Florida Board Bans Use Of State And Federal Funding Toward DEI Initiatives


Student Groups Protest Declining Black Enrollment At USF
TAMPA, FL - JULY 02: The Tampa Bay Students for Democratic Society led a protest at the University of South Florida President Steven Currall lives on campus on July 2, 2020 in Tampa, Florida. Tampa Bay Students for Democratic Society protest at the University of South Florida demanding an increase in Black student enrollment, employ more Black faculty and staff, more financial aid, and make direct connections with the surrounding community. (Photo by Octavio Jones/Getty Images)
(Photo by Octavio Jones/Getty Images)

OAN’s Abril Elfi
2:56 PM – Thursday, January 25, 2024

The Florida Board of Governors voted to ban state and federal spending on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs in all public universities in The Sunshine State.

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On Wednesday, the board voted to have the programs removed after Governor Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) signed the legislation in May of 2023 defunding them in all state universities and colleges.

According to the board, a state university will not be able to use state or federal funds to promote, support or maintain any programs or campus activities that “advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion” or “promote or engage in political or social activism.”

Bills to limit DEI programs at colleges and universities have been proposed or passed by more than a dozen state legislatures, who contend the offices waste money and have little effect. 

In a deal with GOP lawmakers last month, the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents decided to reduce diversity initiatives in return for state funding.

Governor Kevin Stitt (R-Okla.) also signed an executive order to have DEI programs defunded in colleges in Oklahoma. 

Florida’s Board of Governors defined DEI as “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.” 

The regulation also defines political or social activism 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.”

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