Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is trying to ban race-related conversations from higher education classrooms, and is requesting course data from state colleges that teach “diversity, equity and inclusion. All state university and college systems in Florida have been required to report expenditures and resources utilized for campus activities related to diversity, equity, and inclusion and critical race theory.
The request comes after a judge recently temporarily blocked the passing of the governor’s Stop WOKE (Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees) Act, which would ban race-related coursework, also known as critical race theory (CRT) from college and university classrooms.
In addition, his office is requiring that Florida state college and universities report their spending on diversity, equity, and inclusion, as well as projects and initiatives related to critical race theory.
In a memo dated December 28, Chris Spencer, the director of the office of policy and budget in the DeSantis administration, asked the Department of Education and the state university system to disclose their staff, programs, and campus activities structured along these progressive ideological frameworks.
Each applicable educational institution must submit a description of the DEI project, relevant positions, and the funding spent, including the proportion that is from the state. The memo sets a deadline of January 13 for the responses.
