Florida’s new law to restrict diversity, equity, and inclusion activities in higher education would effectively gut public colleges’ explicit efforts to improve the academic outcomes of women, LGBTQ students, and students of color, if a preliminary draft of a regulation to implement the law is adopted.
Senate Bill 266, which was signed into law in May and took effect on July 1, prohibits the state’s public colleges and universities from spending state or federal dollars on diversity, equity, and inclusion activities or political or social activism, but leaves it to state regulators to define those terms.
The legislation directs Florida’s Board of Governors to adopt regulations to implement the law for the state’s public universities, and the Board of Education to adopt rules for the public colleges.
Rattler Nation has obtained a draft of the Board of Governors’ proposed regulation from people close to the process. The draft has been distributed to Florida’s public universities for comment, according to a source familiar with the process. After the Board of Governors has received their input, the regulation is expected to be posted for public comment and voted on by the board early next year.
The proposed regulation, which spans just over two pages, would define diversity, equity, and inclusion as “any program, activity, or policy that promotes differential or preferential treatment of individuals, or classifies such individuals on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, gender identity, or sexual orientation.” Political or social activism is defined as “any activity organized with a purpose of effecting or preventing change to a government policy, action, or function, or any activity intended to achieve a desired result related to social issues, where the university endorses or promotes a position in communications, advertisements, programs, or campus activities.”
The proposed regulation would specifically prohibit “manipulating, or attempting to manipulate, the status of an individual or group to equalizing or increase outcomes, participation, or representation as compared to other individuals or groups.”
That appears to apply to programs aimed at closing the achievement gap for students of color, for example.
The law exempts programs aimed at helping military veterans, Pell Grant recipients, first-generation college students, nontraditional students, certain transfer students from the state’s community colleges, students from low-income families, and students with “unique abilities.” Other exemptions include for compliance with federal laws, for accreditation (with approval from the Board of Governors), and for student-led organizations.
The proposed regulation would also require public universities to designate “agents” to enforce the prohibitions on DEI spending.
Censorship and exclusion
The Florida law also sets limits on what can be taught in general-education courses, including that they may not “distort significant historical events” or include a curriculum that teaches identity politics. The law also requires tenured professors to be evaluated every five years.
Andrew Gothard, president of the United Faculty of Florida union, which represents over 25,000 faculty members, said the proposed regulation could be summed in two words: censorship and exclusion.
“The Florida Board of Governors makes clear that students of color, LGBTQ+ students, and women — including women in STEM and other fields with gender disparities — among others, don’t deserve the kind of assistance that ensures all Floridians have fair-and-equal access to higher education,” Gothard said.