The Turlington Building, which houses the Florida Department of Education, stands in the foreground, with the Tallahassee skyline, including the Capitol building, beyond. Photo taken from the FAMU campus on Dec. 31, 2024. (Photo by Jay Waagmeester/Florida Phoenix)
General education courses at Florida institutions no longer contain “indoctrinating concepts,” State University System Chancellor Ray Rodrigues announced this week following a Legislature-mandated review
A 2023 law, now being litigated in court, requires general education courses to be reviewed by each institution and approved by the Board of Governors. The law prohibits general education courses that “distort significant historical events or include a curriculum that teachers identity politics.”
“We can confidently say that our general education courses that students have to take in order to graduate will not contain indoctrinating concepts,” Rodrigues said.
“The general education curriculum that was approved today makes Florida the only state in the nation to address the Number One reason why the American people have lost confidence in higher education,” Rodrigues said, citing a Gallup poll that identified “political agendas” as the top reason among people who’ve “very little confidence in higher education.”
SB 266 stipulates that general education humanities courses “must include selections from the Western cannon.”
The law goes on to prohibit teaching that systemic racism, sexism, oppression, and privilege are inherent in the U.S. “and were created to maintain social, political, and economic inequities.”
Intent
The Board of Governors laid out its intent for general education courses:
“Every undergraduate student graduates as an informed citizen through a rigorous general education that promotes and preserves the constitutional republic through traditional, historically accurate, and high-quality coursework,” State University System Vice Chancellor Emily Sikes presented to the board.
“The new general ed list provides students with options that support a broad foundational knowledge and will ultimately make them better informed citizens in the state of Florida,” board member Tim Cerio said.
Florida State University cut 432 of 571 courses from its general education list, including “Theories of African American Studies,” “Evolution of Human Sexuality,” and “LGBTQ History,” The Tallahassee Democrat reported.
The Board of Governors rejected the initial FSU list, which would have removed 212 courses, the Democrat reported. The same story notes that Florida A&M University removed 18 of its 160 general education courses.
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During the meeting Thursday, University of North Florida President Moez Limayem said the school went from offering 150 general education courses to 45.
“I think our proposed core is sound, is flexible, and sets the foundation for us for continuous improvement,” Limayem said. “We have processes in place that now we will periodically review this, so we don’t end up with this exploding list of courses,” Limayem said, adding that many of the courses on the previous list were initiated by faculty no longer with the university.
Politico reported earlier this month that the Florida Board of Education, which governs the state’s colleges, removed 57% of general education courses offered through the state colleges, that often feed students to the state’s universities.
In court
Earlier this month, the ACLU of Florida filed suit on behalf of university professors claiming their academic careers have been impeded by the law limiting general education courses.
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Those plaintiffs argue that eliminating courses such as “Principles of Sociology” and “Politics of Race” from qualifying as general education courses denies the courses and departments enrollment-based funding.
This week, the ACLU filed for a preliminary injunction against the law.
With declining enrollment, courses relegated away from the general education list could disappear, threatening free expression and the professors’ jobs, the lawsuit argues.
Cerio said Thursday that removing courses from qualifying as general education does not eliminate the course.
“I want to reiterate this because this has come up and it’s important that not only people in this room, but the public understand that we are not prohibiting universities from offering courses,” Cerio said. “If a course was removed from the gen. ed. requirements because it didn’t align the statute, nothing prohibits the university from continuing to offer those courses. They’re just outside the general education requirements. They can be an elective or make them part of other degree requirements.”
Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. echoed that sentiment, saying students can be “overwhelmed by the number of courses that are out there.”
“Well, there is plenty of opportunities for students to venture and explore courses at the higher levels, but the easier we can make it for them when it comes to general education and making sure that they’re getting what they need there I think is very important,” Diaz said.
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