Diversity Programs restricted in Florida schools

By Reginald Stuart TALLAHASSEE, FL — The assault on Florida’s state controlled higher education by southern conservative advocates got a major political boost this month when the University of Florida said it was eliminating all positions focused on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, a move hailed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. The decision was among a variety of state actions championed by Gov. DeSantis who again voiced his support for challenging long established higher education governing boards, such as the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SASCOC) in Atlanta. That higher education standards organization, in the past few decades, has tried to bring all colleges and universities to common basic standards regarding staffing, financial soundness and administrative leadership. In the process, Gov. DeSantis asserts, the prevailing regulators have been trying to “impose an orthodoxy,” adding in a recent speech, regulators are trying to make “DEI part of an accrediting ethos.” He is helping pursue “a needed correction,” he said. & Earlier this year, The Florida Board of Education, announced a new rule banning public higher education institutions from using federal funds for diversity, equity and inclusion programs for activities and students.& The announcement earlier this month terminates 13...