Higher education reform could be next on DeSantis's agenda

Jack Birle

March 12, 05:00 AM March 12, 05:00 AM

Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) is planning an ambitious agenda for the upcoming legislative session, and a reform of higher education procedures is likely an item on that agenda.

DeSantis has made education a key part of his agenda in recent years, and now he may be looking at passing a proposed bill to restructure several aspects of public universities in the Sunshine State.

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The Florida governor has already taken action with an eye toward universities. He rejected a proposed curriculum for an WHD African American studies course because it included lesson plans on "Black Queer Studies," "'postracial' racism and colorblindness," and support for slavery reparations. The College Board later revised the proposed curriculum that DeSantis rejected.

He also appointed several conservative activists and individuals to the board of the state-run New College of Florida. He's also seeking to provide more funding to increase recruitment and scholarships, citing low enrollment at the institution.

DeSantis proposed reforms to state universities that would eliminate funding for diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, which he says serve as "a political filter." Proposed reforms include faculty tenure reviews and requiring that general education courses do not "promote ideological indoctrination."

"I don't think there's any state in the country that's been leading on the issue of higher education the way the state of Florida has," DeSantis said at the time. "I think you can say that on many issues over the last however many years where Florida leads on time and time again. It's important that your tax dollars are funding institutions that you can be proud of."

House Bill 999, filed by Republican state Rep. Alex Andrade, would change Florida statutes to incorporate reforms DeSantis has called for.

The initial draft of the bill says, "each state university board of trustees may, at the request of its chair, review any faculty member's tenure status." The draft also provides for allowing state universities to "initiate a post-tenure review of a faculty member at any time with cause."

Other provisions included in the bill restrict the use of DEI, political identity, and critical race theory in hiring practices. The bill would also forbid universities from using funds to "promote, support, or maintain any programs or campus activities that violate s. 1000.05(4)(a) or that espouse diversity, equity, and inclusion or Critical Race Theory rhetoric."

The proposed bill also follows DeSantis's call for core education courses to be rid of what the governor calls "ideological indoctrination" by forbidding the courses from suppressing or distorting "significant historical events."

"General education core courses may not suppress or distort significant historical events or include a curriculum that teaches identity politics, such as Critical Race Theory, or defines American history as contrary to the creation of a new nation based on universal principles stated in the Declaration," a line in the bill says.

The Florida governor has not said whether he will support the bill in its current form, but the reforms line up with his previous calls for change in state universities.

DeSantis reiterated Tuesday that he does not control the bills which are filed by state legislatures. He made that point when asked about a bill filed by a state legislator that would require certain bloggers to register with the state.

"I see these people filing bills, and then there's articles with my face on the article saying that, 'oh, bloggers are going to have to register for the state,' and it's like, attributing it to me," DeSantis said at a press conference Tuesday. "That's not anything that I've ever supported. I don't support."

“Every person in the legislature can file bills,” he added. “I don’t control every single bill that has been filed."

DeSantis will likely use laws passed during the legislative session as a springboard for a 2024 presidential run. He's expected to announce his intentions after the conclusion of the legislative session in late May or early June.

The Florida governor has made stops in California and Iowa in recent weeks. Those stops have added to speculation that he will seek the GOP nomination in 2024. The only declared candidates so far in the Republican primary are former President Donald Trump, former Gov. Nikki Haley (R-SC), and entrepreneur and author Vivek Ramaswamy.

Fifty teachers and staff have quit one Florida school district in just two years

Misty Severi

December 10, 11:54 AM December 10, 11:54 AM

Students in a Florida school district have gone wild, driving more than 50 school teachers and bus drivers to leave the school district over the span of two years.

One school teacher in the Brevard County School District, the 10th largest in the state, said that well-behaved students and teachers are frightened every morning to go to the school.

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“On an everyday basis, I am deflecting being attacked, scratched, headbutted, pushed, hit. I’ve had my hair pulled and pulled down to the ground. I’ve had my throat gone for on multiple occasions. It’s on an everyday basis right now. ... I have students who are afraid every day in the classroom. It’s just not fair to them. That’s what hurts my heart the most," Alicia Kelderhouse, a teacher, said at a Thursday district meeting.

Other educators detailed horrors in the classroom, such as students openly engaging in sex acts, getting hit with tape dispensers, or being bitten by students. One teacher even had to remove all furniture from the classroom on multiple occasions because students would throw it around the room or at each other. Sexual misconduct, targeted spitting, theft, violence, drug use, and property destruction were also listed as problems teachers faced in the school.

Staffers additionally complained that the COVID-19 pandemic had made the mistreatment even worse, but that the behavioral problems began before the pandemic.

“The pandemic was an accelerant to a fire that was already raging,” one unnamed staffer said, according to the New York Post.

Aside from the violence and illegal behavior, students were also addicted to using their cellphones in classrooms, teachers testified. Students would check their phones hundreds of times a day, keep earbuds in their ears during a lecture, and disrespect teachers by responding to a text message before answering questions when called on, the teachers detailed.

Parents, however, have argued that the school has treated black students unfairly. Parents say that the black students are given more detention time than students of other races and that diversity should be included in any new behavioral codes. Another parent advocated that students who are violent should be removed from classrooms, regardless of color.

"If you are throwing a chair in a classroom, you do not belong there. I’m sorry. If you can’t behave, that’s not my child’s fault. My child’s education should not be hindered because that child doesn’t know how to behave. And by that child, I don’t mean black, white, Hispanic, or any other thing. I mean the child who wasn’t taught how to behave," the parent said.

The school district is considering frameworks for new behavioral codes and disciplinary actions and will hold future meetings to discuss the problem.

Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey has also vowed to intervene by helping crack down on the illegal behavior in a video recorded in front of the county jail last month. Ivey said that students are unruly because they no longer fear consequences, forcing teachers to leave as a result.