Governor Ron DeSantis has vowed to challenge the \u201cunchecked power\u201d of college accreditation agencies<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Florida has filed a lawsuit against the US government, seeking to vacate legislation which forces universities to receive approval from private firms in order to receive federal funding. The White House says it will fight the case in court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Governor Ron DeSantis announced the move on Thursday, calling for sweeping changes to the accreditation process, while warning that the federal government is looking to \u201ccrack down\u201d on Florida over its opposition to \u201cwoke\u201d ideology in the education system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey believe that Florida should potentially lose student aid as a result of making these types of reforms,\u201d he said. \u201cI’ve read the state and federal constitutions a lot and I don’t recall seeing that clause in either of those constitutions and so we reject the idea that a totally unaccountable, unappointed, unelected accrediting agency can trump what the state of Florida is doing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Republican governor and 2024 presidential candidate went on to explain that the Department of Education selects private bodies to approve colleges and universities for federal assistance, and that those accreditors can \u201cserve as a veto against the entire state of Florida.\u201d He said the state government has asked the courts to \u201cfind this arrangement to be unconstitutional.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The state\u2019s 42-page legal complaint argues that Congress should not \u201cdelegate its legislative authority to trade or industrial associations,\u201d citing decisions by the US Supreme Court. It added that lawmakers have nonetheless \u201cceded unchecked power to private accrediting agencies to dictate education standards,\u201d urging the courts to acknowledge a \u201cpattern of abuse\u201d by such businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The White House has dismissed the legal action as frivolous, suggesting it has more to do with conservative ideology than genuine concerns about the education system. It pledged to challenge Florida\u2019s case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThese culture wars do nothing to actually help students, and only make things worse. This administration won\u2019t allow it,\u201d White House spokesperson Abdullah Hasan told the Associated Press. \u201cWe\u2019re committed to ensuring all students receive a high-quality education, and will fight this latest effort by opponents to get in the way of that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n