Big Brother Is Here -- 2021 Florida Edition
Posted: Thu Jun 24, 2021 6:57 am
https://www.washingtonpost.com/educatio ... 8060e5a17cUnder the law [FL Governor Ron DeSantis] signed Tuesday, which goes into effect July 1, public universities must assess “viewpoint diversity” on campus each year through a survey developed by the State Board of Education, a requirement that a free-speech expert predicted as a model for other conservative-led states. Although the Florida law does not address penalties for schools where the survey finds low levels of “intellectual freedom” and “viewpoint diversity,” DeSantis has hinted at the potential for budget cuts at universities that don’t pass muster.
The bill defines those two terms as the exposure to — and encouragement or exploration of — “a variety of ideological and political perspectives." DeSantis says he is concerned about the free flow of ideas on campus and whether higher education stifles free speech from conservatives. "We want our universities to be focused on critical thinking and academic rigor. We do not want them as basically hotbeds for stale ideology,” DeSantis said at a news conference Tuesday. “That’s not worth tax dollars and not something we’re going to be supporting moving forward.”
So, DeSantis wants to survey what students at public universities think, and if sufficient numbers of them, whatever those might be, don't have the "right thoughts," whatever those might be, the schools could lose funding.