Under the auspices of intellectual freedom, Florida’s universities, colleges and and community colleges will be required to do an annual survey to ensure diverse views on campuses, including conservative opinions.
At issue is that some lawmakers believe that colleges and universities are liberal bastions and conservative voices have been suppressed on campuses.
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed HB 233 into law on Tuesday, implementing a survey that would be “objective, nonpartisan, and statistically valid,” according to language in the law.
“You need to have a true contest of ideas,” the governor said. He also said that “students should not be shielded from ideas.”
The legislation requires the State Board of Education, which oversees Florida’s college system, and the State Board of Governors, which oversees the university system, to create or select a survey that would measure “intellectual freedom and viewpoint diversity” on campuses.
Speaker of the House Chris Sprowls, spoke at the Tuesday press conference and said that universities currently do not value “diversity of thought.”
“We are at great risk, as a nation and as a state, on the lack of intellectual diversity that is on our university campuses,” Sprowls said.
The surveys are to be published every year on Sept. 1 starting in 2022, according to the legislative language. But it’s not clear what these surveys will ask, how the surveys will measure intellectual diversity or what the Board of Education or the Board of Governors will do with the results.
Bob Holladay, adjunct history professor for Tallahassee Community College, is not sure if a survey will be able to fully capture whether a campus promotes a diversity of thoughts and political opinions.
“I suspect that that bill is going to depend on students or somebody complaining, and that’s problematic,” Holladay told the Phoenix. “Students complaining about a point of view that a teacher takes, for example, or whether a teacher allows a different point of view in class.”
Florida Watch, a progressive communications and research organization, called the legislation a “manufactured problem.”
“Once again, Governor Ron DeSantis is focusing on non-existent issues rather than confronting the real problems facing everyday Floridians following a deadly global pandemic and years of neglect from Republican leadership in our state,” Florida Watch Executive Director Josh Weierbach said in a written statement. “Instead, Governor DeSantis and Republicans in the Legislature spent this session targeting our public universities with partisan attacks and taking money out of the pockets of our citizens with tax increases to fund massive handouts to their corporate campaign donors.”
DeSantis also signed two other bills related to civics education at a public middle school in Fort Myers in Lee County.
HB 5, sponsored by Rep. Ardian Zika, a Republican who represents part of Pasco County, integrates civics education from kindergarten to 12th grade.
The legislation requires a high school U.S. government course to include comparative discussions of political ideologies that “conflict with the principles of freedom and democracy essential to the founding principles of the United States,” such as communism and totalitarianism.
It also adds “Portraits in Patriotism Act,” which provides first-hand accounts from people who “demonstrate civic-minded qualities, including first-person accounts of victims of other nations’ governing philosophies who can compare those philosophies with those of the United States.”
At the Tuesday press conference, DeSantis said that the “Portraits in Patriotism” portion of the legislation allows students to “learn from real patriots who came to this country after seeing the horrors of these communist regimes,” such as Cuba and Vietnam.
The third legislation DeSantis signed was HB 1108, which, among other things, provides providing a free college entrance exam, either the SAT or the ACT, to all Florida 11th graders at no cost to the student. This legislation also requires that post-secondary students demonstrate civic literacy through passing an assessment and taking a course on civic literacy in order to graduate.
—Danielle J. Brown, Florida Phoenix
BLS says
“At issue is that some lawmakers believe that colleges and universities are liberal bastions and conservative voices have been suppressed on campuses.” How can ANY reasonable, thinking person not see that this is happening in colleges and education in general.
Dennis says
I totally agree with the new requirements. I’m 70 and history was about history. Not the bad, ugly but history. Is it seems that it’s just the opposite of teaching history, but about why you should hate America and the color of your skin.
the dude says
Well… because it’s not… in spite of what the Faux Nooz would require to believe…
BLS says
Well I guess you are not very observant then. That’s OK if that is the way you want to be.
JPK says
@Dennis. I’m 74, and why “white-wash” history?
The party of small government and leaving people alone just can’t.
Ray W. says
When I arrived on campus at UNC-Chapel Hill, one of the big issues of the day was a student suing the college newspaper in federal court for failing to print his conservative editorial replies to published editorials. He also submitted conservative editorials to newspapers within a large radius of the campus, including Raleigh, Durham, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, etc. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
I remember this because his name was Ray W., and many people confused me for him. I once received a call from a woman who had moved to the area and wanted to get involved in local conservative politics, as she had supported a conservative politician in her old community. She had learned that the other Ray W. was the head of the local young republican group. I spoke with her for a while, welcoming her to the community and talking about New England conservative politics, but advised her to call the other Ray W. She called me back, asking me to run for the head of the young republicans, stating the the other Ray W., in her opinion, was a real jerk and she wanted me to replace him. I wished her well, but declined.
Years later, the other Ray W. had his 15 minutes of national newspaper fame when he resigned his position as a North Carolina judge to run for U.S. Congress under the tutelage of Jesse Helms. About 10 days before the election, his homosexual lover outed him and his supporters denounced him and bemoaned the hundreds of thousands of dollars wasted on his race and the fact that it was too late to replace him on the ballot. After that, I periodically googled his name (different middle initial). I came across a Post article dated the morning after Obama won in 2008. A Post reporter interviewed him in a D.C. gay bar; he was quite happy about Obama’s win. The more things stay the same, the more they change.
Al says
I believe our students are very well informed on the issues and fall in line will liberal ideas. Maybe conservatives should take a hard look at their platform and see where they can find some compromise and bring more voters into their camp. Forcing your ideas will only bring more resistance. When you think about it isn’t this just an extension of the changing voter laws?
Mark says
As long as they keep the hateful, hurtful, unpatriotic, conservative, Republican speech away from our schools everything will be good.
If people would just be good Americans and help their other fellow Americans by listening to facts about our racist past and institutions, then we will finally be a strong united country
Guido says
Not true. My grandkids are being indoctrinated in government schools. The oldest is already too far gone to think on her own, and that’s before college. We have tried to teach them to think for themselves, and hopefully the next two kids will. It’s hard to compete with the schools since most kids are rebellious against their parents and teachers know it.
Geri says
So no “bad, ugly” history should be taught? You only want the history that we were taught, the stuff that makes whites in America the heroes of our national story, and buries the atrocities? Can’t handle the truth? I’m white and nearing 70, and am appalled to learn that the whitewashed history we were taught in school (pun intended) led me to a comfortable ignorance about how badly black veterans were treated when they returned from war, and how often resentful whites destroyed financial progress by blacks, and killed them while they were at it. Buck up.
Bill C says
You mean history like Columbus “discovered” America? Columbus thought he had reached India on his voyage, hence the term “Indians” for Native Americans, the perpetually hated “savages” portrayed in cowboy and indian movies who were fighting to keep their land from being stolen by white settlers. What you really hate is the challenge to white supremacy when confronted with historical facts about slavery and the myth of inherent inferiority of those with dark skin color.
Bill C says
PS that is if whites were forced to compete on a level playing field the fear is they would lose their unfair advantage.
Pierre Tristam says
I would love to hear a couple of examples of what your oldest granddaughter was taught to now be considered “too far gone.”
Guido says
When I say too far gone I mean too far left. Something a less educated man like me could never find the words , or be worthy to have a conversation with you Pierre
Pierre Tristam says
Guido, please don’t let my presumptuous windbaggery get in the way of a good conversation. I still am very intrigued by how specifically her educators shifted her left: what sort of academic methods, curriculums, authors did that?
wow says
Do they first have to prove they have an intellect? If I believe the world is flat I have as much right to teach in school as someone who actually has an education? If I think the moon is made of green cheese my opinion has as much weight as scientists who actually study the moon? Not every opinion needs an audience or else education counts for nothing.
Guido says
It lies with the environment. The educators make it very easy to lean left and make it very acceptable while condemning right leaning thinking. If a child has an opinion other than the accepted majority they are cast out and ostracized by their peers. Now a very strong willed person may not have a problem with that but most will fall in line after they learn about the social repercussions of not falling in line with everyone. In her particular case the educators teach the kids to be inclusive and accept everyone for who they are with one exception and that’s if you’re conservative. She has been taught by her parents to accept everyone for who they are period, judge a person by the content of their character period, but that got lost in the environment that she spends 6+ hours a day in. The environments location is New England
Steve says
Couldn’t agree more. Sounds like an Agenda Policy problem to me