Florida Profs File Lawsuit Over New State Law Restricting DEI in Higher Education
“The vague and overly broad language of S.B. 266 forces educators to self-censor, depriving students of a comprehensive education”
These programs are being suspended and even banned all over the country. Do these professors really think they can beat DeSantis on this issue?
The College Fix reports:
Florida professors file lawsuit against state law restricting DEI in higher education
A group of Florida professors representing several universities in the Sunshine State along with the American Civil Liberties Union have filed a lawsuit against a law passed in 2023 that banned spending on diversity, equity and inclusion programs and clamped down on critical race theory curricula.
The lawsuit “contends that S.B. 266 violates First Amendment protections by compelling viewpoint-based censorship and undermining the free exchange of ideas in public universities,” states a news release from the Florida ACLU.
The federal lawsuit, filed Thursday, alleges the law restricted or eliminated courses, cut funding for DEI initiatives, impeded academic research, and stifled student voices, the news release states. The complaint comes about a year-and-a-half after Gov. Ron DeSantis declared “whole experiment of DEI is coming to an end in the state of Florida.”
The complaint contents academic freedom is in danger and government overreach must be beat back. It seeks a preliminary and permanent injunction against the law, calling it unconstitutional.
One major point of contention seems to be how universities are not outright canceling classes, but rather removing their general education designation. If a class does not have a general education designation, most students won’t enroll and a college will be hesitant to offer it because it won’t attract many students.
“The vague and overly broad language of S.B. 266 forces educators to self-censor, depriving students of a comprehensive education,” stated Professor Sharon Austin, a lead plaintiff in the case. Austin is former director of the University of Florida’s African American Studies Program.
“The lawsuit said university officials in April denied funding to allow Austin to attend an international conference hosted by the Diversity Abroad organization, although she had received funding the previous year. The university’s provost office also flagged two of Austin’s courses — ‘Politics of Race’ and ‘Black Horror and Social Justice’ for not complying with the law, according to the lawsuit,” Jax Today reported.
“Austin attempted to address the university’s concern that the courses violated the law’s text about ‘identity politics and systemic racism,’ but was told in December that neither course was approved for general-education designation.”
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Comments
They are privileged to not face disciplinary action for their violations.
They should all be fired.
They’re just mad that they can’t discriminate or indoctrinate discrimination any more.
Oh they’ll keep on. This is process-as-punishment with a slight chance of cashing in.
“… undermining the free exchange of ideas in public universities…”
Chutzpah at its finest. Galling hypocrisy. Cancellations? Shout-downs? Assaulting speakers whose words were traumatizing to the snowflake bullies?
These people should be prosecuted for fraud. Or at least laughed out of court.
If they want to teach the hateful ideology of dei I suggest they do so, at their own expense,.
Neither ‘Politics of Race’ nor ‘Black Horror and Social Justice’ are “general” education in any sense of the description. General education courses are broad-based survey courses, not ones that focus on one specific area.
“The vague and overly broad language of S.B. 266 forces educators to self-censor, depriving students of a comprehensive education,” stated Professor Sharon Austin, a lead plaintiff in the case.
If self-censorship on college campuses were rare, Professor Austin might have a point. Unfortunately, self-censorship is widespread among college students. Examining Student Self-Censorship on College Campuses.
If self-censorship is already an issue for students, then it is also one for professors.
Would Professor Austin try to cancel a colleague who expressed a conservative opinion? Inquiring minds want to know.
The hypocrisy is strong in this one.
It’s going nowhere judicially, but it is good for fundraising, and potentially offers protection from further disciplinary action or funding cuts for the academic plaintiffs, who will promptly label either as retaliation for their legal challenges. I doubt this will fly as well, but adjudicating it might keep the paychecks coming a bit longer.