within FCS.
The day after celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday, the State Board of Education in Florida introduced regulations restricting public funds for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs, activities, and policies within the Florida College System (FCS). The new rule, adopted by the Board, prohibits institutions within the FCS from utilizing state or federal funds for programs that classify individuals based on race or sex for differential or preferential treatment.
This decision is expected to reshape the landscape of higher education in the state, as taxpayer funds will no longer be allocated to support DEI initiatives on Florida’s 28 state college campuses. In addition to these regulatory changes, the State Board of Education also announced replacing the “Principles of Sociology” course with a comprehensive general education core course in American History.
“Higher education must return to its essential foundations of academic integrity and the pursuit of knowledge instead of being corrupted by destructive ideologies,” stated Commissioner Manny Diaz, Jr. “These actions today ensure that we will not spend taxpayers’ money supporting DEI and radical indoctrination that promotes division in our society.”
This move comes after Florida Gov. DeSantis signed HB 7 (commonly called the Stop WOKE Act) in April 2022, which aims to restrict educating children and others about the United States’ legacy of racism in schools and workplaces. In January 2023, the Florida Department of Education rejected an Advanced Placement course covering African American studies — saying the class indoctrinates students to “a political agenda.”
In reporting from WPTV out of Florida, the non-profit Equality Florida released this statement.
“There’s no surprise today that the State Board of Education, a board that has been a rubber stamp for Governor Ron DeSantis’s agenda of censorship and surveillance, moved forward with another sweepingly broad rule that abolishes diversity and inclusion programs in the Florida College System. The Board’s rules go well beyond what’s required by Governor DeSantis’s already extreme SB 266, handcuffing state colleges from using any state-funded resources on diversity programs that help recruit talented faculty, support students with unique needs, and help Florida’s colleges compete for national research and funding. This is a brazenly political attack on Florida’s colleges, and all minorities in Florida, and is one more way state agencies have been weaponized to support Governor DeSantis’s failing political ambitions. Shame on the State Board of Education for passing rules that weaken and threaten Florida’s colleges in service to one more manufactured culture war.”
