Florida Standing up to Biden’s Lax Educational Reform

University leaders have recently endorsed a proposal for a fresh accrediting entity, which would be financed and supervised by Florida and five other states’ higher education systems. The decision to form the new body, named the Commission for Public Higher Education, was confirmed by the Board of Governors for the Florida university system. This entity emerged as a substitute for the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, an agency that has been in a heated dispute with Florida’s education heads for some time now. The board’s chairman, Brian Lamb, revealed that Florida has provided $4 million in seed funds for the nascent project.

The Chairman emphasized the need for a roadmap, delineating the milestones for the new agency over the next eighteen months. Nevertheless, many have expressed concerns regarding the operational plans of the organization. Despite the promising beginning, numerous questions about how they intend to execute their role remain unanswered. Board member Eric Silagy, in particular, voiced worries about the nascent entity’s legal vulnerabilities in its current state of establishment.

He feared that the arrangement wasn’t robust enough from the get-go to prevent unnecessary legal issues. Given the entity will be responsible for an expansive network encompassing millions of students, hundreds of thousands of faculty, and billions of dollars, this concern seems rather warranted. The impromptu formation appears all the more precarious when one thinks about it as an immediate hub for such a massive scholarly community.

Significant participation in this venture also comes from university systems located in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas. As per Chancellor Ray Rodrigues of the Florida University System, these six university systems are demonstrating a commendable level of unity. He believes that the newly established Commission for Public Education will present an accreditation model that places academic prowess and student success at its heart, cutting off all ideological biases and extraneous fiscal burdens.

But the approach of continuously denigrating the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission hasn’t been universally admired. Opponents argue that if the Board was so concerned with accreditor ideological biases, it should attempt to resolve the issues rather than creating an entirely new organization. This relatively drastic solution, they claim, could lead to unforeseen complications and unnecessary confusion.

The aim of the accrediting bodies is to help colleges and universities become eligible for federal financial aid to students. Recent history shows that Florida has been making efforts to disentangle itself from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission. This move has escalated up to the federal court level regarding accreditation disputes. Some board members, such as Kimberly Dunn, feel it’s critical that the new accrediting board not impose any destructive or ideological beliefs on the academic institutions.

Board member Ken Jones lauded the plan as the right course of spiritual progress given the recent tensions with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission and other accrediting bodies. By October, the new commission plans to have established a board of directors and staff. In addition, they aim to have an accreditation model in place by the end of December. However, gaining recognition as an official accrediting body would require greenlighting from the U.S. Department of Education.

For new accreditation bodies, the commission’s business plan says, there is typically a two-year timetable to demonstrate compliance with federal regulations to obtain federal approval. The business plan also pointed out that the White House is expecting the Department of Education to align accreditation with high-quality education and speed up the recognition process for new accrediting bodies. However, the output of the Biden administration has been a walk of contradiction to the pretext of accelerating the recognition of new accreditors.

To establish the commission, Florida will contribute $4 million, while the other participating state university systems are expected to provide either a similar level of funding or some kind of in-kind work. It appears that Florida is the only state so far to have approved monetary funding. North Carolina and South Carolina have pledged to provide staff for in-kind support for the commission. The commission’s business model pinpoints that future funding should partially come from annual membership fees from participating institutions.

Funding will also allegedly come from education-related philanthropic organizations, private entities, corporate sponsors and federal grants. This seems an ambitious target given the fluctuating nature of these sources. To keep things stable, direct government intervention in the form of decisive funding would be essential. However, it will be interesting to witness the willingness of the Biden administration to support this initiative, given their sporadic and inconsistent approach towards anything education-related.

In 2022, the Republican-dominated Legislature ratified a bill that demands public colleges and universities to periodically switch accrediting bodies. A change was prompted in 2021 due to doubts raised about Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran’s eligibility for the Florida State University presidency. Despite his previous role as a state House speaker, Corcoran failed to secure the FSU job, though he now enjoys being president of New College of Florida.

Through its moves in 2023, Florida has taken the Biden administration head-on in its fight for educational reform. The state filed a lawsuit against federal education officials challenging the constitutionality of the existing accreditation system. Their contention was against Congress’s handing over of unchecked power to private accrediting agencies to establish education standards for colleges and universities and their unwillingness to allow the U.S. Department of Education to review, approve, or reject these standards.

Florida’s disapproval of the current educational mores does highlight some potential flaws endemic in the Biden administration’s approach to higher education. However, a U.S. District Judge, Jacqueline Becerra, sided with the Biden administration and dismissed the lawsuit. In her ruling, she pointed out alternative ways for Florida to tackle the accreditation dilemma– change the law in Congress, provide its students with state funding, or compete in the marketplace without utilizing federal funds.

Despite such a setback in court, Florida’s grit in standing up for its principles is a testament to its resolute commitment to educational reform. The state escalated their argument and filed an appeal to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, where the case is still under consideration. This is setting up a classic confrontation with the Biden administration, which often seems to have differing views and priorities.

Florida’s resolute approach to combat a hegemonic accreditor is a brave move but doesn’t necessarily exemplify an ideal pattern to emulate for other states. Especially, considering the inconsistent and wavering support received from the Biden administration itself, it would be wise to tread carefully in the path of educational reform. All eyes will be on this initiative to see if it can generate the necessary momentum to challenge the established order.