DEI crackdown hasn’t resulted in ‘significant changes’ or jobs lost yet, university says

FORT MYERS, Fla. – Florida Gulf Coast University said no “significant changes” have been made yet over a new state law that aims to crack down on diversity, equity and inclusion at state universities.

Under SB 266, which was passed by lawmakers and signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis this year, public universities cannot expend funds for “diversity, equity, and inclusion.”

A statement from the Board of Governors noted that the implementation is ongoing.

Namely, at the bill signing in May, the Florida governor said new state laws require the promotion of “diversity of thought, civil discourse, and the pursuit of truth for generations to come” at universities.

“Higher education mission statements do not include indoctrination,” the Florida Board of Governors said in a statement, provided by DeSantis’ office. 

Florida Gulf Coast University spokeswoman Pamela McCabe reiterated their commitment to celebrating “diversity of all members of the campus community” and promoting “civil discourse” for all.

“FGCU embraces diversity, as outlined in our guiding principles,” she said. “We are committed to promoting a culture that celebrates the diversity of all members of the campus community, and we provide a safe space for our students, faculty, staff and community to engage in civil discourse with one another.”

McCabe reassured that the university is complying with state law and is working with the Board of Governors on interpreting and implementing it.

She pointed to FGCU establishing the Office of Public Policy Events in response to a separate education bill, HB 931, also signed by DeSantis this year as part of an effort to outlaw “indoctrination” in public universities.

“The purpose of this office is to organize, publicize and stage debates, group forums and lectures that showcase a wide variety of viewpoints on public policy issues,” McCabe said. 

“All the events are open to the public, and coming up next is a debate called ‘Affirmative Action in University Admissions and the Cost of Higher Education,’” she said, providing an example of civil discourse with an upcoming debate between left-leaning Cornel West and conservative-leaning Robert George.

McCabe said that the university’s response is in line with other universities, working with both the Board of Governors and the Chancellor’s Office.

“This is in step with Florida’s other public universities,” McCabe said.

In the Board of Governors’ statement, they explained that the implementation is ongoing and that several terms must first be defined before additional changes take place within schools.

“The bill requires the Board of Governors and State Board of Education to define political and social activism,” they said. “The Board of Governors and the State Board of Education have also agreed to define Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. These definitions are required to identify programs and expenditures which are prohibited.”

Because state leadership must still take further action to define what the new law means for schools, it is presently unclear which programs at any public school, Florida Gulf Coast University or otherwise, would have to be nixed.

“Once the terms are defined, both organizations will submit them to their governing boards (Board of Governors and State Board of Education) for adoption as a regulation or rule,” the statement continued.

Once the governing bodies direct schools on how to implement changes, the board said that students will be able to file a complaint with the Office of the Board of Governors if a student believes their university is in violation of the law.

Explaining what changes could look like at each school, the Board of Governors said that as the terms are being defined by state education leaders, universities are reviewing their programs – and those that are potentially in violation would be reviewed “against” the new definitions of terms like diversity, equity and inclusion.

“Those programs that are not exempted from SB 266 will then be reviewed against the definitions established in the new regulation,” they said. “Programs that are not statutorily exempted and subject to the new DEI Regulation will be terminated.”

With the term-defining process ongoing, it is unclear precisely how long Florida’s education leadership will take to enact any noticeable or stark changes across the state’s university system.

Some schools could also be more severely impacted than others, depending on the specific functions of each program.