DeSantis Takes Action on Higher Education Diversity Programs in Florida

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed several higher education bills into law, including SB 266, which limits diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs in colleges and universities in the state. The law prohibits colleges and universities from spending public dollars on DEI initiatives that promote "dangerous political and social activism," prevents the teaching of critical race theory, and DEI in general education courses, and bars programs, majors, minors, and curriculum based on these and related theories. Critics argue that the bill is "total censorship," but DeSantis called initiatives like DEI a "distraction" from a university's core mission.