I’m not from US but I’m curious what is the situation in other states? Are there situations like that occurring elsewhere (even if the bias is in the opposite political direction e.g. in California or somewhere) or is Florida a “lonely island” here with regard to free speech limitations on universities?
1. Imho, Florida is just leading the way for other states (many of which are actually more conservative than Florida). One reason Florida might be taking the lead is because the current governor is making a run for president in 2024, and this is establishing his bona fides. Florida is definitely not a “lonely island”.
2. Liberal states seem to be going extreme in other directions. Some examples are how “equity” policies (in general, not a bad idea) are implemented. Gifted programs, ap programs, accelerated programs and the like are being cut because the participants don’t have the proper racial ratios (Asians and Whites tend to be statistically over-represented). Equity is not an unreasonable policy to pursue, but doing it by holding back others is regressive, imho. Holding back high achievers also addresses the problem at the wrong level — that is, the origins of academic inequality typically happen at a much earlier age.
Interestingly, in most states (blue, red, or purple), teachers are almost forced to teach to the bottom 25-30% of each class, since schools are evaluated by how many people meet the minimum standards rather than by overall or high level achievement.
It’s getting pretty common in conservative states. Just this year there were (in various states) hundreds of laws passed against public expressions of LGBTQ+ identities, including some that affect public sector employees (e.g., state university professors).
