Florida sues Biden administration for stalling state universities from switching accreditors
TAMPA, Fla. (FLV) – Gov. Ron DeSantis announced a lawsuit against the Biden Administration for “unconstitutionally acting against Florida’s higher education system.”
This lawsuit follows what the DeSantis administration believes is unlawful attempts to stall Florida’s colleges and universities from finding the accreditor they want.
“The Biden administration is seeking to crack down on the state of Florida for what we are doing,” DeSantis said.
The lawsuit was filed in federal district court in Fort Lauderdale.
DeSantis said they are filing the lawsuit against the Biden administration and Department of Education, among other plaintiffs, asking the court to find the arrangement to be “unconstitutional.”
“In America, you need to be accountable to somebody. And right now, they’re accountable to nobody,” DeSantis said.
BREAKING: DeSantis sues Biden administration for "unconstitutionally" preventing Fla. university system from changing accreditors
— Florida’s Voice (@FLVoiceNews) June 22, 2023
"In America, you need to be accountable to somebody. And right now, they're accountable to nobody." pic.twitter.com/TvQ2gVs98v
DeSantis said $100 billion in student aid every year hinges on the decisions of accreditation agencies.
DeSantis explained the Department of Education approves “whoever they want” to be in accreditor. Under their theory, he said the accreditor can serve as a veto against the entire state.
“If our legislature passes, you know, reasonable reforms, governor signs it, that they somehow get a veto of that process,” DeSantis said.
DeSantis said he doesn’t recall seeing that clause in either of the constitutions – state or federal.
“We reject the idea that a totally unaccountable, unappointed, unelected accrediting agency can trump what the state of Florida is doing,” DeSantis said.
“You cannot take legislative power and delegate it to an unaccountable private body, and let them administer that power without any type of checks and balances, and so we believe it violates what’s called the private non-delegation doctrine, and we think that that we’re going to be right on it,” DeSantis said.
The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on College, referred to as SACS, is the body for the accreditation of degree-granting higher education institutions in the Southern states.
DeSantis said the president of the commission believes “governing boards are the ones that are responsible for ensuring the well being of the institution, not the governor, not the legislature’s, not Jane and John citizen.”
“And so, that’s a view that really – this board – trumps the entire state of Florida, we reject that,” DeSantis said.
DeSantis believes they will be successful and that the lawsuit will “open up the floodgates for more innovation in higher education.”
“Today is just a reflection of We the People, ensuring that it is us, we, that is running government, that is having a say in these practices,” Attorney General Ashley Moody said.
