Florida House Works on Oversight Bill for Public Universities

The Florida House of Representatives is currently working on a bill (H.B. 999) to oversee curriculum and fund management at state-funded universities. This bill will focus on transparency of resource allocation including, but not limited to: School-funded programs, course content, graduation rate, career placement in pertinence to field of study, and so forth. It aims to protect future and current students by providing a clear analysis of a constituent university’s academic direction and how certain programs will translate to success after graduation.

At the heart of this bill is the elimination of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs in state-funded colleges. Specifically, the bill takes aim at universities utilizing state funds “to promote, support or maintain any programs or campus activities that advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion.” The bill stipulates that general education core courses may not distort significant historical events with misleading or incorrect facts, and that courses must teach the foundational truths of basic curriculum such as communication, humanities, social sciences, natural science and mathematics. “We will be the first state to wipe out DEI at our public universities,” said Governor Ron DeSantis.

Powers and Duties Relating to Accountability

Board of governors at constituent universities are to align the missions of the institution with the future success of their student body when they graduate and enter the work force. They are required to report metrics on the focus of core missions such as, “curriculum that promotes citizenship in a constitutional republic, retention, graduation, percentage of graduates who have attained employment, percentage of graduates enrolled in continued education, licensure passage, average wages of employed graduates, average cost per graduate,” and much more.

Opposition to the bill lies with the elimination of Critical Theory course content such as Critical Race Theory, Radical Feminist Theory, Queer Theory, and Intersectionality to name a few. Elimination or prevention of these programs is based on the ideological viewpoint that academic framework—specifically historical—must be reshaped and restructured. It’s seen as divisive in nature and harmful to impressionable students that are learning how to view the world and prepare themselves for a successful future. Elected representatives have conveyed their tax-paying constituents would prefer to fund education that is unifying and based on an accurate account of historical events—not modern theory.

Supporters of the bill criticize the lack of success woke universities are having with metrics like career placement and graduation rate. The New Yorker reports that institutions like New College of Florida have reported: a 20% drop-out rate inside year one, a third of recent graduates as unemployed, and (if employed) graduates pulling in an average salary of $32,000 a year. With these alarming metrics bubbling to the surface, Governor DeSantis has appointed a handful of panelists like Christopher Rufo and Debra Jenks as trustees for New College of Florida in an attempt to transform the institution from the inside out.

The state of Florida has made it clear that state-funded educational institutions will not become a cesspool for radical left-wing theoretical experiments, and the students of Florida will not be the guinea pigs. Representatives of Florida have been tasked with protecting the minds of our youth and shielding them from harmful rhetoric spewed from ideologues that set out to label minority groups as marginalized victims condemned to inevitable failure. These values are not reflective of the country, and surely not the state of Florida, and therefore should have no place in public learning spaces.

Stay tuned to learn more about H.B. 999 as this story continues to progress.