TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Thursday that the state has filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration and the U.S. Department of Education over accreditation agencies, which control federal aid for students.
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in Fort Lauderdale federal court, challenges a federal law that requires colleges and universities to submit to private accreditors to qualify for federal funding. It targets the U.S. Department of Education, Secretary Miguel Cardona and other federal officials.
The lawsuit comes as DeSantis, who is seeking the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, imposes his conservative agenda on the state’s education system. Earlier this year, he appointed trustees to the board of New College of Florida, a tiny Sarasota school of about 1,000 students that was best known for its progressive thought and creative course offerings. The new board intends to turn the school into a classical liberal arts school modeled after conservative favorite Hillsdale College in Michigan.
“You cannot take legislative power and delegate it to an unaccountable private body,” DeSantis said. “Under their theory, the accreditor can serve as a veto against the entire state of Florida.”
He noted that the accrediting agency seeks to take the responsibility for ensuring the wellbeing of colleges and universities away from the governor, Legislature and taxpayers.
“So, you know, that’s a view that really, this board trumps the entire state of Florida,” DeSantis said. “We reject that, and today we are going to do something about it.”
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