Proposed legislation in Florida would ban mandatory diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) statements from the hiring and tenure processes in higher education.
Two identical bills, one in Florida’s State House and the other in the State Senate, would prohibit “public institutions of higher education from requiring the completion of a political loyalty test.”
In addition, the legislation would also require that public colleges “establish an Office of Public Policy Events.” The office would seek to foster debates and discourse on campus.
The legislation is part of a broader attempt to reform higher education in the state of Florida and to cut out the DEI and Critical Race Theory agenda. Just last month, the presidents of 28 different public universities in the state announced a ban on policies that compel a “belief in Critical Race Theory.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis gestures during a news conference, Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023, in Miami. DeSantis on Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023, announced plans to block state colleges from having programs on diversity, equity and inclusion, and critical race theory. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier, File)
The presidents stated in their memo that they “will ensure that all initiatives, instruction, and activities do not promote any ideology that suppresses intellectual and academic freedom, freedom of expression, viewpoint diversity, and the pursuit of truth in teaching and learning.”
They also added that “As such, our institutions will not fund or support any institutional practice, policy, or academic requirement that compels belief in critical race theory or related concepts such as intersectionality, or the idea that systems of oppression should be the primary lens through which teaching and learning are analyzed and/or improved upon.”
Meanwhile, mandatory DEI statements have been implemented at various universities across the country. At Eastern Washington University for example, applicants for custodial jobs paying between $35,064 and $39,372 were required to submit diversity statements.
The university stated that they are “interested in how your qualifications prepare you to work with diverse faculty, staff, and student populations representing various cultures and backgrounds that may be different from your own.”
Spencer Lindquist is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SpencerLndqst and reach out at slindquist@breitbart.com.
