Florida’s Two New Laws Are Big Wins

The Sunshine State just got even brighter. On May 3^rd, the state legislature passed two bills that will help restore fairness and sound teaching in higher education, including in medical schools. Gov. DeSantis is expected to sign both bills into law, making Florida the national leader in getting woke ideology out of medical education.

The first soon-to-be law prohibits colleges and universities, including medical schools, from spending state or federal money on so-called “diversity, equity and inclusion” initiatives. It was sponsored by Senator Erin Gall. DEI is code for divisive and discriminatory woke ideology, and Florida institutions are spending millions of dollars pushing it on faculty and students alike.

Do No Harm chairman Dr. Stanley Goldfarb previously wrote in the Orlando Sentinel that medical schools are some of the worst offenders on DEI. That includes a discriminatory scholarship at the University of Florida’s medical school (which we helped end) and entire offices for DEI at pretty much every institution in the state. Now they can’t spend taxpayer money on this blatant woke indoctrination and bias.

The second soon-to-be-law bans loyalty tests and creates new conscience protections in higher education. It was sponsored by Rep. Alex Andrade. As Dr. Goldfarb wrote in the Sentinel, many medical schools ask applicants or faculty to demonstrate their commitment to DEI and fighting things like “system racism” – a de facto loyalty pledge. The new law will help end this injustice, ensuring the diversity that matters most in an academic setting – diversity of thought.

Florida lawmakers deserve praise for passing these common sense policies. Hopefully they’ll be the first of many, since there are countless other examples of the woke infection in higher education and medical school in particular. Thank you, Florida, for leading the charge!