Posted on 03/14/2023 7:30:40 AM PDT by Jacquerie
The House Postsecondary Education and Workforce Subcommittee approved a proposed committee substitute for HB 999 Monday, replacing the language of the original bill.
Republican lawmakers are proposing to expand legislation that would further limit majors and minors available to Florida university students.
The legislation also would further undermine tenure protections for professors.
The bill in question is HB 999 and it’s called Public Postsecondary Educational Institutions. Lawmakers will be discussing an updated version at a Monday committee meeting, where they will decide whether to accept or reject new expanded language in the bill.
The American Association of University Professors said that the proposed language would “enact the most draconian restrictions on higher ed in US history. It bans all majors & minors in ANY critical theory & allow unqualified political appointees to call for post-tenure review of any faculty member at any time,” according to a Saturday tweet.
Lawmakers will consider an expansion to the bill Monday which would direct the Board of Governors to “provide direction to each constituent university to remove from its programs any major or minor that is based on or otherwise utilizes pedagogical methodology associated with Critical Theory, including, but not limited to, Critical Race Theory, Critical Race Studies, Critical Ethnic Studies, Radical Feminist Theory, Radical Gender Theory, Queer Theory, Critical Social Justice, or Intersectionality, as defined in Board of Governors regulation.”
The current version of HB 999 says that the board of trustees at a university can issue a review of a tenured professor at any point “with cause.”
But the new proposed language adds broad definitions for what would constitute as cause, which includes but is not limited to “poor performance, negligence, inefficiency or inability to perform assigned duties, insubordination, violation of any applicable law or rule, conduct unbecoming a public employee, misconduct, drug abuse, or conviction of any crime.”
Monday morning, Gov. Ron DeSantis hosted a “roundtable discussion” about his administration’s plan to eliminate critical race theory and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives at universities and colleges. He referenced HB 999 and its Senate version, SB 266, during the roundtable.
He also discussed a provision in the legislation that would prohibit universities from requiring employees “pledge” any statement about “diversity, equity, and inclusion, Critical Race Theory rhetoric, or political identity or ideology.”
> This appears to be a ban on majors and minors only… <
That’s the way I read it too. But as I see it, the “Big Brother” problem remains.
Suppose a college can no longer offer a major in Critical Race Theory. So the college just changes the name of the major to “Modern Sociology”, or some such thing. Should that major be banned too? Who decides? I guess it’s some government bureaucrat somewhere. I find that a bit distasteful.
Oh, and I do agree with you about the tenure thing. Tenure should guarantee you due process. It should not guarantee you a job for life.
Those courses should NOT be banned. Instead, the FL legislature should make recovery of TREBLE full tuition from the degree-granting college, if a graduate sporting such a degree is unable to find a job in that major, within FIVE years of graduation (one that pays the equivalent of a starting FL teacher).
CRT IS NOW LABELED AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDIES
My point was that if you give the government the power to decide what should be taught, then they have the power to tell the colleges what should not be taught. You are viewing it as if the GOP will indefinitely control the FL government. That is an unrealistic expectation. Do you want to give the Dems the same power? The will have it one day when they get in power. And if they do there is no way anything positive about America will ever be taught.
The same thing happened in a sense with homeland security. I opposed the creation of it at the time because it would just be a matter of time before the government abused their power. That’s why the answer is never to give them the power in the first place
EXCELLENT point.
The problem is that state universities get a significant amount of funding from both state and federal government. In that sense, the states are share holders and therefore have a rightful say in what’s being taught there.
My point is that the “state” government (fed too) is only as good as the people who run it.People can be corrupted or blinded by their own ideology. Now if agree with the ideology then it’s good but if you don’t then it’s bad. But if they don’t have the power then there is nothing to worry about. That is the driving force behind the concept of limited government.
To do otherwise is opening Pandora’s box and hoping the people in power believe in the same things as you. I’m not willing to take that chance
The tenets of CRT, DEI are hostile to societal well-being.
It is proper for FL to prohibit the promotion of race hatred and division in state supported schools.
As much as I would personally prefer to outlaw them, the best we can do is put them in the fringes of society where they belong like winos, druggies and other assorted crazies.
IMHO, a true limited government conservative would never give any government that power because it may/will come back to haunt you.
Tough. The FL government has that power over its universities. Employers set the rules for employees. It is that simple.
Today’s my day to make typos!
typo
“Private college\universities call ...” Should read “Private college\universities can “!
Just remember that when a Democrat is elected governor.
I think the government has a right to at least demand rigor in what is being taught in State schools - which have a purpose. It is also one thing to be presented with odd ideas, and another to have them required to graduate, and yet another to have them given punitive authority.
The problem is that these are not ‘independent’ places of ‘free thinking’, but instead have been captured. Not paranoia, captured, but have the equivalent of segregation within their departments - where the line is not Black/White/Asian/etc, but rather cult/normal.
It’d be nice for colleges to be independent, but that’s not happening under the capture.
You’d also have to deny employment (and tenure) for those who can’t produce rigorous study and works.
Recall, for example, the Women’s Study departments who all cited each other and gave each other awards without actual academic merit. A couple of decades ago, there was a study which showed some huge majority of studies in the field were derivative and cross-citations of merely three women doing just that.
For a long time, the only job prospects of majors in women’s and ethnic studies were in women’s studies and ethnic studies departments because in addition to being maladjusted, they’d never actually been taught anything useful.
We have to get rid of that collecting pool.
Your argument assumes that there is a mix available from which to sample. That has largely disappeared.
Yes, over-reach is absolutely a concern. But first the colleges must be turned from institutions which confuse the children out of being able to reproduce - ever - and completely unable to function. This is a State school, and they have an interest in augmenting a populace that is functional and continuing.
Do you want to give the Dems the same power? The will have it one day when they get in power.
Well, it would be if we were not essentially already there.
IMHO, a true limited government conservative would never give any government that power because it may/will come back to haunt you.
Does the Government fund State schools?
As they say, “If you take the King’s Coin, you do the King’s Bidding.”
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.