TALLAHASEE, Fla. (AP) — The governor of Florida. Ron DeSantis announced plans Tuesday to prevent state universities from offering courses on diversity, equity and inclusion and critical race theory, his latest step on the front lines of the nation’s culture wars.
The proposal was first introduced by the Republican governor as part of a larger higher education legislative plan that is expected to be considered by the Republican-controlled state Legislature at the start of its regular session in March.
The second-term governor, who is widely expected to launch his 2024 White House bid in late spring and early summer, has become a vocal opponent of so-called awakening policies on race, gender and public health. Those positions endear him to conservative supporters of the Republican Party but risk alienating independents and moderate voters in both parties who are influential in presidential politics.
critical race theory is a way of thinking about American history through the lens of racism. Scholars developed it in the 1970s and 1980s in response to what scholars see as a lack of racial progress following the civil rights legislation of the 1960s. Its central idea is that racism is systemic in state institutions, whose function is to maintain white dominance in society.
“I think people want to see real scholarship, and they want to get rid of some of the political facade that seems to go with it all,” DeSantis said at a news conference in Bradenton, adding that critical race theory and diversity, Equity and inclusion, known as DEI, will “go unfunded and fall by the wayside”.
The proposal “advances learning and civic discourse in Florida’s public higher education by “prohibiting institutions of higher education from using any funding, regardless of source, to support DEI, CRT and other discriminatory education,” the governor’s office said in a statement. standard” measures. “
Later in the day, the neoconservative majority on the once-progressive New College of Florida board — most of whom were recently appointed by DeSantis — voted to remove current president Patricia Oak. They also voted to start a debate on whether to abolish the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and related programs. Final decisions on the diversity, equity and inclusion plan will be made at another meeting.
The overall idea is to transform the Sarasota school of fewer than 1,000 students into what the new trustees call a “classic” liberal arts school.
“I think it’s time we set new standards,” said one of the new trustees, Christopher Rufo, a conservative activist. “I think new leadership is the expectation.”
The trustees voted to hire Richard Corcoran as the next new Dean of the College. The Republican former state House speaker and education commissioner is a close ally of DeSantis.
Dozens of students rallied outside ahead of the meeting to oppose major changes to the school and its mission, known for its open-ended approach to coursework with no specific grades and a home that many feel marginalized at other schools. A safe place for LGBTQ students.
“That’s what’s at stake today, and that’s what we’re here to protect: freedom to learn, freedom to think and freedom to be who we are,” said fourth-grader Madison Markham.
As the 2024 presidential primary begins, ambitious Republicans are increasingly eager to embrace the cultural divide as they appeal to conservative voters who typically decide the Republican primary.
Former President Donald Trump unveiled his own education plan last week, promising to cut federal funding to any school or program that includes “critical race theory, gender ideology or other inappropriate racial, sexual or political content.” to our children.”
“Our public schools have been taken over by radical left lunatics,” Trump, the only candidate to announce his candidacy so far, said in a video announcing the plan.
DeSantis’ overall higher education proposal was expected after his administration in late December asked state universities to submit spending data and other information on programs related to diversity, equity and inclusion and critical race theory.
The governor also urged education administrators to “repurpose” the curriculum to provide historically accurate information and not include identity politics. DeSantis’ proposal has yet to be introduced as formal legislation, but the Republican-controlled state capitol is often eager to implement his initiatives.
DeSantis and other conservatives have long argued that critical race theory and diversity, equity and inclusion programs are racially divisive and discriminatory — and are often cited as a critic of what they call a “woke up” in education. “Ideology.
Last year, the governor signed legislation called the Stop Wake Up Act, which limits certain race-based conversations and analysis in schools and businesses. The law prohibits indicating that members of a race are inherently racist, or should feel guilty for the past actions of others of the same race, etc.
This month, the DeSantis administration blocked a new Advanced Placement course Teaching African American studies in high schools, saying it violates state law and is historically inaccurate.
So far, at least 25 states have considered legislation or taken other steps to limit how race and racism are taught, according to an analysis in Education Week. Eight states, all Republican-led, have passed laws or administrative measures to ban or limit the teaching of critical race theory or similar concepts. These bans focus on content that can be taught in classrooms.
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Associated Press writers Curt Anderson in St. Petersburg, Fla., and Steve Peoples in New York contributed to this report.