A small change in Florida law will grant greater power for state education officials to amend general education course lists for state colleges and universities, and it was approved by lawmakers alongside the $114.5 billion budget.
The change allows the State Board of Education and the State University System Board of Governors to approve, reject or amend the list of general education courses, when originally these education chiefs only had the power to approve or reject them.
But this comes soon after these state leaders moved to block introductory sociology courses from counting for general education requirements, which escalated a clash between the DeSantis administration and the sociology discipline, a field known for probing issues of race, gender and inequalities.
The proposed change brought some backlash from lawmakers through the debate process, but ultimately Florida lawmakers approved the change with a 76-28 vote in the House and a 32-2 vote in the Senate. Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith, D-Orlando, voted against this change, saying it was “completely inappropriate.”
“It really disrupts and interferes with the independence of our institutions of higher education,” Smith said to the USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida.
The change was first introduced in a conference meeting mid-May, and lawmakers denied any correlation between the change in the language and this past semester’s removal of sociology courses from general education.
“This is one of the ways that we can provide flexibility to our higher education system to make sure that they can do regular course of business every day without unnecessary barriers,” said Rep. Demi Busatta, R-Coral Gables, to reporters after a budget conference meeting May 14. Busatta served as the House budget chief for higher education.
State University System Chancellor Ray Rodrigues said the change in state law is meant to correct an oversight from 2023 when SB 266 was passed. The law directed the Board of Governors to review academic programs to ensure they align with a university’s mission, along with preventing general education courses from distorting historical events.
“This special session presented the first opportunity to correct the previous oversight and align the BOG’s statutory and constitutional authority,” Rodrigues said in a text to the USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida.
But this also comes at a time when the battle between sociology and Florida officials has escalated in recent years. The removal of sociology courses in the spring from general education lists was the latest development in this feud, but the discipline has repeatedly faced attacks from the DeSantis administration since 2021 as part of a conservative push to reshape higher education.
In particular, the battle stems from a yearslong mission in Florida where Gov. Ron DeSantis has cast down “woke” ideologies in higher education, while simultaneously amending how universities teach racial and social inequalities.
United Faculty of Florida President Robert Cassanello said that the proposed changes could give colleges and universities less power in controlling their own general education requirements, but it could also impact more than sociology courses — including psychology, United States history and anthropology.
“This looks like more attacking the autonomy of our higher education institutions,” Cassanello said.
This reporting content is supported by a partnership with Freedom Forum and Journalism Funding Partners. USA Today Network-Florida First Amendment reporter Stephany Matat is based in Tallahassee, Fla. She can be reached at SMatat@usatodayco.com. On X: @stephanymatat.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida budget language bolsters state control over university gen-ed courses
Reporting by Stephany Matat, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / Tallahassee Democrat
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
