CNN
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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis On Tuesday, he said he wanted to ban spending money on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, hoping state universities would “wither on the flag” without funding.
“It really acts as an ideological filter, a political filter,” the Republican said while speaking in Bradenton, Florida.
The proposal is prima facie DeSantis’ Higher Education Agenda This year, that includes giving politically appointed leaders and university boards of trustees more authority over hiring and hiring at universities and urging schools to focus their work on the needs of Florida’s future workforce. DeSantis, who is said to be weighing a 2024 presidential bid, has seen his standing among conservatives rise nationwide following public stances on hot-button cultural and education issues.
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A Press release Regarding the announced legislation, the governor’s office called diversity, equity and inclusion programs “discriminatory” and vowed to ban funding for universities, even if the source of the money does not come from the state.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs are designed to promote multiculturalism and encourage students of all races and backgrounds to feel comfortable in the campus setting, especially those from traditionally underrepresented communities. The state’s flagship school, the University of Florida, has a “Chief Diversity Officer,” a “Center for Inclusion and Multicultural Engagement,” and an “Office of Access and Gender Equity.”
Tuesday’s announcement foreshadowed when the governor’s office asked all state universities in December to account for all of their spending on programs and initiatives related to diversity, equity and inclusion or critical racial theory.
DeSantis announced his higher education agenda in Bradenton, a 15-minute drive from New College of Florida, the public liberal arts college founded by DeSantis. Controversial new board with a mandate to realign the school to his conservative vision of higher education. That includes $15 million to renovate the new college and hire faculty, DeSantis said.
The new board met on Tuesday, leading to protests on campus.
Eddie Speer, one of DeSantis’ new team members, wrote in an article Online posting He proposed at that meeting that the school “terminate all contracts for faculty, staff and administration” and “immediately hire faculty, staff and administration that fit into the new financial and business model.”
DeSantis’ announcement earlier this month pledged that presidents of the state’s two-year community colleges should not teach critical race theory in a vacuum and “sponsor or support any institutional practice, policy, or academic need. Related concepts or systems of oppression, such as race theory or intersectionality, should be the primary lens.” , through which teaching and learning are analyzed and/or improved.
State Education Department Classified the move “Rejecting ‘woke’ diversity, equity and inclusion [and] Critical Race Theory Ideologies.”
