Florida Gov. DeSantis Ramps Up Effort To Fight Against Woke Agenda In State Universities

As seems to be the case more and more, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is front and center in the fight against the left’s push towards socialism and “wokeness.”

His latest battle in the war against woke is taking on what has become not so much education, but indoctrination in the Sunshine State’s colleges and universities.

DeSantis wants to “bring accountability” to the state’s higher education system, and put professors and other faculty members on notice when they want to bring a left wing agenda into the classroom.

.@GovRonDeSantis signs higher education bill with post-tenure review, accreditation changes

Reporting by @GrayRohrerhttps://t.co/8vCrOLTzj0#FlaPol pic.twitter.com/pDJOz7q42k

— Florida Politics (@Fla_Pol) April 19, 2022

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‘A Toxic Political Climate’

Of course, transparency in what goes on in Florida’s higher education classrooms is not sitting well with United Faculty of Florida. The union represents roughly 25,000 faculty members in Florida.

Andrew Gothard, president of the union said, “A toxic political climate is hurting the reputation of Florida’s universities and making it harder to recruit the best teachers.”

Incredibly, he claimed: “What we clearly see is a shift toward authoritarianism and we are seeing it manifesting in higher education — an assault on tenure and free speech.” Note – when the actions of liberal professors are under the microscope, its authoritarianism. 

The contents of a draft bill that was recently made public is also alarming to the union. Hiring decisions would no longer be made by university presidents, but by university Boards of Trustees, and banned Critical Race Theory.

PUNTA GORDA, Fla.–Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a higher education reform bill on April 19 to hold faculty accountable, …… https://t.co/GJqVpf19be

— SkyNet Platforms: #TheBrain (@SkyNetPlatform) April 20, 2022

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Professors Not Fans Of Reform

The bill was ultimately scrubbed, but it was enough to get the attention of the union and its members, that taxpayers want to know what is being taught in the state’s institutions of higher learning.

Robert Cassanello, president of the United Faculty of Florida may have said the quiet part out loud when addressing any sort of future similar bills being put forth:

“It definitely says something about intention and shows there is intentionality among the governor and Republican Legislature to control who is being hired and fired at public universities.”

Cassanello tried to explain his comments adding, “Such a system would be impractical with 80 to 120 faculty members hired by UCF a year, so it’s not surprising the idea was scrapped.” But just whose “intentionality” are they more concerned with?

“When we send kids to school, it’s going to be for education, not indoctrination.” — @GovRonDeSantis

— Kyle Lamb (@kylamb8) June 2, 2022

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Stopping Woke In Its Tracks

While union president Gothard insists that any suspicion of liberal bias is “This boogeyman, straw man goes all the way back to McCarthyism to scare people that universities are doing something bad to their children,” and is untrue, Floridians and other Americans know that bias not only exists, and it is what children from kindergarten to college are being exposed to.

In April, DeSantis signed into law HB 7051, the Postsecondary Education Bill into law. It states that any tenured educator must undergo a review every five years. The bill would also guarantee that faculty remain productive and hamper them from indoctrinating students with their own political and social beliefs.

DeSantis came under fire in March for the Parental Rights in Education Act, a bill that gives the parents of K-12 students more say in what their children are being exposed to and taught. The left quickly dubbed it the “don’t say gay bill.” HB 1557, does not use the word “gay” anywhere in it.

What it does say:

“Classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards.”

If there is no bias and no agenda, the teachers union should have no problem with a review.

“We believe that parents have the fundamental right and obligation to direct the education of their children.” – @GovRonDeSantis https://t.co/O5kyqrwm3z

— The Lion (@ReadTheLion) June 1, 2022