The Governor’s office of Ron DeSantis (R-Fla) announced an investigation to find out how much money woke colleges spend on Critical Race Theory (CRT) and “diversity, equity, and inclusion.”
The Office of Policy and Budget director Chris Spencer called for the information to be released in a December 28 memo addressed to Florida education commissioner Manny Diaz and State University System of Florida chancellor Raymond Rodrigues.
The memo states that Florida is beginning to consider budget proposals and that the universities need to gather data on diversity initiatives.
“It is important that we have a full understanding of the operational expenses of state institutions,” the memo said, adding “this letter is a request for information from the Department of Education and the State University System regarding the expenditure of state resources on programs and initiatives related to diversity, equity and inclusion, and critical race theory within our state colleges and universities.”
MEMO: All state university & college systems in Florida have been required to report expenditures and resources utilized for campus activities related to diversity, equity, and inclusion and critical race theory. Stay tuned. pic.twitter.com/E4Z4zLuJgC
— Bryan Griffin (@BryanDGriffin) January 4, 2023
Each Florida college is required to submit a comprehensive list of all staff, programs, and campus activities related to diversity, equity, inclusion, and critical race theory to determine how much hard earned tax payer money went to funding these woke ideologies.
During his inauguration speech after winning a second term in a landslide victory, DeSantis vowed to continue to keep the Left’s progressive message out of kids’ lives, ensuring that students will not be exposed to it.
“We must ensure school systems are responsive to parents and students, not partisan interest groups, and we must ensure that our institutions of higher learning are focused on academic excellence and the pursuit of truth, not the imposition of trendy ideology,” DeSantis said, adding “we will enact more family-friendly policies to make it easier to raise children and we will defend our children against those who seek to rob them of their innocence.”
DeSantis gained a political edge for banning CRT from classrooms and drawing attention to Democrats’ radical agenda. In 2022, the Florida governor signed bills prohibiting children from being taught about sexual orientation and gender identity, which sent the Left off into a rage of fits.