CS CS HB 999 2023 Postsecondary Educational Institutions
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The students — Gia Davila, 21; Laura Rodriguez, 23; Jeanie Kida, 26; and Chrisley Carpio, 31 — faced charges of battery on a law enforcement officer; resisting an officer without violence; and disrupting a school campus or function, according to Hillsborough County records. In addition, the bill would greatly expand the role of boards of trustees at each school, which in turn would increase the governor’s role in university life. The governor holds the greatest influence on who serves as a university trustee, with the ability to appoint six members to each board. The state Board of Governors can make five appointments, but that panel is also largely appointed by the governor.
Hiring faculty members at Florida universities
He worries about HB 999’s potential impact both because PRISM is a proponent of LGBTQ+-inclusive education and because he is studying business administration with a specialization in education. As part of this specialization, he takes classes that focus on the role systemic oppression, gender identity, sexual orientation and gender theory play in education. It’s unclear if all classes focused on topics such as gender, race or intersectionality would be banned if HB 999 passes or if the legislation would simply prohibit students from majoring or minoring in these subjects. HB 999 has not only raised concerns because it would limit what college students can study but also because it would allow state university boards of trustees to review the tenure status of faculty members, a provision the legislation’s detractors say could have a chilling effect on the free speech of educators.
New Florida bill aims to enact DeSantis's higher ed reforms - Inside Higher Ed
New Florida bill aims to enact DeSantis's higher ed reforms.
Posted: Sun, 26 Feb 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]
SB 678 — Genetic Genealogy Grant Program
Police officers arrested four students on Monday at the University of South Florida in Tampa. In addition, the bill would prohibit diversity statements, which are short essays often used during the hiring or promotion process to describe a candidate’s commitment to diversity and equity. General education core course options shall consist of a maximum of five courses within each of the subject areas ofcommunication, mathematics, social sciences, humanities, and natural sciences. The other three members of the board include the Commissioner of Education, the chair of the Advisory Council of Faculty Senates (or its equivalent), and the president of the Florida Student Association (or its equivalent). The changes are seen by critics as part of the governor’s continuing drive to push Florida universities to the political right.
Black and Minority Fraternities and Sororities
Andrade said his bill does not threaten academic freedom, but is meant to bring the focus of universities back to scholarship and research. Three national organizations on Monday condemned a Florida bill that would bring major changes to higher education. As both a graduate student and a lawmaker, Florida State Sen. Shevrin Jones is particularly concerned about HB 999’s potential impact on higher education in the state. The Democrat is pursuing a doctorate in higher ed administration at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton. While studying education, Fenning said he’s learned about the importance of “mirrors and windows” — seeing oneself reflected back in the curriculum and being exposed to materials that help students empathize with people who are different from them. Jerry Edwards, staff attorney with the ACLU of Florida, said the legislation puts tenure in the hands of political appointees, which significantly lessens job protections for faculty.
Another state representative, Angie Nixon, proposed an amendment to the bill that would protect these fraternities and sororities, but it was not adopted. While the bill is not explicitly banning minority-focused Greek life, it remains to be seen what the final version of the measure would look like following passage in the Senate and approval by DeSantis, just as it remains to be seen what effects the law may have on these organizations. A bill proposed by Florida state Rep. Alex Andrade that "prohibits a state college, state university, or one of their direct-support organizations, from expending state or federal funds on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs or activities" has generated significant controversy in the U.S. While both versions of HB 999 allow a university’s Board of Trustees to review tenured professors’ performance at any time, the most recent specifies parameters and gives examples of reasons for the review, like negligence, insubordination and violation of the law.
HB 7013 — Special Districts
Diversity statements used in hiring or applications, including student admissions, are prohibited in the most recent version — whereas the original version only included faculty and staff applications. In addition to that legislation, Texas and North Dakota have recently introduced bills that take aim at tenure. “We’re going down a dark road if we’re allowing the statehouses to censor what can be learned and what can be taught and what can be said in the classroom,” Mulvey said.
999, worry that its language is too vague, and could be used to ban activities promoted by multicultural student unions, Black fraternities and sororities, and courses in Jewish history, women's studies and LGBTQ+ studies. While the final bill has not reached DeSantis' desk and the present language leaves some room for interpretation, the examples provided in the bill's analysis suggest that courses on Jewish studies, gender studies, or feminist theory could indeed be banned under the law. State or federal money granted to the university can’t be spent on programs that promote DEI or engage in social or political activism if the bill passes.
A controversial higher-ed bill, the companion to HB 999, advances in the Florida Senate - WMNF
A controversial higher-ed bill, the companion to HB 999, advances in the Florida Senate.
Posted: Thu, 13 Apr 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
For decades, FIRE has defended tenure because it has been one of the most important tools for protecting faculty with disfavored views, but the group has no position on what form tenure should take. It also acknowledges that tenure isn’t the only way to protect academic freedom, Cohn explained. The problem with the current crop of legislation, he added, is that it does not replace tenure with comparable policies that would allow faculty to speak freely and engage in scholarship and research without fear of reprisal. Meanwhile, many lawmakers said that the goal of public schools is to help prepare students for success — something they say DEI is not designed for. But the measure also makes clear it would not do away with every function that university diversity offices typically tend to.
While the bill does not explicitly ban many of the groups mentioned in the tweet, activists and lawmakers alike have voiced concern over how the language could be used to target certain programs. As such, the law requires that a respondent’s identity and related case information must be viewable through a publicly searchable database that is available on the homepage of the respective county clerk’s website. The program is aimed at awarding annual grants to medical examiner’s offices or law enforcement agencies in Florida to support their processing of DNA samples. The bill provides a public necessity statement for the exemption stating that the disclosure of the information could otherwise compromise personal safety and security. Under the law, elected members of most independent special districts will have a 12-year term limit, and the creation of new safe neighborhood improvement districts will be prohibited.
He wrote an MSNBC opinion piece earlier this month urging Black Greek-letter organizations to keep fighting the bill. He noted that language in the Senate version of HB 999 has been changed to offer some protections to Black sororities and fraternities, but he worries that the House bill still prohibits public colleges and universities from paying for “programs or campus activities that espouse diversity, equity, or inclusion or critical race theory rhetoric,” he said. Jones argues that this line could be interpreted in a way that would lead to the defunding of Florida’s Black Greek organizations. The bill allows for a professor’s tenure to be called for review at any time for cause.
Though SB 266 contains similar provisions to HB 999, in its current form, it adds that UF will open the Hamilton College to offer degree programs in the history of Western civilization and civics. Currently known as Hamilton Center, the college is part of a conservative push to teach classical American history. Diversity, equity and inclusion programs at the university remain targeted by HB 999. Edwards agrees that the broadness of the legislation may pose a risk to a wide range of campus organizations, including Black sororities and fraternities, Latinx groups, affinity groups or even veterans’ organizations. House Bill 999 would prohibit students from majoring or minoring in certain disciplines, and could pose a risk to Black sororities and fraternities, Latinx groups, affinity groups or even veterans’ organizations.
HB 999 does not explicitly ban such institutions, but some observers fear the language of the law could be used to that end. For example, the law bans state "expenditure for membership in, or the purchase of goods or services from, any organization that discriminates on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, or religion." She has previously covered student government, university administration and K-12 education. Irene Mulvey, president of the American Association of University Professors, said in an interview that the proposed policy should be of concern to people outside Florida, too. Mulvey said parts of the bill, like shifting hiring power, are unprecedented and undermine the structures of universities.
The boards may delegate the role to presidents, but a president would not be able to delegate the role to anyone else. The bill calls for each state university board of trustees to be responsible for hiring faculty for the university. The American Historical Association has condemned the bill, writing in a statement, "We express horror (not our usual "concern") at the assumptions that lie at the heart of this bill and its blatant and frontal attack on principles of academic freedom and shared governance central to higher education in the United States." On the committee floor, Andrade assured Hinson that the bill does not impact Black sororities and fraternities or their abilities to hold social justice events among other activities.
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