Florida bill targets "diversity, equity, or inclusion" on college campuses

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• Who is Katie Britt? The youngest woman ever elected to Senate got GOP spotlight
• SB 548 — Public Records Exemption
• Centers and Programs for Minority and LGBTQ+ Students
• No Florida university may spend any money (no matter where that money comes from) to:
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• Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signs 28 more bills into law. Here’s what they do and when they take effect

The bill would place control of core curricula and institutional mission statements entirely in the hands of political appointees. It would limit or ban students’ ability to pursue certain majors or areas of study. Simply put, it would make Florida’s colleges and universities into an arm of the DeSantis political operation. Among other things, the bill would ban majors and minors that require courses in subjects related to critical race theory, gender studies and intersectionality. It would also prohibit general education core courses from including critical race theory in the curriculum. While the original bill prohibited degree programs related to critical race theory, gender studies and intersectionality, the newer version replaces that language by prohibiting critical theory outright.

Who is Katie Britt? The youngest woman ever elected to Senate got GOP spotlight

Programs that show preferential treatment based on race, gender or other identifiers are also prohibited. Educational gag orders — which is how free expression advocacy group PEN America describes legislation that limits lessons on certain topics — typically target K-12 schools. Most states have introduced such bills over the past two years, and House Republicans last month passed the Parental Bill of Rights Act, which echoes legislation filed at the state level and purports to give parents a say in their children’s education. This includes access to learning materials, school board meetings and conferences with teachers — rights educators note that parents already enjoy. While student groups aren’t expected to be impact, Andrade explained that certain majors dealing in critical race theory — which he defined as the notion that “racism is baked into every aspect of society today” — would be pulled if the bill were to pass.

SB 548 — Public Records Exemption

A large and well-established Tampa company is seeking a contracts administrator to support the company's in-house attorney and manage a wide... The premier educational and networking event for employee benefits brokers and agents. Senate Bill 1688 adds requirements to improve student awareness of CTE opportunities.

Centers and Programs for Minority and LGBTQ+ Students

OPINION: House Bill 999 threatens academic freedom at public universities - The Oracle

OPINION: House Bill 999 threatens academic freedom at public universities.

Posted: Mon, 03 Apr 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida House Bill 999 aims to target diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, also known as DEI, and the study of critical race theory at all of the state’s public universities, according to News 6 partner WPLG. General education core courses may not suppress or distort significant historical events or include a curriculumthat teaches identity politics, such as critical race theory, or defines American history as contrary to the creation of a new nation based on universal principles stated in the Declaration of Independence. In the letter, the association's members express "horror" — instead of the "usual concern" — that that the legislation would give politically-appointed boards the power to dictate how American history is taught at the state’s universities, instead of leaving decisions about course content to faculty and administrators. They describe it as a "blatant and frontal attack on principles of academic freedom."

Broadly speaking, the bill increases the authority of the Florida Board of Governors (the governing body of Florida's state university system) to regulate state-funded higher education by terminating the tenure of professors and imposing limits on programs related to "Critical Race Theory" and DEI programs. In addition, the law allows the Florida DCF to distribute federal funds to young adults under this program in the event of a state or national emergency, even if they don’t meet the PESS or Aftercare requirements. The United Faculty of Florida, the statewide union of college and university professors, also opposes the proposed restrictions on curriculum.

The legislation (HB 999) was approved in a 12-5 party-line vote March 13 by the Postsecondary Education and Workforce Subcommittee as Republican lawmakers advanced the measure outlined more than a month ago by Gov. Ron DeSantis. "This is not only about Florida. It is about the heart and soul of public higher education in the United States and about the role of history, historians, and historical thinking in the lives of the next generation of Americans," the AHA added. Andrade on Wednesday took to Twitter after former state Rep. Carlos Guillermo, an opponent of the legislation, noted that Andrade was the only Republican who offered any debate or explanation on the bill, writing "It's tough to debate while being shouted down and threatened by angry liberals… DEI advocates HATE open debate." "Those student groups may continue to operate how they see fit currently, subject only to the policies and procedures that are content-neutral that apply to all student organizations on campus," he added. Hughley outlining some of the other programs thought to be at risk even went viral on social media. [P]oor performance, negligence, inefficiency or inability to perform assigned duties, insubordination, violation of any applicable law or rule, conduct unbecoming a public employee, misconduct, drug abuse, or conviction of any crime.

Several accreditation agencies have requirements for compliance with diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. A potential consequence of statewide legislation that takes aim at diversity, equity and inclusion; prohibits students from learning about race, gender and sexuality; and weakens tenure is that faculty and students may decide to pursue scholarship elsewhere. Many progressive Florida youth with the means to leave the state plan to do so, Fenning said.

"Let's stop going down this dangerous road of censorship and limiting free speech in our public institutions of higher learning and get back to solving the problems that Floridians ask for," Nixon tweeted Monday. Another course, titled Gender and Climate Change, is described as "exploring how gender inequality across the globe is related to environmental damage and climate change and examines feminist, indigenous, and LGBTQ climate justice movements alongside the gendered implications of global policy and practices related to the environment." A course titled Philosophy of Race, Class, and Gender is described as "a study of selected contemporary philosophical, literary, and journalistic discussions of questions regarding race, class, and gender with a particular emphasis of these discussions in the United States." "Frankly, faculty that is paid by the university may not be able to be faculty advisers to these groups. They won't be," Hinson said. "Even if they will, this is going to intimidate them and create a chilling effect."

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signs 28 more bills into law. Here’s what they do and when they take effect

'State-Mandated Censorship': Florida Faculty Worry About Bill That Would Ban Certain Majors - The Chronicle of Higher Education

'State-Mandated Censorship': Florida Faculty Worry About Bill That Would Ban Certain Majors.

Posted: Fri, 03 Mar 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]

Register now for our free OneVote public service or GAITS Pro trial account and you can begin tracking this and other legislation, all driven by the real-time data of the LegiScan API. Providing tools allowing you to research pending legislation, stay informed with email alerts, content feeds, and share dynamic reports. Use our new PolitiCorps to join with friends and collegaues to monitor & discuss bills through the process.Monitor Legislation or view this same bill number from multiple sessions or take advantage of our national legislative search. The University of Central Florida in Orlando has around 68,000 students enrolled; the University of Florida in Gainesville has some 61,000 students, and Florida International University in Miami boasts about 56,000. DeSantis kicked off his very public fight against “woke indoctrination” last spring when he signed into law the Stop WOKE Act, which aims to regulate how racism is discussed in schools and workplaces (though a federal judge struck down the provision pertaining to private businesses).

State Sen. Linda Stewart — who sponsored the Senate version of this bill — said the new rules will help investigators use search warrants to locate bodies that have been illegally dumped. And if they fail to make the report because they’re trying to hide the death or mislead investigators, they can face a third-degree felony. Congress passed the SAFE Act, which set forth rules for residential mortgage loan originators.

In addition, the law requires the state Department of Education to identify “best practices” in career and technical education (CTE) pathways from middle to high school. However, that doesn’t mean these aides have rights of tenancy within these mobile home parks, the law says. Aside from the new mediation rules, the law mandates that live-in healthcare aides must be able to get into and out of a relevant mobile home owner’s property without any additional fees or rent being charged. Under this law, a woman who has given birth within six months before the reporting date on a jury summons may be excused from service upon request. To republish, simply copy the HTML at right, which includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to The 19th.

During a Facebook Live event, another state senator, Shervin Jones, argued that the bill is "so vague that HBCUs [historically Black colleges and universities] or other institutions …. who have Black fraternities and sororities on their campuses can practically say we will no longer be supporting you on our campuses based off of this law." A member of a sorority herself, Hinson said her interpretation of the bill is that it could also impact the way Black sororities or fraternities operate on campus. [...] Hinson said the bill's language may have a larger impact on advisers of any student-led groups or activities tied to diversity, equity and inclusion.

The bill would also give university boards of trustees the power to hire faculty members, and then review their tenure at any time, with cause. Wording in HB 999 has also sparked fears that it could threaten sororities, fraternities and other clubs on campus that cater to Black students and other students of color. Currently in the Florida House’s Education and Employment Committee, HB 999 will take effect July 1 if enacted. Along with its companion legislation in the Florida Senate, the bill is one of the latest introduced in a state that has passed a series of recent laws to limit what students can learn about race, gender, sexuality or inequity. In early January, his budget office required all universities to detail what they spend on diversity, equity and inclusion programs. And on Jan. 31, the governor held a news conference announcing a sweeping package of changes that mirror those in Andrade’s bill.