TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Gov. Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill 266 into law Monday, enacting sweeping new requirements for Florida colleges and universities.
The bill restricts funding for diversity, equity and inclusion and requires schools to review teaching “based on theories that systemic racism, sexism and privilege are inherent in the institutions of the United States…”
“I think the governor is perhaps campaigning and higher education is caught in the crosshairs,” said Jessica Magnani, a professor at St. Pete College and faculty union chapter president.
“What that bill says is that the governor and the legislature who don’t have the same expertise in any of these disciplines are empowered to control what they can and cannot say in the classroom. I personally have a fundamental problem with that. That’s not the kind of education I want for my children,” she added.
The bill was signed at New College of Florida, a school DeSantis has made a flash point in the culture wars surrounding education in the state.
“You don’t get to just take taxpayer dollars and do whatever the heck you want to do and think that is somehow OK,” DeSantis said Monday.
“With our tax dollars, we want to focus on the classical mission of what her university is supposed to be. We don’t want to be diverted into a lot of these niche subjects that are heavily politicized,” the governor added.
The new law takes effect in July.
