Most recently, the governor’s chief of staff helped Senator Ben Sasse (R-Nebraska) navigate the presidential selection process at the University of Florida, ultimately becoming the only senator to head the state’s flagship university. Helped to become a finalist. University of Florida students protest this week.
Over the summer, DeSantis appointed Republican legislative ally State Senator Ray Rodrigues as Florida’s president for higher education. From this position he would wield enormous power over his 12 public universities in the state.
“They want higher education to take over, and this is one way to do it,” said Andrew Gossard, president of the University of Florida Union, which Sasse was selected as a finalist to lead the state’s flagship university. Gottard is a faculty member at Florida Atlantic University.
Conservatives in recent years have developed a hostile relationship with academia, seeing college campuses as a proving ground for progressivism. And fueled by the populist movement that elected Donald Trump, many Republicans have declared war on elitism, using higher education as a symbol of what they are fighting for.
But DeSantis, considered a front-runner in the 2024 presidential election, seems to take that idea a step further. The governor and Republican state legislators are expanding Republican efforts to rebuild his K-12 education in America, an effort DeSantis has made a key pillar of his agenda.
The governor allows parents to sue schools if they teach critical racial theories in the classroom, and allows teachers to lead classroom discussions about the gender identity and sexual orientation of young students. prohibiting racial and ‘social-emotional learning.
Many of these Republican-backed laws drew criticism from Democrats and teachers’ unions, who accused Republicans of politicizing children’s education. It is popular among many parents who are dissatisfied with the local education system.
Several of DeSantis’ moves into higher education caused backlash, including Sasse’s selection as a finalist to lead the University of Florida. His choice was aided by new legislation. Shield University President Survey Florida’s public records law put an end to the tradition of open searches for coveted and vital roles. The change was made possible by a Republican majority in the Florida legislature, but it needed a supermajority to pass, so some Democrats also supported it.
A new law that has been criticized by Democrats and union leaders would keep all classified personally-identifying information private for candidates seeking the post of college president. Masks must be removed 21 days before the event or when the finalist group appears.
Policy makers said they would help UF recruit “12 highly qualified and diverse” candidates in its search, including nine current presidents of major research universities and seven AAU universities. , is evaluating the new law.
Rodriguez, the new Higher Education President, who has led efforts to pass the bill for years, said, “We would never allow a sitting U.S. Senator or multiple sitting college presidents to apply without exemption from investigation. I will,” he said. “I think it served its purpose.”
But faculty, students and Democrats have questioned the selection process and want university officials to release the names of other top finalists. The school is not obligated to do this.
Democratic Senator Lori Berman, who opposed the legislation, said, “Any student unhappy with the way the University of Florida’s presidential finalists were chosen will understand that this was played out on purpose. need,” he said. tweeted on monday“Florida Republicans have passed laws that cover up the search process, reducing student groups’ ability to speak out and voice their opinions.”
legislative action
The legislation that paved the way for Sasse’s choice was one of several bills that will change Florida’s higher education system in 2022.
Florida colleges and universities are looking for new accrediting institutions. State Laws Passed by Congress This year the school will have to find a new accreditation committee before the next cycle.
Accrediting bodies usually ensure that higher education institutions meet quality standards. Republicans in Florida, led by DeSantis, argue that the state has too much authority over schools.
A new law in Florida that requires the state to find a new accrediting body is an agreement between higher education leaders and legislators and Florida’s longtime accrediting body, the Southern Association of Colleges and Colleges (SACS). spurred in part by the strife of the
These conflicts include the decision by SACS to the University of Florida after the school prevented three professors from testifying as expert witnesses in a federal lawsuit challenging new laws imposing restrictions on mail-in ballots and drop-boxes. This includes starting an investigation. The Republican-backed Congress approved the ballot act at DeSantis’ request.
Conservatives around the country, such as the National Association of Scholars, applauded Florida’s “efforts to reform a very important and deeply broken part” of higher education. They claim that they are abusing their power by imposing and interfering in the administration of the university.
Florida also faces some legal challenges with one of the landmark pieces of legislation DeSantis called for, the “Stop-WOKE” law. The law covers how racial precepts are taught in classrooms and workplaces. In one of the lawsuits, the conservative free speech group FIRE challenged a professor to determine which classes had “government approval” or could lead to punishment, including dismissal. claims that it is no longer possible to have
According to FIRE and other critics, the new law limits a professor’s ability to play the devil’s advocate and prohibits a professor’s “forward” perspective, even for the sake of Socrates’ arguments. Aside from species, faculty members are even concerned about bringing up other topics such as gender for fear of ultimately losing their jobs.
“From what I’ve heard from colleagues who consult with me, it has a huge impact on the suppression of speech,” said Robert Casanero, a professor who teaches classes on civil rights and emancipation at the University of Central Florida. said. and Reconstruction era, and is the plaintiff in one lawsuit.
Legislators and state higher education officials, however, maintain that the law does not outlaw any particular curriculum.
Rodriguez, the new Higher Education Chancellor, said, “It’s very clear what this law prohibits: you can’t make an individual feel guilty for actions committed by others or previous generations.” “I argue that one race should be taught to be superior to another and taxpayers should pay for it.”
Another new state law approved by Florida’s Republican-led legislature in 2021 requires all state universities and colleges to conduct annual surveys of students, faculty and staff on “intellectual freedom” in their schools. The Voluntary Questionnaire is considered the largest campus survey in the nation.
The law was approved by Republican leaders in Florida who were concerned that the school was biased against conservatives.it is already filed a legal challenge.
How it will be done in the future
A recent report also showed that the DeSantis administration had bigger plans for higher education this year. The idea was left on the cutting room floor and could emerge in 2023.
The bill, obtained this year by independent journalist Jason Garcia, would allow DeSantis to focus more power on a board run by the governor’s political appointees and make the university more dependent on money controlled by Tallahassee legislators. The proposal would give the 17-person board that governs the state’s college system the power to initiate an investigation of the president, veto school budgets, and fire college employees. was intended to
However, in 2022, Florida passed a law allowing the state to adopt rules requiring tenured faculty to attend a “comprehensive” review every five years.
The University of Florida department confided the issue to Sasse when a senator visited the campus on Monday, pointing out that his tenure ended during his tenure as president of Midland College, a Lutheran school in Nebraska. I asked how to protect the period.
Sasse said he would be an “ardent advocate for tenure” at the university, which is necessary for a major research school like the University of Florida, unlike Midland, which is only a fraction of the university’s more than 55,000 students. and outlined.
But concerns about possible fine-tuning of tenure remain the biggest issue among faculty members across Florida as they await upcoming regulations from leaders in the university system.
A draft of the proposed system tenure rule should consider, in review, “biased teaching” or “indoctrination that constitutes discrimination under Florida law,” by professors, and a history of professional behavior and unapproved absences. showed that there is However, it is unclear whether these policies will be included in the final cut of tenure rules. The Board canceled his September and He October meetings, and next time he will meet on November 9.
Lawmakers in Florida rely on “satirical” representations of what’s happening in higher education to make policy decisions, Gossard said.
He pointed to the very low response rate to political diversity surveys offered to students and faculty system-wide as evidence that issues raised in the state legislature are not as prevalent on campus.
“Students in Florida deserve the best possible education, and they deserve better than being tampered with, interfered with, or hurt by the actions of politicians,” he added.
Gary Fineout contributed to this report.
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