DEI Funding Permanently Banned At FL State Colleges: Dept Of Education

FLORIDA — The State Board of Education voted Wednesday to ban the use of state or federal funds for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, activities and policies at Florida state colleges, according to a Florida Department of Education news release.

The board also formally defined DEI initiatives as those “that categorize individuals based on race or sex for the purpose of differential or preferential treatment,” FDE said.

The board’s decision means taxpayer funds can’t be used “to promote DEI” at the 28 state college campuses, according to the agency.

“DEI is really a cover for discrimination, exclusion and indoctrination, and that has no place in our state colleges at all,” Ben Gibson, board chair, said during Wednesday’s meeting, according to the Tallahassee Democrat. “Our state colleges need to be focused on learning and not any form of discrimination of any sort whatsoever.”

According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, DEI initiatives are essential for “creating a place where everyone is welcome, supported, and has the resources they need to grow and thrive regardless of identity, origin, or difference in circumstances.”

The board also replaced the course “Principles of Sociology” with a comprehensive general education core course in 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,” the department said.

“Higher education must return to its essential foundations of academic integrity and the pursuit of knowledge instead of being corrupted by destructive ideologies,” said Florida Commissioner of Education Manny Diaz, Jr. “These actions today ensure that we will not spend taxpayers’ money supporting DEI and radical indoctrination that promotes division in our society.”

Some denounced the board’s decisions, including civil rights advocate and attorney Ben Crump, who posted on X, formerly Twitter, about the board’s decision.

“We continue to go down a misguided path of censorship in Florida,” he wrote.