Florida’s State Board of Education has moved to ensure taxpayer funds will no longer support diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives at the 28 state college campuses.
According to WPTV-5 News, the board announced Wednesday that they had put “strict regulations” in place to prohibit Florida College System institutions from using state or federal funds to conduct programs categorizing individuals based on sex or race for “differential or preferential treatment.”
The board also replaced the class “Principles of Sociology” with an American history course.
“The aim is to provide students with an accurate and factual account of the nation’s past, rather than exposing them to radical woke ideologies,” said the Florida Department of Education in a statement, “which had become commonplace in the now replaced course.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is currently serving his second term and seeking the Republican nomination for U.S. president, has been a key opponent of DEI.
Last year, the governor signed a bill into law banning state or federal spending on DEI programs at publicly funded colleges in Florida. He also requested Florida’s public colleges and universities to report how much they spend on DEI, later claiming they self-reported at least $34 million.
“Higher education must return to its essential foundations of academic integrity and the pursuit of knowledge instead of being corrupted by destructive ideologies,” said Florida Commissioner of Education Manny Diaz Jr. on Wednesday. “These actions today ensure that we will not spend taxpayers’ money supporting DEI and radical indoctrination that promotes division in our society.”
According to WPTV, the nonprofit Equality Florida said they’re not surprised at the passage of the education department’s new rule, describing the board as “a rubber stamp for Governor Ron DeSantis’ agenda of censorship and surveillance.”
“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’ failing political ambitions,” said Equality Florida, WPTV reported. “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.”
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