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.
College administrators say the efforts are an effective way to repair decades of discrimination. Republican politicians say the practices violate the law.
The Chronicle obtained multiple copies of the Board of Governors’ draft regulation from people close to the process. The drafts have 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 Board of Governors did not respond to a request for comment.
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.
Some Florida universities have issued guidance to faculty in the absence of state regulations, describing the legal process, but not saying exactly which programs would be axed. That’s struck widespread anxiety among faculty and staff who are involved in DEI efforts.
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. The draft regulation obtained by The Chronicle does not address these portions of the law.
SB 266 was one of at least 40 bills introduced in 22 states this year to restrict diversity, equity, and inclusion in higher education, of which seven have become law. While most of the laws are more limited in scope, targeting specific policies and practices such as the use of diversity statements in hiring and promotions, laws in Florida and Texas appear aimed at wiping out most of the DEI efforts that are intended to help colleges recruit and retain underrepresented students.
Critics of diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts — mostly conservatives — argue that they stifle intellectual diversity and are discriminatory. Ilya Shapiro, a senior fellow and director of constitutional studies at the Manhattan Institute, who was one of the authors of model state legislation that was the basis for many of the anti-DEI bills, said he had not had time to review the proposed regulation.
Critics of the Florida law argue that colleges have an obligation to support students who have historically attended and graduated at lower rates.
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. “Student groups advocating for social issues that directly impact them, such as university funding, free-speech rights, and even religious freedom will be stripped of all support, while faculty will be intimidated into not sponsoring such groups on campus.”
Senior reporter Francie Diep contributed to this report.
