Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill Tuesday that makes it difficult to retain the mandate of public university professors, formulating legislation as another way he and the legislature work to prevent teachers from presenting their political views in the classroom.
In an extensive press conference at The Villages, which erupted on Twitter, claiming that textbook publishers were trading hidden programs, DeSantis criticized what he called “lifelong appointments” for university professors.
“We need to make sure that the faculty is responsible and make sure that they do not have a mandate forever without having any way to hold them accountable or evaluate what they are doing,” DeSantis said. “Everything is trying to make these institutions more in line with state priorities and, frankly, the priorities of parents across Florida.
Related: Late change to bill would weaken mandate at Florida universities, professors say
Every five years, he said, full professors will be required to face the board of trustees of their university, which could split with them. The text of the bill does not provide this level of specificity, but rather states that a five-year review will be conducted, which will be determined by the State Board of Governors. Every public university already requires full professors to participate in the annual review.
“The hire was there to protect people so that they could come up with ideas that could make them lose their jobs or whatever, academic freedom – I don’t really know the role it plays, to be honest, anymore.” said DeSantis. “I think what makes possession, if nothing else, is created more than intellectual orthodoxy. For people who have different views, it becomes more difficult to be hired in the first place, and then, once you are hired, your productivity really decreases, especially in certain disciplines.
House Speaker Chris Sprolls called the law a way to prevent “indoctrination”.
He also said it would increase transparency with a provision requiring curricula to be published online, preventing professors from trying to “smuggle in ideology and politics”. Sprowls said this would prevent students from enrolling in a “socialism and communism” course when they feel they are enrolling in “Western democracy” and classes in “what it means to be a true American.”
“That’s what this bill is about,” Sprules said. Will (students) enter a university system that is more about indoctrination than finding a job one day and learning the skills and subject needed to find a job? Or is it some kind of radical political agenda that a particular professor who is told he gets a lifelong job will tell them that they have to believe in order to get an A in their class?
Andrew Gotthard, president of the United University of Florida, said DeSantis and Sprowls’ comments reflected a deep misunderstanding of how higher education works.
Currently, boards of trustees must approve all professors who receive a mandate, Gotthard said, adding that this is not a lifelong appointment. The faculty can still be fired for a reason.
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“The cuff allows for proper procedure and hearing and usually protects people from dismissal for political reasons,” he said. “From where we are, the only indoctrination that’s happening right now is from Tallahassee.”
Tim Boaz, president of the University of South Florida Senate, said he believed the legislation was the result of misconceptions about higher education.
He said the notion that teachers become less productive after taking office was wrong, citing high-ranking universities in Florida as a result of teachers’ productivity.
“I think it would be a pity if we had a mandate only in name,” he said. “Talented teachers across the nation will see this and say it’s not a mandate.”
Earlier this spring, when it was unclear what form the bill would take, USF’s newly appointed president, Rhea Law, said he would support faculty members.
“What I told the faculty is that we absolutely support, we have their backs,” she said.
The measure, Senate Bill 7044, was signed a week after a study on “intellectual diversity” was sent to all university staff, students and faculty. The study, required in a bill approved last year, raised questions that ask students whether they think their teachers use their platforms to inject their point of view and ask everyone about their political beliefs. The State Teachers’ Union has called for a boycott of the study, and several faculty leaders have expressed fears it would cool freedom of speech.
The bill, signed on Tuesday, also took over accreditation agencies, requiring state universities to change accreditors after each cycle. Some faculty leaders have expressed fears that the measure could cause Florida schools to lose funding for research and federal aid to students.
The provision stems from last year’s friction between some state leaders and the College Commission of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, the Southeast University’s accreditation organization. The group raised questions about political influence at Florida State University and the University of Florida.
At FSU, the problem arose after Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran proposed becoming president of the university. Corcoran spoke at a press conference Tuesday in support of the bill.
DeSantis said the provision creates additional accountability.
“This will put an end to this monopoly on accreditation,” he said. “I don’t even know where the role of these accreditation agencies comes from. They are essentially just anointed. They have great power to shape what is happening in these universities. “
Taylor Walker, a conservative student from the former former union, majoring in history, also took part in Tuesday’s event. She spoke of bringing conservative commentator Ben Shapiro to campus, sparking applause from residents of The Villages.
“As a conservative on the university campus, you sometimes have to face some obstacles,” Walker said. “There are still some people who think that awake stories are the only stories that need to be taught on university campuses. As a history major, I can confirm this. As I enter my classes, my teachers keep me up to high standards. This bill enables me to adhere to the same high standards that they must adhere to. “
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