Miami.- The Florida Education Association (FeA) and the Universidados University of Florida (UFF) expressed their firm rejection of the creation of a new state accrediting agency, announced this Thursday, June 26 by the governor Ron desantis and warned that the initiative threatens the autonomy of public universities and colleges, and politicizes the higher education system in Florida.
“The measure undermines the independence, integrity and academic credibility of our institutions,” they said in a joint statement. “By allowing political interference in accreditation processes, the voice of the teaching staff weakens, academic freedom is restricted and key decisions such as hiring, curricula and ownership are politicized.”
“It damages Florida’s academic reputation”
According to the unions, the new entity proposed by Desantis “establishes a dangerous precedent that could fragment the national accreditation standards, damage Florida’s academic reputation and jeopardize the eligibility of students for federal aid, as well as the recognition of their titles.”
“Accreditation matters because it is the backbone of academic freedom, shared governance and public trust in the quality of our institutions,” said Teresa M. Hodge, president of the Uff. “The proposed body seems designed to align more with political priorities than with academic independence.”
He added that “it is the most recent attempt in the State to impose vertical control over what can be taught and learn. Our communities do not need more politics in education, but a system focused on the development of students.”
The unions stressed that the consequences of this initiative will not be limited to higher education. “A change in accreditation standards will also impact the pre-K-12 system, affecting teacher training programs, certification requirements and access to the profession,” they said.
Andrew Spar, president of the Ugly, said that “again and again we have seen how political agendas are imposed on evidence -based educational policies. This new commission could destabilize the programs that form our future educators, just when Florida crosses a serious shortage of teachers and school staff.”
He even warned that “dual registration offers for students could be affected. Students learn better when they are free to learn and educators are free to teach, not when curricular decisions are dictated by politics.”
Posture of the governor
During a conference at Florida Atlantic University, in Boca Mouse, Desantis announced the creation of the Higher Education Commission, a state agency that will offer alternative academic accreditation with the aim of “breaking the monopoly of progressive cartels.”
The governor criticized the current accrediting agencies, noting that they impose policies without having been democratically chosen. As an example, he mentioned the implementation of diversity, equity and inclusion policies (DEI), which he described as “division, exclusion and indoctrination.”
According to Desantis, the new entity will focus on student performance, and will provide educational institutions “a free option of the dominant ideology.”
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