A new act that bans all state financing for diversity, equality, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in the state’s colleges was reportedly signed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Monday.
On the grounds of the New College of Florida, an organization he has made significant changes to this year, DeSantis signed the measure, SB 266, there.
SB 266 gives university presidents more control over hiring procedures while prohibiting any public university from utilizing state revenue to pay for DEI programs.
DeSantis’ latest effort to combat what he refers to as woke influences on education is the bill.
He has also recently passed laws giving parents more control over the elementary, middle, and high school education of their children.
The Republican governor’s move is a part of a broader national reform movement aimed at the school system.
When parents reacted against the lack of transparency in the state’s schools and its concentration on critical race theory in the 2021 governor’s race in Virginia, that movement gained traction.
DeSantis is utilizing the Sarasota-based New College of Florida as a model for overhauling the public colleges in the state.
The college will be transformed by his leadership to resemble Michigan’s Hillsdale College, a private liberal arts college.
In a speech on Monday, DeSantis praised the reforms he had made to New College and claimed that his efforts to downplay DEI and CRT in the school had drawn in teachers from all across the nation.
[READ MORE: DeSantis Decries GOP’s ‘Culture of Losing’ During Visit to Iowa]
