DeSantis sues Biden Admin. over education controversy

Gov. Ron DeSantis announced on Thursday that Florida has sued the Biden Administration and the U.S. Department of Education over its alleged attempts to “undercut Florida’s nation-leading higher education reforms.” The lawsuit challenges a federal policy stipulating adherence to private accreditation for universities to qualify for federal funding. DeSantis’s team argues that the policy is unconstitutional as it empowers unelected and unaccountable accreditation agencies to negate state policy.

“Throughout Governor DeSantis’ time in office, Florida has ranked number one in the nation for higher education, yet the U.S. Department of Education has unconstitutionally collaborated with accreditation bodies to try to block the Governor’s efforts to bring increased transparency and accountability to public colleges and universities,” his office reported. “This lawsuit seeks to strip private, unaccountable accreditors of their authority to stand in the way of Florida’s higher education reforms.”

“I will not allow Joe Biden’s Department of Education to defund America’s #1 higher education system all because we refuse to bow to unaccountable accreditors who think they should run Florida’s public universities,” DeSantis vowed in a press release. “Throughout my time in office, I have made it a priority to bring transparency and accountability to higher education and to reorient the mission of our colleges and universities away from purveying destructive ideologies and back toward the pursuit of truth and the preparation of our students for success. The Biden administration’s attempts to block these reforms is an abuse of federal power, and with this lawsuit, we will ensure that Florida’s pursuit of educational excellence will continue.”  

Watch DeSantis’s entire press conference below.

Earlier this year, the Sunshine State’s chief executive launched an effort to salvage New College of Florida, a notoriously “woke” school, appointing six new members to the school’s 13-member board of trustees. According to AP News, the “new board intends to turn the school into a classical liberal arts school modeled after conservative favorite Hillsdale College in Michigan.”

Unsurprisingly, the White House has voiced its emphatic opposition, with White House spokesperson Abdullah Hasan hurling insults at the governor and his party.

“If Republican elected officials could have their way, library shelves would be stocked with guns – not books – and curriculums would be loaded with conspiracy theories, not facts,” he said. “These culture wars do nothing to actually help students, and only make things worse. This Administration won’t allow it. We’re committed to ensuring all students receive a high-quality education, and will fight this latest effort by opponents to get in the way of that.”

Voters, however, feel very differently. According to one poll from 2022 (released by an anti-DeSantis group), “voters [in key battleground states] approve of DeSantis’ education policy positions, and even some of his rhetoric.”

Ultimately, this is a small but important example of how the states can stand up to the federal government. Ron DeSantis knows that Washington, D.C. will never give up an ounce of its power—if the American people are to change politics as usual, the states will have to take charge. Thankfully, the Sunshine State has set a great example of doing just that.