Earlier this month, Campus Reform broke a story on how the University of Michigan spends more than $30 million on hundreds of staff that work on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. With a number like this, it’s no surprise to learn that dozens of staffers make six figures salaries, including the university’s chief diversity administrator who rakes in more than the president of the United States. As the economist who analyzed the data for CR said, “UM has become a DEI ideological complex with a university attached.”
With DEI becoming another flashpoint in the culture wars, Florida is taking a decidedly different approach.
The state’s board of education unanimously approved rules that ban DEI spending at the 28 public colleges in the Sunshine State.
This applies to “any program, campus activity, or policy that classified 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 rule states.
Additionally, the board voted to replace “Principles of Sociology” with a course on American history.
“The aim is to provide students with an accurate and factual account of the nation's past, rather than exposing them to radical woke ideologies, which had become commonplace in the now replaced course,” a statement from the board of education said.
“Higher education must return to its essential foundations of academic integrity and the pursuit of knowledge instead of being corrupted by destructive ideologies,” explained Florida Commissioner of Education Manny Diaz, Jr. in a statement. “These actions today ensure that we will not spend taxpayers’ money supporting DEI and radical indoctrination that promotes division in our society.”
Here’s the press release: pic.twitter.com/pc4oQrQKAa
— Steve McGuire (@sfmcguire79) January 17, 2024
Here’s the new DEI rule, which defines 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… pic.twitter.com/foPDiKeSve
— Steve McGuire (@sfmcguire79) January 17, 2024
The new rules are the latest move targeting DEI in Florida and follows Gov. Ron DeSantis's earlier efforts to defund the destructive ideology at public, postsecondary institutions in the state. The Florida Board of Governors announced similar rules last year for the Florida State University system, according to Inside Higher Ed.