Florida’s assault on higher education is most visible by its takeover and makeover of New College, the tiny public liberal arts college that is being remade into a bastion of conservative thought. But restrictions on academic freedom and free expression began two years earlier and are continuing in the current legislative session.
In spring 2021, the Legislature passed HB 233, which allows students to record class lectures, without faculty knowledge, for the purpose of filing a complaint or preparing for civil/criminal proceedings (instilling fear, suppressing exchange of ideas, and silencing faculty); prohibits “shielding” students, faculty and staff from “ideas and opinions they may find uncomfortable, unwelcome, disagreeable or offensive” (enabling hate speech); and launched the annual Intellectual Freedom and Viewpoint Diversity Survey (accompanied by threats to defund institutions engaged in “liberal indoctrination”).
The next year saw SB 520, which exempts college president searches from the state’s open record law. This empowers boards of trustees to ignore input from students, faculty, administrators or alumni, making way for politicians rather than scholars to lead institutions, as seen at New College, the University of Florida, and South Florida State College.
Last year, SB 256 passed, weakening public sector unions like United Faculty of Florida by requiring 60% membership and eliminating payroll deduction for dues payments. Florida is a right-to-work state, so union membership is historically low and risk for decertification is high. Without unions, faculty would lose collective bargaining power to protect academic freedom, free expression and the fundamental pillars of higher education that are directly targeted by the other legislation — including tenure and academic due process (SB 266).
Recently, seven former Florida college presidents related current legislation to the censorship work of the Johns Committee in the 1950s and ’60s and cautioned that Florida State University System (SUS) graduates will be “at a competitive disadvantage in the global talent hiring pool.” Indeed, legislation targeting higher education has diminished the quality and value of our previously esteemed institutions, replacing rigor and inquiry with complacency and conformity. Fear, burnout and declining morale are exacerbating faculty recruitment and retention problems. Findings show both a sharp increase in faculty resignations and more job candidates declining offers.
The changes are affecting students’ choices as well. Nearly 13% of graduating high school seniors acknowledged DeSantis’ “education policies” as the reason they will not enroll in Florida’s SUS and 5% of currently enrolled students plan to transfer outside of Florida for the same reason. From the Supreme Court in 1957: “Scholarship cannot flourish in an atmosphere of suspicion and distrust. Teachers and students must always remain free to inquire, to study and to evaluate, to gain new maturity and understanding; otherwise, our civilization will stagnate and die.”
Dr. Stacy Frazier is professor of applied social and cultural psychology, and Dr. Elisa Trucco is associate professor of clinical science in child and adolescent psychology, at Florida International University in Miami. The opinions expressed are their own and not the university’s.
