Amid Florida’s DEI crackdown, other states follow suit as momentum builds

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Throughout Florida and Gov. Ron DeSantis’ successful attempts at combatting diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, other states have also been working to shut down the prominence of DEI in their education systems.

Florida’s wins against the initiatives, also known as DEI, have resulted in schools like the University of Florida and Florida International University to end their diversity programs and fire the staff working within them. The state has barred the practice in public higher education statewide, and rules continue to be implemented.

An April 2024 report by Speech First examined how each state stacked up to each other through their work in combatting DEI themselves.

Florida

Speech First recognized the work that the Florida Legislature and Department of Education have done to combat DEI in public universities; however, it highlighted how DEI-themed courses can still be found in various schools.

The report also found five schools, including Florida State and University of Central Florida, that have explicit DEI mandates in their educational requirements, under the report’s “methodology.”

It attributed this presence to ongoing legal battles regarding current Florida law, and the “timing” of new laws still needing to be fully enforced on the school level after the state’s governing bodies craft enforcement mechanisms.

Texas

Texas has banned DEI from their public colleges and universities, like Florida. Not only do they not provide funding for a DEI office or program, they have also barred anyone from creating or running such programs in the school.

However, the report said the legislation doesn’t “directly address curriculum standards,” and that in some schools, DEI can still “prevail.”

Utah

Utah enacted legislation in January banning “discriminatory” DEI practices. The bill outlaws DEI trainings, requirements, programs and offices at at all public institutions in the state. It also emphasizes the need to create race-neutral student success resources.

Alabama

Gov. Kay Ivey of Alabama signed a bill in March that the legislature passed, banning state funding for DEI programs and restricting the teaching of “divisive concepts” relating to race, gender and religion.

DEI conversations and discussion are allowed on campus, so long as they don’t require state funds.

Tennessee

Tennessee has signed legislation attempting to crack down on DEI multiple times in the recent years.

At first they went after “divisive concepts,” similar to Alabama, and then the state ended DEI training and admission requirements for their public universities and colleges.

North Dakota

North Dakota’s anti-DEI legislation targets “specified concepts” that encourage certain ideological views around race and sex.

The bill bans universities from asking students and faculty about their commitment to DEI initiatives, as well as bans any type of trainings or noncredit class requirements that force people to learn about DEI.

South Dakota

South Dakota enacted very similar legislation in 2022, combatting concepts and ideas surrounding DEI talking points. The bill also prohibits students and faculty from participating in DEI trainings.

In Florida, DeSantis spearheaded his signature “Stop WOKE” proposal beginning in late-2021 also targeting DEI and critical race theory-aimed trainings.

Other states in the process

Several other states, according to the report, have anti-DEI legislation that has at least been filed or is further along in the process of becoming state law.

Given the policies are more favored by Republicans and conservatives, such legislative proposals are more likely to become ultimately successful in states with more GOP control.

States with such proposals include Idaho, Nevada, Arizona, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Pennsylvania and Maine.

Manhattan Institute senior fellow Christopher Rufo expressed on Fox News why he believes Virginia should be added to the list of states that are working to ban DEI.

“The question is this: In the state of Virginia, which has Republicans in one House of the legislature and of course a Republican sitting in the governor’s office, why are taxpayers being forced to fund left wing activist programs in the guise of academics?” he said.

“Governor Youngkin needs to get his act together, he needs to cut funding using whatever leverage he has, because conservatives are sick and tired of spending their hard earned tax dollars to fun their enemies ideological programming,” Rufo said.