Florida board bans use of state, federal dollars for DEI programs at state universities

TALAHASSEE, Fla. — The board that oversees Florida’s 12 public universities voted Wednesday to ban the use of state or federal dollars for diversity programs or activities, following a law signed last spring by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.

The State Board of Governors approved the ordinance by voice vote. The DeSantis-backed bill is part of a broader Republican effort to target diversity, equity and inclusion programs in higher education nationwide. It also prohibits taxpayer money from being used to fund “political or social activism,” although student fees can pay for that.

“It was said that we were going to ban student organizations, and that’s not fair,” said Vice President Alan Levine.

The new law prohibits the use of taxpayer dollars to fund programs that “promote differential or preferential treatment of individuals, or classify such individuals on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, gender identity, or sexual orientation.” It also prohibits teaching theories that “systemic racism, sexism, oppression, and privilege are inherent in the institutions of the United States and are created to perpetuate social, political, and economic inequality.”

The State Board of Education last week adopted a similar policy for Florida’s 28 smaller colleges, and both boards opted to replace sociology as a core requirement in favor of a U.S. history class, another education priority of conservatives.

“There are no cuts. If there is a demand for sociology, that demand will be met,” said Tim Cerio, member of the Board of Directors. “It will simply be removed as a core requirement.”

A press release from the Ministry of Education called the sociological change an effort to “provide an accurate and factual account of the nation’s past, rather than exposing them to radically woke ideologies.”

The law prevents public universities from spending state or federal funds on programs or campus activities that advocate diversity, equity and inclusion or that promote political or social activism.

DeSantis, who signed the DEI Act before beginning his suspended run for president, said last May that DEI programs promote a liberal “orthodoxy” on campus.

“This has actually been used as a veneer to impose an ideological agenda, and that is wrong,” the governor said.