Florida SB 266 bans DEI offices, tightens tenure review, and restricts curriculum at public universities

Governor Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill 266 into law, barring state university expenditures on DEI programs, restricting post-tenure review processes to make it easier to remove tenured faculty, and limiting what subjects could be presented as required instruction in general education courses. SB 266 was the most comprehensive state-level anti-DEI higher education law passed to that point in the country, combining budget prohibitions with curricular directives and employment changes in a single statute. Administrators at Florida's 12 state universities immediately began reviewing departmental budgets, faculty positions, and course catalogs to identify programs that could trigger enforcement. The law gave Florida's Board of Governors broad discretion to audit compliance and penalize institutions that didn't meet its terms.