Federal Judge Rules Florida Allowed to Collect Information on College CRT Programs

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at a Republican Jewish Coalition Annual Leadership Meeting in Las Vegas on Nov. 19, 2022. Wade Vandervort/AFP via Getty Images

A federal judge ruled that Florida didn’t violate an existing injunction by collecting a list of critical race theory (CRT) and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs.

U.S. District Judge Mark E. Walker wrote in his decision on Jan. 12, “Although this court would not hesitate to compel compliance with its preliminary injunction, this court finds there has been no violation of the injunction at this time.”

On Dec. 28, Florida’s director of policy & budget for Gov. Ron DeSantis issued a memo to the state’s universities to “provide a comprehensive list of all staff, programs, and campus activities related to diversity, equity, and inclusion and critical race theory.”

In a “motion to compel” (pdf) filed on Jan. 11 on behalf of the plaintiffs, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Legal Defense Fund (LDF) argued that the memo violated a preliminary injunction that suspended the enforcement of the 2022 law “Stop WOKE Act” or “Stop Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees Act.” The Act prohibits schools and workplaces from including CRT, a quasi-Marxism framework that views America as institutionally racist, in their teachings and training.

After DeSantis signed the legislation into law in April with an effective date of July 1, U.S. District Judge Mark E. Walker granted a preliminary injunction in August, blocking the restriction on companies’ CRT training. Then, in November, he gave another injunction and suspended the part of the legislation on colleges.

The LDF said in a statement on Jan. 11: “Despite the court’s ruling, Gov. DeSantis’ administration issued a memo in December requiring Florida universities to provide information about potential critical race theory and diversity, equity, and inclusion activity in an attempt to enforce the enjoined law, and restrict Florida educators and students from learning about and discussing issues related to race and gender.

“The Governor’s direction to compile information about professors’ courses is an attempt to circumvent the court’s issued preliminary injunction and enforce unconstitutional provisions of the law.”

In a response filed on Thursday, Florida’s lawyers said the information collection was a part of the governor’s annual budgeting process and that “gathering and transmitting information is not ‘enforcement.’”

“The Florida Constitution expressly authorizes the governor to request information of this kind, and much of the information at issue has already been made freely available by the universities—either on their websites or in their annual budget proposals,” state lawyers continued in the filing.

The State of Florida has appealed Judge Walker’s preliminary injunction and requested the “Stop WOKE Act” to stay effective while the legal proceedings continue. The appeal is still pending.

The new “Stop WOKE Act” is still effective in Florida’s K-12 schools. Judge Walker did not block that part of the law in the injunctions.

Higher Education DEI Programs

DEI evokes strong opinions on both sides.

When filing the lawsuit to block the “Stop WOKE Act” last August, ACLU stated called the legislation “a classroom censorship bill that severely restricts Florida educators and students from learning and talking about issues related to race and gender in higher education classrooms.”

“The bill specifically targets and places vague restrictions on educators’ ability to teach and discuss concepts around the legacy of slavery in America, white privilege, and anti-racism,” ACLU’s statement continued.

After the first preliminary injunction lifting the restriction on corporate CRT training programs, Taryn Fenske, the communications director for DeSantis’s office, said in an emailed statement to The Epoch Times last August: “Judge Walker has effectively ruled that companies have a first amendment right to instruct their employees in white supremacy. We disagree and will be appealing his decision.”

In a 2021 guidance document (pdf), the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education (NADOHE) said the organization was “a leading voice in the fight for social justice and inclusive excellence.” In the same paper, NADOHE’s president wrote about the organization’s commitment to “look[ing] systematically at institutional policies and practices to achieve racial equity in higher education.”

People who don’t believe America is systematicly racist question the use of DEI programs.

A 2021 report by the conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation recommended states examine DEI efforts to ensure the effective use of public university resources. The survey studied 65 “Power Five” universities—public institutions in the most potent five athletic conferences—representing over 2.2 million students and about 16 percent of all four-year college enrollments.

For every 100 tenured faculty positions, DEI staff numbered, on average, 3.4 in those 65 universities, according to the report, which also showed little relationship between DEI staffing size and students’ satisfaction with their schools in those universities’ existing campus climate surveys.

“If DEI staff are deemed unnecessary or their efforts unproductive, a legislative response is wholly appropriate,” said report author Jay Greene, a senior fellow at the think tank’s Center for Education Policy, in a separate article last year.