Culture
DeSantis signs bill ending funding for college diversity and inclusion programs
“This has basically been used as a veneer to impose an ideological agenda and that is wrong," DeSantis said about DEI programs
May 16, 2023 9:09am
Updated: May 16, 2023 9:09am
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill on Monday ending state funding for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs at colleges around the state, claiming that it imposes an “ideological agenda” on educational institutions.
The legislation, SB 266, which bans any public university from using state funding to sponsor DEI programs, was signed by DeSantis at the campus of New College of Florida.
“DEI is better viewed as standing for discrimination, exclusion, and indoctrination. And that has no place in our public institutions,” DeSantis said during a news conference.
“This has basically been used as a veneer to impose an ideological agenda and that is wrong," DeSantis said about DEI programs.
Monday’s legislation requires university officials to review lessons that are “based on theories that systemic racism, sexism, and privilege are inherent in the institutions of the United States and were created to maintain social, political, and economic inequities.”
On Monday, DeSantis also signed a bill banning public universities from requiring students to submit “diversity statements” for admissions, which are commonly used for applicants to show how their experience would add diversity to the school if accepted.
The signing is DeSantis' latest measure against “woke” influences in the education system, including critical race theory, gender identity, and LGBTQ equity.
DeSantis is emphasizing the New College of Florida in Sarasota as an example of what higher education should look like in the state. He has previously said he wants to turn New College into a school that resembles Hillsdale College, a private liberal arts school in Michigan.
"Our hope is that New College of Florida will become Florida's classical college, more along the lines of a Hillsdale of the South," Florida Education Commissioner Manny Diaz said in January.
DeSantis is expected to launch his campaign for the 2024 presidential elections in the coming weeks. He is widely seen as one of the main challengers for the 2024 Republican nomination, along with former president Donald Trump.
