Tag: Ron DeSantis

Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis pledged to defund all diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs at public universities during a Tuesday press conference in Bradenton, Florida.

DeSantis outlined several higher education reforms for state public universities including defunding DEI programs, which he referred to as “ideological” and “political filters,” readdressing required courses to teach western civilization and restructure tenure review. Tuesday’s announcement expanded on the administration’s recent work to prevent taxpayer dollars from funding so-called woke initiatives on college campuses. 

Florida colleges and universities are required to submit information detailing how they use state resources to support diversity, equity and inclusion programming, according to a memo from the state’s Office of Budget and Policy obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

All colleges and universities within the Florida College System and the State University System must submit a report explaining how they use state-given resources to provide diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and critical race theory (CRT) programs, according to the memo, which was sent by Office of Budget and Policy Director Chris Spencer to Florida Commissioner of Education Manny Diaz and State University System of Florida Chancellor Raymond Rodrigues. Florida state law requires oversight over higher education curricula, requiring officials to “identify the degree programs offered by public postsecondary educational institutions.”