UPDATE: This piece has been updated to include a response from The American Association of University Professors (AAUP).
The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) said on Friday it was “appalled” by a decision by Florida College System (FSC) presidents to remove any programming that pushes Critical Race Theory (CRT) on its campuses.
Nearly thirty college presidents announced on Wednesday that they would no longer allow state funding to be used to promote CRT, which is the teaching that America is fundamentally racist, and that it would evaluate and remove programs that adopt CRT by Feb. 1, according to a memo. The decision came in response to Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis administration’s request that all public colleges and universities submit a report outlining how much money was spent on CRT and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). (RELATED: Florida’s Public Universities Are Spending Millions In Taxpayer Dollars On Woke Education Initiatives)
The AAUP accused the FSC presidents of pledging to commit a “blatant violation of academic freedom.”
BREAKING: AAUP to explore action in defense of #academicfreedom & #sharedgovernance in higher education in Florida, including potential censure and/or sanction.https://t.co/OvBUhXiPS5
— American Association of University Professors (@AAUP) January 20, 2023
“In a democracy, higher education is a common good which requires that instructors have full freedom in their teaching to select materials and determine the approach to the subject. Instead, the FCS presidents, while giving lip service to academic freedom, have announced their intention to censor teaching and learning by expunging ideas they want to suppress,” the statement reads. “By dictating course content, they are also usurping the primary responsibility for the curriculum traditionally accorded the faculty under principles of shared governance.”
The presidents’ decision to “suppress” information is “revealing,” according to the AAUP. It stated that it would “explor[e] all options” including censure and investigation in response.
“The hypocrisy is glaring, as has been the case so often recently in Florida. But the danger is very real. Censorship of ideas has absolutely no place in a democracy,” the AAUP wrote.
The AAUP accused DeSantis of eliminating ideas that he disagrees with in a statement to the Daily Caller News Foundation and said that the decision is “censorship in the service of a political agenda.”
“Higher education exists to serve the common good, not to further the interests of individual faculty members, politicians, or any other party,” the AAUP said. “Academic freedom is essential for the unfettered search for knowledge and education in service of the common good.”
FCS did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.