The state of Florida has announced that it is permanently banning taxpayer money from being used to fund schools with Marxism-rooted diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs.
On Wednesday, Florida’s State Board of Education announced “strict regulations” for the state college system.
In a press statement regarding the new rules, the Board wrote:
“The rule adopted by the Board defined, for the first time, DEI and affirmatively prohibits FCS institutions from using state or federal funds to administer programs that categorize individuals based on race or sex for the purpose of differential or preferential treatment.
“The Board’s decision will ensure that taxpayer funds can no longer be used to promote DEI on Florida’s 28 state college campuses.”
Florida Commissioner of Education Manny Diaz, Jr. said schools are being “corrupted” by “destructive” radical Left dogmas.
“Higher education must return to its essential foundations of academic integrity and the pursuit of knowledge instead of being corrupted by destructive ideologies,” Diaz said.
“These actions today ensure that we will not spend taxpayers’ money supporting DEI and radical indoctrination that promotes division in our society.”
The Board also wrote that it replaced the course “Principles of Sociology” with an education course in American history.
“The aim is to provide students with an accurate and factual account of the nation’s past, rather than exposing them to radical woke ideologies, which had become commonplace in the now replaced course,” the Board explained.
Florida is not the only state that is moving to stop the spread of DEI policies on college campuses.
At a meeting of the state board of education last month, Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters introduced initiatives to eliminate leftist ideologies.
The initiatives seek to end all DEI programs and “drag queen”-related activities and stop any funding or staffing that contributes to those programs.
During an interview with Fox News, state Superintendent Ryan Walters warned that such programs have detracted from students’ learning and education.
“What we’ve seen is the most radical, [Marxists] push woke ideology through DEI programs,” Walters said.
“We do not want kids to be told that they are oppressors or victims based on their skin color.
“We instead want our kids to be told that they are each individually created by God, and they can do great things, and that’s up to them as individuals.”