Black Community News News and Commentary for Christians
Governor Ron DeSantis said some things in February that shocked and angered leftists — as a red state governor should be doing.
“We also believe that you should not have the school be a focus of school union politics and politicking and handing out literature…You do that on your own time, not on the public’s time.”
If that weren’t enough, he also said the state intended to “eliminate all DEI [diversity, equity, and inclusion] and CRT [critical race theory] bureaucracies in the state of Florida. No funding, and that will wither on the vine.”
On Monday, Gov. DeSantis did just that. He signed legislation that defunds DEI programs at taxpayer-supported colleges and universities in Florida. The new law, effective July 1, also allows the state to remove programs, majors, and minors that teach DEI or related issues.
Gov. DeSantis laid it all out in a press conference. Florida is cleaning house, rooting out leftist ideology where it takes root.
Florida has overhauled the accrediting system to inject competition, which “is absolutely essential,” the governor said. The legislature also changes how tenure works. All tenured professors must undergo review every five years “and can be let go for poor performance.”
Gov. DeSantis said the first bill he’d be signing is one that will “reorient our universities back to their traditional mission, and part of that traditional mission is to treat people as individuals” and not divide them into “superficial characteristics.”
Can you hear leftists’ heads exploding?
Florida will also elevate merit and achievement, the governor said. Then he spoke specifically about DEI. He called it an “attempt to impose orthodoxy on the university, and not even necessarily in the classroom but through the administrative apparatus of the university itself, and that manifests itself in a number different ways.”
Gov. DeSantis said that looking at the way DEI is actually implemented, it stands for “discrimination, exclusion, and indoctrination.” That has no place in our public institutions, he added to applause.
The DEI experiment is coming to an end in Florida, which could improve teacher quality and increase focus on courses like STEM. Gov. DeSantis said he thinks DEI has distracted from the core mission of the university. If you want to study CRT or gender ideology go to Berkeley. More applause.
The location of the press conference, New College in Sarasota, is symbolic of the changes. Gov. DeSantis appointed six new conservative trustees to overhaul the school to return it to a model of classical education.
The new legislation provides funding for civics education in colleges and universities.
Chris Rufo, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, education activist, and a board trustee at New College, also spoke at the press conference. Watch the press conference below for much more.
Florida Eliminates DEI in Higher Education https://t.co/AAUiXPgqPI
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) May 15, 2023
Stand up for academic freedom and help spread the word!
Wouldn’t STEM/STEAM programs (to attract more girls into the sciences) be aligned with DEI? Also, if you specifically include African-American girls in STEM/STEAM, some people could consider that a form of discrimination against White and Asian young ladies. It can be a touchy subject.