TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – On Wednesday, Florida’s Board of Governors voted to ban state funding of “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” — or DEI — programs at public universities within the state.
The decision comes after Senate Bill 266 was passed last year, which restricts the state from putting money toward these types of programs or activities.
According to the Board of Governors, “DEI” refers to the following:
“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.”
Regulation 9.016 of the State University System of Florida
As a result, taxpayer funding can no longer be used to promote DEI programs at the state’s public universities and colleges, including the University of Central Florida, Seminole State College, and Florida State University.
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The new regulation states that universities engage in DEI when they try to do either of the following:
- Discriminate against people based on factors like race, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, or national origin to try to “equalize or increase outcomes, participation or representation as compared to other individuals or groups”
- Promote the idea that — based on factors like color, sex, national origin, gender identity, or sexual orientation — a person or group’s actions are implicitly biased
“We have clubs from all nations, all types...” said Yamilly Silver, a pre-med student at the University of Central Florida. “It’s not too much to invest in diversity and respect and love communication with each other.”
In addition, public funds may also not be put toward campus programs that engage in “political or social activism.”
“It intimidates, threatens, and in some cases, eliminates multicultural student centers, Jewish student unions, black student unions, hispanic student unions and, of course, LGBTQ student unions,” Joe Saunders of Equality Florida said during the board meeting. “What interest does this serve?”
In response, Chairman Alan Levine on the Board of Governors said that the new regulations don’t actually ban student organizations.
“There’s a specific exemption in those regulations where student activity fees can be used. If student government funds a student group that advocates for, let’s say, the black student union, there is no prohibition in this regulation from that happening,” Levine said.
Along with the new DEI rules, the board voted to eliminate the core class “Principles of Sociology,” instead replacing it with a general American History course dubbed “Introductory Survey to 1877.”
The new course is designed to teach students “a historically accurate account of America’s founding, the horrors of slavery, the resulting Civil War, and the Reconstruction era,” according to the State University System of Florida.
“I am proud of the Board’s decision today and look forward to the positive impact the addition of this course will have on our students’ and their future success. Florida’s students of our State University System will have the opportunity to learn about the creation and development of our nation as part of the core course options,” said Chancellor Ray Rodrigues.
Meanwhile, the American Sociological Association released a statement on Thursday, claiming to be “outraged” at the decision.
There was no evidentiary basis for making this decision. In fact, the Board rejected a proposal from one of the governors to table the vote while relevant data could be gathered. This decision seems to be coming not from an informed perspective, but rather from a gross misunderstanding of sociology as an illegitimate discipline driven by “radical” and “woke” ideology. To the contrary, sociology is the scientific study of social life, social change, and the social causes and consequences of human behavior, which are at the core of civic literacy and are essential to a broad range of careers.
Sociologists bring expert knowledge, understanding, and methodological skills to addressing challenging social problems that have broad public policy implications in areas such as substance abuse, housing insecurity, poverty, health, and education. Failure to prioritize the scientific study of the causes and consequences of human behavior is a failure of Florida’s commitment to providing high-quality civics education and workforce readiness. We urge the Florida Board of Governors to reverse its decision and reinstate sociology as a core course option.
Statement by the American Sociological Association
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