DeSantis defends Florida education changes: school choice, parents' bill of rights, university reforms

Gov. Ron DeSantis defended a series of Florida education reforms during remarks in Dallas, saying the state has enacted universal school choice, a parents’ bill of rights and reforms at public universities aimed at removing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs.

“Every parent has a right to send their kids to school without their kids being taught that their gender is a choice or that they were born in the wrong body,” DeSantis said. He framed school reforms as steps to “respect the rights of parents to direct the education and upbringing” of their children and cited curriculum‑transparency requirements enacted in Florida.

DeSantis described a public dispute with a major corporation that he said had a “very famous reputation in Florida” and recounted signing legislation related to that dispute. He said the state reduced special subsidies and clarified local government authority in that instance, without naming the law by citation in his remarks.

On higher education, DeSantis said Florida eliminated DEI programs at public universities and instituted five‑year reviews for tenured faculty. He used New College of Florida as an example, saying he appointed trustees, replaced the president and refocused the institution; DeSantis said New College later was ranked “the number 1 public liberal arts university in the country.”

Why it matters: The governor presented these actions as central to a broader conservative agenda on education, arguing they restore parental authority and classical curriculum priorities. DeSantis attributed improvements in institutional performance to those changes.

What remains unspecified: DeSantis made policy claims and cited institutional outcomes but did not provide statutory citations or the text of the university governance changes he referenced. He did not provide enrollment, performance metrics or the specific legal instruments by name in his remarks.

Speakers quoted in this article: Gov. Ron DeSantis.