Florida college students who “promote” designated terrorist organizations such as Hamas could have their state-sponsored financial benefits stripped from them under a new measure proposed Wednesday by Republican lawmakers.
Specifically, the bill calls for any student who “promotes” a terrorist organization to be required to pay out-of-state tuition rates, which are higher than in-state rates. Such students would also be disqualified for state grants, financial aid, scholarships, tuition assistance, or fee waivers.
In addition, the bill mandates that Florida’s public colleges and universities inform the U.S. Department of Homeland Security if any of their students “promotes” terrorist groups while on an F-1 student visa.
The bill doesn’t specify what it means to “promote.”
“Florida taxpayers should not be in the business of subsidizing the education of terrorist sympathizers who wish to do us, and others, harm,” said Republican state Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, who filed Senate Bill 470.
Florida Halts ‘Students for Justice in Palestine’ Ban
The bills come as Florida officials weigh their options after holding off a plan to ban chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) from state-run university campuses.Ray Rodrigues, who heads Florida’s state university system, said in late October that he would “deactivate” resident SJP groups at the University of Florida and the University of South Florida, citing the national SJP’s open glorification of atrocities committed by Hamas in Israel.
The SJP, which had already drawn accusations of anti-Semitism over the years for promoting anti-Israel rhetorics, is gaining more notoriety as the Israel–Hamas war escalates. Shortly after the Oct. 7 attack, the SJP put out a statement celebrating the “historic win,” calling on all Palestinian students to “mobilize” and do their part in the so-called “resistance” movement.
“Based on the National SJP’s support of terrorism, in consultation with Governor [Ron] DeSantis, the student chapters must be deactivated,” Mr. Rodrigues wrote in a letter at the time. “It is a felony under Florida law to ‘knowingly provide material support .. to a designated foreign terrorist organization.’”
On Nov. 10, however, the university chancellor said the original plan would be put on hold, since it turned out that the campus groups thought to be chapters of SJP are not actually affiliated with the national organization.
“These organizations represented to administration that they are not chartered or under the headship of the National Students for Justice in Palestine,” Mr. Rodrigues said during a Board of Governors meeting in Orlando. “The constitutions of both organizations, which were submitted by them at the beginning of the school year when they were registered as an active student registered organization, clearly state that their organization is not subservient or under the National Students for Justice in Palestine. Therefore, the universities have not deactivated their university chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine.”
On top of that, both the University of Florida and the University of South Florida have obtained legal opinions raising concerns about “potential personal liability for university actors” who were tasked to disband anti-Israel student groups.
In the meantime, Mr. Rodrigues said his office is working with the universities to obtain statements of “express affirmation” from the student groups. Such statements would affirm that the groups “reject violence,” “reject that they are part of the Hamas movement,” and pledge “that they will follow the law.”
“Our campuses have avoided the violence and the antisemitism that is occurring on campuses all across this nation,” he told the board. “In Florida, we will not tolerate violent activity, antisemitic activity or failure to observe the law.”
