Ron DeSantis Wants To Censor Florida Public Universities' Curricula

Students, teachers, and advocates across the state say they are concerned with DeSantis’ ongoing censorship and how it will impact their education.

by Alexandra Martinez, Prism

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ censorship of public education continues—and students, educators, and advocates across the state say they are concerned it will censor their curriculum.

A preliminary injunction by a federal judge in November blocked portions of Florida’s Individual Freedom Act—also known as the ”Stop WOKE Act”—from being enforced in higher education. However, in December, DeSantis’ office released a memo requesting data from public colleges and universities on courses and programs related to diversity, equity, and inclusion and “critical race theory.” According to ABC News, the Dec. 28 memo further required public colleges and universities to describe which programs and campus-related activities were connected to diversity, equity, inclusion, and critical race theory by Jan. 13. Institutions were also instructed to report how much the programs cost, how much state-funding would be spent on them, and how many employees would be included in the instruction.

Scenes from a rally at the Duval County Courthouse against the proposed HB1 law that critics have said would criminalize peaceful protests.

In recent weeks, DeSantis appointed six outspoken conservatives to the New College of Florida’s board of trustees, rattling the liberal arts college in Sarasota. He also appointed a private school staff member to the Miami-Dade County School Board. These changes were made in tandem with other acts of fear-induced censorship across the state. In Manatee County, teachers closed their classroom libraries this week out of fear they would be charged with a felony under a new Florida law that requires all reading materials in schools to be selected by an employee with a valid “education media specialist” certificate.