Fla. Colleges Banned From Spending Public Funds on DEI

In an effort to purge higher education of "destructive ideologies," the Florida Board of Education announced that state colleges are banned from spending public funds on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, activities, and policies.

The new rule will ensure that "taxpayer funds can no longer be used to promote DEI" on the Sunshine State's 28 public college campuses, according to a press release.

"Higher education must return to its essential foundations of academic integrity and the pursuit of knowledge instead of being corrupted by destructive ideologies," Florida Commissioner of Education Manny Diaz Jr. said. "These actions today ensure that we will not spend taxpayers' money supporting DEI and radical indoctrination that promotes division in our society."

DEI, as defined by the regulation, is "any program, campus activity, or policy that classifies individuals on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, gender identity, or sexual orientation and promotes differential or preferential treatment of individuals on the basis of such classification."

In an emailed statement to Axios, Diaz said it was "unacceptable to use taxpayer dollars to support programs that categorize individuals by their race or sex."

"DEI is DOA in Florida," he added.

The move could impact clubs, classes, and other programs at the schools within the Florida college system; the rule does exempt campus activities that are required to maintain "compliance with federal laws or regulations" and retaining academic accreditation, however.

The state board also replaced the course "Principles of Sociology" with a general education American history course. The aim of the substitution, the board said, "is to provide students with an accurate and factual account of the nation's past, rather than exposing them to radical woke ideologies, which had become commonplace in the now replaced course."

Last May, Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation to bar the state's colleges and universities from using any state or federal funding for DEI programs and campus activities. The law directed the state board of education to develop rules to implement the restriction.

It also established a process for the state to review college courses, majors and minors and weed out any that are "based on theories that systemic racism, sexism, oppression, and privilege" are native to the United States.

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