DeSantis-appointed board eliminates diversity and equity initiatives at Disney World

The board appointed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to oversee Disney World announced on Tuesday that it was abolishing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and race-based hiring practices. 

The initiatives “discriminated against Americans based on gender and race, costing taxpayers millions of dollars,” said the Central Florida Oversight District (CFTOD) in a statement. 

Last year, DeSantis ended Disney’s autonomy over the special tax district surrounding its Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando after Disney’s former CEO verbally opposed Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Act. Known as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, the act limits the discussion of gender identity and sexual orientation in classrooms with students aged nine or younger.

The Florida legislature voted to dissolve the board that oversaw the district, which was granted to Disney in 1967, and created the CFTOD in its place with DeSantis-appointed members. 

“The so-called diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives were advanced during the tenure of the previous board and they were illegal and simply un-American,” CFTOD district administrator Glenton Gilzean said in a statement. 

“Our district will no longer participate in any attempt to divide us by race or advance the notion that we are not created equal.

The previous board awarded contracts motivated by racial and gender-driven goals, which ended up costing the district millions of dollars more in order to find businesses that could comply with the guidelines, according to the CFTOD.

The DEI programs that were canceled include a program that requires contractors to employ a certain number of women and minority employees. Even after entering into a contract, district employees would monitor the contractor’s racial and gender practices, the board claimed. 

In June, DeSantis asked a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Disney in April, which claims that the Republican presidential candidate engaged in a “targeted campaign of government retaliation.”

DeSantis’ attorneys claim that Disney “grabbed headlines by suing the governor” despite having no basis for the lawsuit.  

“Although Disney has grabbed headlines by suing the governor, Disney – like many litigants before it who have challenged Florida’s laws – has no basis for doing so,” the lawyers wrote.