FLORIDA SAYS NO TO DEI AND TWO HOLOCAUST TEXTBOOKS, BUT YES TO AAPI HISTORY

Christiana Lilly

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has been on a bill signing spree since the end of the legislative session, and the results have been mixed.

While he signed a bill going against diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) on public colleges and universities, as well as the Florida Department of Education nixing two books that cover the Holocaust, DeSantis also signed a bill that requires the teaching of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) history.

No To Dei

On May 15, DeSantis signed a bill that bars public colleges and universities from spending funds on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), nor can they “promote or engage in political of social activism.”

During a press conference at New College in Sarasota, NPR reported that the governor said, “If you look at the way this has actually been implemented across the country, DEI is better viewed as standing for discrimination, exclusion and indoctrination … and that has no place in our public institutions.”

This comes as no surprise, as he has been on a rampage against DEI programming for months. Members of the Divine Nine, a coalition of Black fraternities and sororities founded over a century ago when they were not allowed to join Greek life on campus, voiced their concern about their future on Florida college campuses with the passage of the bill.

Yes To Aapi

However, days earlier on May 9, DeSantis signed a general education bill that would mandate the teaching of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) history in Florida schools. Specifically, the bill includes the history of Japanese Americans who were forcibly placed in internment camps, AAPI identity and culture, and the contributions of AAPI people to American society.

The public was quick to point out that AP African American Studies has been banned from Florida high schools, as DeSantis and other leaders said the lesson content had a