The College Fix

Florida State University is removing hundreds of courses from its general education catalogue to comply with a state law that cracks down on critical race theory curricula.

The Board of Governors on Thursday voted to approve FSU’s changes, meaning that this coming 2025-26 school year, students will have a list of about 125 general education courses to choose from, down from over 500 in years past.

The development has prompted concerns and criticisms from students and scholars who argue these changes strip academic freedom and represent government interference and overreach.

“The 432 courses that were removed from General Education range from Theories of African American Studies, Critics of Religion and American Multi-Ethnic Literature to Feminism and Globalization, the Evolution of Human Sexuality and LGBTQ History,” the Tallahassee Democrat reported, which noted the courses are still offered as electives.

The winnowing can be traced to a 2023 law that aimed to reform higher education in Florida. The law states in part that general education courses “must be based on the fundamental truth that all persons are equal before the law and have inalienable rights.”

General ed courses also may not be “based on theories that systemic racism, sexism, oppression, and privilege are inherent in the institutions of the United States and were created to maintain social, political, and economic inequities.”

To follow the law, the Florida Board of Governors and each state universities’ board of trustees must hold an annual meeting to “review and approve the courses offered by the institution that meet general education course requirements.”

At FSU, its Board of Trustees conducted a thorough review and removed 75 percent of all current general education classes that failed to meet the latest state standards.

Amy Farnum Patronis, a spokesperson for FSU, told The College Fix in an email interview that Florida State University is not completely eliminating these courses from ever being offered. Instead, they “may still be available as electives, within majors, or for upper-division coursework,” she said.

The Tallahassee Democrat reported that several courses in mathematics and chemistry also had their GE designations removed, only because they were deemed more suitable for upperclassmen after declaring their majors.

Florida State University is one of nearly a dozen public universities in the state that are working to comply with the law.

A University of North Florida spokesperson told First Coast News: “Prior to the review, UNF offered 112 courses that satisfied general education. Starting in 2025, UNF will offer 45 courses that meet general education requirements. While 67 courses lost their general education attribute, many of these courses are in the university’s catalog and will continue to be offered. No faculty positions have been lost due to these changes.”

Critics of the changes are voicing alarm.

The United Faculty of Florida union, in a Jan. 24 news release decrying the changes, questioned why the “Board of Governors alone gets to determine what is to be considered appropriate content despite the years of faculty expertise, administrative review, and student feedback that have gone into building and managing Florida’s university curriculum.”

The law also faces legal challenges, including a complaint filed in mid-January by the ACLA, representing several scholars.

“This lawsuit is about preserving the right to learn and teach without political interference,” Sharon Austin, a tenured political science professor at the University of Florida and lead plaintiff in the case, told the Tallahassee Democrat.

At Austin’s campus, the state’s flagship school, it’s “expected to strip the general education designation from 700 courses — the bulk of nearly 1,200 that were reviewed,” Politico reported.

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