Florida Board of Governors adopts Rule 9.016 to operationalize anti-DEI spending prohibitions

Florida's Board of Governors formally adopted Rule 9.016 on prohibited expenditures, translating SB 266's legislative language into a detailed compliance framework that applied across all 12 Florida public universities. The rule specified which categories of spending, programming, staffing, and administrative activity were prohibited and directed each university to certify compliance by a specific deadline. It gave the Board of Governors authority to conduct audits, demand records, and penalize institutions that failed to meet its terms. Campus administrators described the rule as requiring them to review every program and position touching on diversity, equity, and inclusion, and to document any activity that might fall within its scope.