Florida will become the place where public higher education goes to die: education expert

MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan pointed out on Sunday that there's one thing that Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) loves to talk about, and it's "freedom" in his state. But the latest moves are working to restrict academic freedom, freedom of speech, business freedom and others.

The latest piece of legislation would remove many degree programs in public universities blocking the freedom of students who opt to study such subjects.

Jeremy Young, the senior manager of Free Expression and Education at Pen America, told Hasan that the new bill is by far the worst that the Florida legislature has explored thus far, "possibly forever."

"It's not even close to some of the other bills that we've seen in other places," Young explained. Many red states have fought to restrict education that teaches the truth about America's history of slavery and civil rights under the guise of white parents being triggered. "This bill would go beyond recent attempts to restrict classroom teaching and speech in higher education, classrooms and readings. It would restrict instead entire universities. Among other provisions, it would require that general education classes include only material that promotes, 'the values necessary to preserve the constitutional republic and traditional historically accurate course work' and ban general education courses based on, 'unproven theoretical or exploratory content.' This is a bill that would really end academic freedom in higher education. Not just certain course areas, but at all times, and all campuses everywhere. It really is a bill that would make Florida the place where public higher education goes to die."

Education is often one of the most significant components for businesses choosing to relocate to states. While the businesses themselves might not focus on it, the workers certainly do. Such was the case in 2018 with Toyota and Mazda, which ignored the concerns of the workforce for tax incentives.

If there isn't a skilled workforce to choose from, businesses don't see the state as a good place to relocate. It's a problem that Oklahoma has faced for several years as the standard of education has been significantly reduced. South Florida is already facing a skilled workforce shortage.

For companies that are looking to relocate their existing workforce, millennials and Generation Z doesn't want to move to states that aren't supportive of their families, CNBC explained. Meanwhile, DeSantis has made it clear he's willing to target employers that oppose his politics, as he did with Disney, one of the state's largest employers.

"It's the same old song, really," Young explained. "It's this idea that any topic in the humanities or interdisciplinary fields that includes jargon or language that is not immediately obvious to the reader without study is somehow a poison pill for Marxism or some kind of extreme ideology. It's really a conspiracy theory that leads to the banning of these topics, regarding race, LGBTQ identity, regarding gender. The most important thing to emphasize about this bill and bills like it is that they are using ideas like gender studies, critical race theory, diversity, equity, inclusion as wedge issues in order to really facilitate the takeover of public higher education by one man."

See the full report from MSNBC below or at the link here:

Florida educationyoutu.be