Would Florida higher ed proposals protect students or destroy state universities?

ORLANDO, Fla. — Lawmakers are weighing sweeping changes to Florida’s higher education system, including weakening tenure protections for faculty, putting a microscope on certain programs and specifying how United States history must be taught in core courses.

Allies of Gov. Ron DeSantis say the proposals would protect free speech on university campuses, while critics argue they would do the opposite.

“We will not attract the best faculty,” said Rich Templin, director of politics and public policy at Florida AFL-CIO, which represents 1.3 million workers in the state, including university faculty members. “We will not attract the best graduate students. We will be a laughing stock. We will plummet from being one of the highest-ranked systems in the country to one of the lowest.”