Does Florida Bill HB 999 Ban Black Greek Life, Courses, Programs from State Universities?

Table Of Content

• A Teenager’s Fight Against Idaho’s Harmful Ban on Gender-Affirming...
• How many of your state’s lawmakers are women? If you live in the Southeast, it could be just 1 in 5
• A rip current statement in effect for Coastal Volusia Region
• HB 707 — State University Funds
• What are Florida general education core courses?

However, states were allowed to provide exemptions from SAFE Act registration requirements to nonprofit organizations and their employees based on specified criteria. Under this law, those exceptions would be expanded to include situations where a parent is wiretapping because they believe the recording will capture a statement by someone who has either sexually abused the parent’s child or intends to do so. While wiretapping is generally a third-degree felony in the state, there are some exceptions, such as when all parties consent or if a person is acting on behalf of law enforcement. The law reclassifies certain fraud cases that are committed against those 65 years old or above, minors, or people with a mental/physical disability. He said while he believes much of the bill is unconstitutional and will be challenged, the damage to the reputation of the schools will be severe. Increasingly, PEN America research has found, educational gag orders focus on higher education, indicating that these policies intend to do far more than expand parents’ rights over their minor children’s education but to broadly limit free thought.

A Teenager’s Fight Against Idaho’s Harmful Ban on Gender-Affirming...

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.

How many of your state’s lawmakers are women? If you live in the Southeast, it could be just 1 in 5

At the time of publication, DeSantis has not made a public statement on House Bill 999. The bill is right in line with Governor Ron DeSantis’s higher education agenda, which calls for banning “discriminatory” DEI initiatives. Back in January, DeSantis appointed six conservatives to the board of the New College of Florida in Sarasota. Entire majors would also be banned, specifically, “any major or minor in Critical Race Theory, Gender Studies, or Intersectionality, or any derivative major or minor of these belief systems.” African-American studies departments could also be vulnerable at public institutions statewide.

A rip current statement in effect for Coastal Volusia Region

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.

While critics of legislation such as Florida’s HB 999 warn that it is dangerous, they are also optimistic that, if passed, it would ultimately be struck down in court as unconstitutional due to long-standing legal precedents that protect academic freedom in higher education. DeSantis endorsed Florida House Bill 7, better known as the Stop WOKE Act, to restrict educational discussions about race and gender at schools, but a federal judge blocked it late last year. “This bill is designed to do is to make sure the state university system is following through on its statutory mission of preparing students that are coming to state universities for in-demand jobs, developing the human resources and human capital of the state,” State Rep. Alex Andrade said.

It would not prohibit programs for Pell Grant recipients, first generation college students, nontraditional students, transfer students, students from low-income families or students with unique abilities. Programs required for compliance with federal regulations, or access programs for military veterans, PellGrant recipients, first-generation college students, nontraditional students, "2+2" transfer students from the Florida College System, students from low-income families, or students with unique abilities are not prohibited by the bill. "Of course he answered that it would be zero effect on operations of student activities, student programs, multicultural centers, Black student centers, Latino student centers or any activities related to students," she said. Here, Snopes explores each of the claims made of House Bill (HB) 999 in this viral post. While the bill does not explicitly ban Black and minority fraternities and sororities and other programs, the bill's vague language makes its downstream effects up to interpretation and hard to determine. The journals or printed bills of the respective chambers should be consulted as the official documents of the Legislature.

Florida Senate Bill 266

House Bill 999, filed by Rep. Alex Andrade, R-Pensacola, proposes leaving all faculty hiring to boards of trustees, allowing a faculty member’s tenure to be reviewed “at any time,” and removing majors or minors in subjects like critical race theory and gender studies. It would also prohibit spending on activities that promote diversity, equity and inclusion and create new general education requirements. House Bill 999, introduced last week by Rep. Alex Andrade, R-Pensacola, tackles many of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ proposals for the state’s colleges and universities. It would expand the powers of university boards of trustees — largely appointed by the governor or Board of Governors — and crack down on curriculum and programs related to critical race theory, gender studies and diversity, equity and inclusion, among other things. Although three of them are private, they receive state funding for certain academic programs. Jones questions how HB 999 could affect the state’s HBCUs and the nine Black sororities and fraternities known nationally as the Divine Nine.

House of Reps Postsecondary Education and Workforce Subcommittee votes in favor of House Bill 999 - University Press

House of Reps Postsecondary Education and Workforce Subcommittee votes in favor of House Bill 999.

Posted: Mon, 13 Mar 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

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.

Florida Bill Would Destroy Higher Education as We Know It

Andrade added that DEI has been used as a tool for discrimination in many schools, which lawmakers hope to stop. Without any cause, without any shown need for such a review, which is going to hang like a hammer of the heads of teachers,” Finan said. “The people who are going to suffer the consequences of these bills are kids,” claimed Chris Finan, the executive director of the National Coalition Against Censorship. The Board of Governors was established by the Legislature in 2003 to operate, regulate, control, and be fully responsible for the management of the public university system in Florida. Andrade, who has taken to Twitter to seemingly promote the bill, writing "DEI advocates HATE open debate" in a quote tweet response to former Florida Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith, who publicly denounced H.B. When Guillermo responded and accused Andrade's fellow Republicans of being "scared" of their consituents, Andrade replied, "This is your brain on DEI."

The Adam Smith Center for Economic Freedom at Florida International University, funded by the Legislature in 2020, would function as a college — hiring faculty, enrolling students and awarding degrees. A bill filed this week in the Florida House would turn many of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ wide-ranging ideas on higher education into law by limiting diversity efforts, vastly expanding the powers of university boards and altering course offerings. Faculty committees shall, by July 1, 2024, and by July 1 every three years thereafter, review and submit recommendations to the Articulation Coordinating Committee, the commissioner, and the Chancellor of the StateUniversity System for the removal, alignment, realignment, or addition of general education core courses that satisfy the requirements of the law.

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.

HB 999 opponents fear bill would regulate student campus activities at Florida colleges - WPTV News Channel 5 West Palm

HB 999 opponents fear bill would regulate student campus activities at Florida colleges.

Posted: Tue, 14 Mar 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

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.

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.

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.

The board of trustees may delegate its hiring authority to the president but the president may not delegate hiring authority. HB999 — on page 22 out of the bill's 23 pages — said "courses with a curriculum based on unproven, theoretical, or exploratory content are best suited to fulfill elective or specific program prerequisite credit requirements, rather than general education credit requirements." The specific implications of the bill with respect to Greek life and student-run organizations remain to be seen, and the Florida Senate, which is also controlled by Republicans, must pass its version of the bill next before it reaches DeSantis' desk. One course … is described as "exploring the structures and institutions of social inequality along the intersectional axes of class, race, and gender/sexuality by focusing on how these categories are socially constructed, maintained, and experienced." Florida homeowners and those involved in Homeowners' Associations (HOAs) should take note of the recently passed HB 919, a significant piece of legislation that introduces several critical changes to Florida Statute 720, which governs HOAs. The law also creates new rules about “generated child pornography,” which makes it a crime to own or purposefully view generated child pornography.

College students are also concerned about legislation that imposes restrictions on courses of study. Last week, Florida students rallied against HB 999 in the capital city of Tallahassee. Maxx Fenning, a senior at the University of Florida and the founder and president of LGBTQ+ advocacy group PRISM, also finds the legislation unsettling.