On Monday, the Florida House of Representatives passed a bill that would forbid public universities across the state from providing financial support to programs that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) or Critical Race Theory (CRT).
As Just The News reports, the bill now heads to the Florida State Senate for a vote, which may occur as soon as Wednesday. The bill declares that public universities are prohibited from donating to or otherwise financially supporting “any programs or campus activities that espouse diversity, equity, or inclusion or Critical Race Theory rhetoric.”
“A state university is prohibited from using diversity, equity, and inclusion statements, Critical Race Theory rhetoric, or other forms of political identity filters as part of the hiring process, including as part of applications for employment, promotion and tenure, conditions of employment, or reviewing qualifications for employment,” the bill states.
DEI is a far-left concept that calls for artificially boosting an entity’s racial diversity via hiring quotas, affirmative action, and other race-based admissions processes. CRT is a debunked, pseudo-historical theory which claims that all White people are automatically racist, and that America, as a nation founded by White people, is an inherently racist nation.
The bill is one of many measures taken up by Florida Republicans aimed at cracking down on such race-based “diversity” initiatives, which has become a top priority for the conservative base. Earlier in March, at least one public university in the state, New College of Florida, eliminated its DEI programs after a vote by the board of trustees, which was held in direct response to pressure against the university by Governor Ron DeSantis.