DeSantis puts Woke Colleges on Notice and tells Them to Hand over Diversity Receipts

Ben ZeisloftJanuary 4, 2023

The office of the Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL), requested information diversity State universities pay for expenditures

A memo A letter addressed to Manny Diaz, Florida State University System Chancellor, and Florida Education Commissioner Manny Diaz was sent to them on December 28. Bryan Griffin, DeSantis’ Press Secretary, posted it on Wednesday to social media. Bryan Griffin asked for data to help him collect data on diversity initiatives within the higher education system, as the Florida legislature starts to look at budget proposals.

“It is important that we have a full understanding of the operational expenses of state institutions,” According to the memo. “This letter is a request for information from the Department of Education and the State University System regarding the expenditure of state resources on programs and initiatives related to diversity, equity and inclusion, and critical race theory within our state colleges and universities.”

Administrators at universities were instructed to provide a brief description about the initiative, the number and type of staff involved, the total funding for the program, as well as the amount that was provided by taxpayer funds.

Numerous reports have highlighted the capital inflow into the emerging diversity sector. This was noticed after George Floyd’s death in the summer 2020. According to a report by a, public universities in Michigan, Maryland and Virginia employed diversity officials, who earned salaries ranging from $329,000 up to $430,000. report Fox News, while analysis The Heritage Foundation reported that for every 100 tenured faculty members, colleges have an average of three diversity employees.

“State legislatures, boards of higher education, and university trustees should investigate the extent of resources devoted to DEI personnel at the universities they oversee and subsidize,” The conservative think tank concluded. “Stakeholders should demand evidence about whether DEI resources are necessary and effective for achieving appropriate goals.”

DeSantis was the first to enter a second term After a landslide victory in reelection, the Sunshine State’s chief executive has implemented a variety of reforms to stop the spread of Critical Race Theory. The official signed Senate Bill 1108 (and House Bill 233) were signed into law in January 2012. The first piece of legislation was approved in May 2011. “requires state college and state university students to take both a civic literacy course and a civic literacy assessment as a graduation requirement,” While the former “requires state colleges and universities to conduct annual assessments of the viewpoint diversity and intellectual freedom at their institutions.”

Leftists were furious at reforms to the primary and second education systems. Media outlets and large corporations claimed that new parental rights laws discriminated against LGBTQ supporters. One such statute prohibited Instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity is offered to students in kindergarten through third grade.

“We must ensure school systems are responsive to parents and to students, not partisan interest groups, and we must ensure that our institutions of higher learning are focused on academic excellence and the pursuit of truth, not the imposition of trendy ideology,” DeSantis reiterated this during his second inaugural address. “We will enact more family-friendly policies to make it easier to raise children and we will defend our children against those who seek to rob them of their innocence.”