Sadly both the extreme left and the right will continue to tear at education as they try to control it and force outcomes. Some of what is proposed below, if done in a more neutral way is needed but much of it is garbage.
In Florida, DeSantis’s plans for colleges rattle some academics
Some experts say the changes affecting state universities are a sign of things to come nationally
In his efforts to remake higher education in Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed laws that alter the tenure system, remove Florida universities from commonly accepted accreditation practices, and mandate annual “viewpoint diversity surveys” from students and faculty.
DeSantis (R) also pushed through legislation he dubbed the “Stop WOKE Act” that regulates what schools, including universities, and workplaces can teach about race and identity. The legislation — which went into effect Friday — already faces a legal challenge.
The lawsuit argues that the act violates constitutional rights and would have a dangerous chilling effect on academic freedom. A judge is expected to rule soon on a request by University of Central Florida associate professor Robert Cassanello to block the law. This week, the judge denied similar requests from other plaintiffs, saying they lacked standing. The state has asked a judge to dismiss the suit...
...DeSantis has said he wants to prevent the state’s colleges and universities from becoming “hotbeds for stale ideologies” and from developing “intellectually repressive environments.”
Some welcome his plans. But the measures have other faculty and academic leaders concerned. They also worry that Republicans intend to go even further to exert political control over public higher education — and that the conflicts roiling Florida signal fights to come in other states...
...Critics of DeSantis’s efforts pointed to draft legislation that would have given to political appointees the power to hire and fire, and to veto school budgets. The proposals for the most part never made it into bills but were disclosed for a public-records request and published in the newsletter Seeking Rents.
“It is no exaggeration to say that the DeSantis administration represents an existential threat to higher education in the state of Florida,” ...
...Other experts welcomed the suggestions as long-overdue pushback on liberal universities and saw the effort as an indicator of a more urgent need to rethink higher education nationally.
“It is not hard to preserve academic freedom while introducing genuine intellectual diversity to campus,” Adam Kissel, a former Education Department official and Heritage Foundation visiting fellow, wrote in an email. “In general this is by adding voices rather than restricting them.”...
...In June, DeSantis lauded work experience over “a magic piece of paper which likely would have cost too much anyway” when he signed a law allowing state agencies to substitute work experience, including military experience, for college degrees in hiring....
...“Give me somebody that served eight years in the Navy or the Marine Corps. That education is going to be much more beneficial and pertinent than someone that went $100,000 in debt to get a degree in zombie studies,” DeSantis said...