Governor Ron DeSantis' (R-FL) battle against Left Wing indoctrination in schools will open to a new front in 2023. A new executive memorandum evidently seeks to audit Florida's colleges and universities.
Specifically, their funding of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and Critical Race Theory (CRT) material.
The memorandum specifies that every institution in both the Florida College and State University System must "provide a comprehensive list of all staff, programs, and campus activities related to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and critical race theory." From there, they must describe any programs and how much funding they receive, especially if it comes from the state. Other specifications include full and partial FTE (full time-equivalent) positions.
While the memorandum does not describe any sort of punitive action should any colleges not comply by January 13, it presumably includes cutting funds.
Furthermore, it describes DeSantis as placing emphasis on "a cost-effective higher education system that delivers high quality service to Floridians to best prepare them for employment." Such wording suggests DeSantis views the teaching of CRT and DEI as counterproductive.
This initiative is arguably the next level of DeSantis' Parental Rights in Education bill, a similar bill dealing with sex education in grade school rather than racial education. Similarly, DeSantis has also sought to fight against Environmental Social Governance (ESG) in businesses, which has also been criticized by Sen. Marco Rubio (R) for its potential anti-trust violations and Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL-19) for its empowerment of federal agencies in regulating business.
Moreover, such a move is line with DeSantis' already-famous remark that "Florida is where woke goes to die" quoted in the above link and his continued dedication in keeping Florida #1 in public higher education, education freedom, and parental involvement in education. "This is a record we can all be proud of. And we are far from done," DeSantis said at his second inaugural address.
