Weekly Briefing: This New Bill Could Write DeSantis's Higher-Ed Plans Into Law

The legislation was introduced last month in the Florida House of Representatives. ADVERTISEMENT [Weekly Briefing Logo]( Did someone forward you this newsletter? [Sign up free]( to receive your own copy. You can now read The Chronicle on [Apple News]( [Flipboard]( and [Google News](. A new bill could turn DeSantis’s higher-ed plans into law. Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida (above), a Republican, has outlined what he wants public higher education to look like under state control. A bill introduced last month in the Florida House of Representatives would write nearly every one of DeSantis’s goals for public higher education, included in a [news release]( into law. [House Bill 999]( sponsored by State Rep. Robert Alexander (Alex) Andrade, a Republican, would, if enacted, also prohibit public colleges from funding any projects that “espouse diversity, equity, and inclusion or critical-race-theory rhetoric,” no matter where the funding comes from. It also would ban gender studies as a major or minor and give trustees the authority to hire faculty members. (Critical race theory is a set of ideas that arose from legal scholars decades ago that, among other things, shows that racism is a systemic force in American history.) The legislative session begins on March 7, so the bill may see changes before it passes, if it does. One expert said that, even early in the legislative process, the bill is a signal of what’s to come. Nicholas R. Seabrook a political-science professor at the University of North Florida, said that Florida Republicans had momentum to make changes in higher education. Still, he expects legal challenges to HB 999 if it is enacted — similar to what happened with last year’s [“Stop WOKE” Act](. Irene Mulvey, president of the American Association of University Professors, called the new bill a “gut punch” for people invested in public higher education and academic freedom. She noted that if the bill became law in Florida, other red states could adopt similar measures. And the [track record shows]( that this is the case. Additionally, the bill would establish new rules for general-education courses. The bill states that colleges may not teach “American history as contrary to the creation of a new nation based on universal principles stated in the Declaration of Independence.” The bill also states that gen-ed courses should promote studies of documents like the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the Federalist Papers, “whenever applicable” in the classes. Sometimes, though, teaching history means learning about realities that contradict the principles outlined in the Declaration of Independence, said James Grossman, executive director of the American Historical Association. Having students understand concepts like colonialism and slavery in early American history can help them learn how to think historically. 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