Florida Board of Education bans DEI on college campuses, removes sociology core course

The Florida Board of Education Wednesday approved rules that prohibit spending on diversity, equity and inclusion and remove sociology from general education core course options at community and state colleges. The decision echoes similar moves in Texas, which last year passed a law banning spending on DEI.

“We will continue to provide our students with a world-class education with high-quality instruction,” Florida Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. said during the board’s morning meeting on Tallahassee Community College’s campus.

The established rules follow Gov. Ron DeSantis’ conservative target on education in the state, where he signed a DEI law last year that dismantles such programs in public colleges and universities while making changes to the post-tenure review process for faculty.

While Florida’s Board of Governors has already introduced similar DEI regulations for institutions in the State University System, the Board of Education’s unanimous vote Wednesday officially implements the rule for the Florida College System – which consists of 28 colleges.

As of this January, 49 bills targeting DEI have been introduced in 23 states, according to a Chronicle of Higher Education tracker. Seven of those bills have been signed into law.

The regulation prohibits institutions from spending funds on DEI and from advocating for DEI, which is specifically defined as “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,” according to the rule.

More on DEI law:DeSantis signs bill banning funding for college diversity programs

But the colleges and universities can still spend money on student-led organizations, regardless of whether they consist of any speech or activity that might violate the DEI rule.

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

In addition, the regulation about the sociology course comes after Diaz – who also serves on the Board of Governors – made the proposal to the board to remove "Principles of Sociology" from the state’s core courses for general education requirements during a November meeting.

The general education core courses rule adds "Introduction to Geology" and "Introduction to Oceanography" as two new options in the natural sciences category while also adding “Introductory Survey to 1877,” to the social science subject area – ultimately taking out the sociology course.

The new social science core course option will cover American history from the country’s earliest colonial beginnings to 1877.

But after Diaz’s initial proposal, sociology department leaders across the state expressed their discontent about the change, saying that it will "impoverish" the curriculum.

More:Florida faculty ‘strongly object’ to removal of sociology from core college courses list

“It's important to make sure that taking out sociology really allows us to focus more with that new American History course on those foundational principles – the breadth of American history that's covered in US history,” Florida College System Chancellor Kathryn Hebda said Wednesday. “Everything from colonization through the New Republic, to the Civil War and slavery, all of that is included in that first survey course.”

Although the sociology class will no longer be on the core course options list for general education requirements, students will still be able to access the course if they are interested in taking it, Hebda says.

“Students should be focused on learning the truth about our country instead of being radicalized by woke ideologies in our college classrooms,” Diaz said.

Contact Tarah Jean at tjean@tallahassee.com or follow her on X: @tarahjean_.