Ron DeSantis Plans to Defund Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Programs in Florida Universities

After banning AP African American Studies courses from being taught in Florida high schools, Governor Ron DeSantis is on his next mission.

Tuesday, the republican governor announced several high education reforms that his administration plans to carry out. It includes defunding diversity, equity and inclusion programs in every Florida university. Desantis says he also wants to make sure everyone attending a Florida university takes “certain core course requirements, that’s really focused on giving them the foundation so that they can think for themselves and the core curriculum must be grounded in actual history, the actual philosophy that has shaped Western civilization.”

“We are also going to eliminate all DEI and [critical race theory] bureaucracies in the state of Florida. No funding, and that will wither on the vine,” DeSantis said. “And I think that that’s very important because it really serves as an ideological filter, a political filter.”

Traditionally, DEI programs help universities foster a more inclusive and supportive space for students and staff who are underrepresented or subject to discrimination. However, Desantis believes these programs are a drain on resources and impose an agenda on people.

This announcement is just one of the governor and potential 2024 presidential hopeful’s “stop woke” agenda. He previously tried to ban workplace diversity initiatives. However, the attempt was unsuccessful. He’s also pushed for the ban of critical race theory and just last March signed into law the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which bans Florida teachers from holding classroom instruction about sexual orientation or gender identity. Last week, Advanced Placement course on African American history was banned from Florida schools.

Speaking at State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota Tuesday, DeSantis’ also proposed in his new higher education reform to give university boards of trustees and the presidents of the universities the power to call a post-tenure review at any time for professors. Tenured faculty currently can be reviewed once every five years, he said. He also proposes amending standards for preeminent state research universities to require “annual research expenditures of $50 million for STEM related programs, businesses or industry partners that will employ Floridians.”

New higher education proposal builds off our 2022 reforms:
– Core courses rooted in Western tradition
– Elimination of DEI/CRT bureaucracies
– Bolster civics-focused institutes at UF, FSU and FIU
– Additional accountability for tenured faculty pic.twitter.com/XV6mExlzHJ

— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) January 31, 2023