Governor Ron DeSantis has resumed his crusade against “wokeness” in education, signing a new anti-diversity law that will inevitably lead to a new conflict with his old nemesis, the Walt Disney Company.
DeSantis: Anti-Woke Champion
Ron DeSantis has built his public and political persona around an image as an “anti-woke” champion, even running for president on his promise that he had “the courage to be free.” He has since conceded his campaign to former President Donald J. Trump and publicly supported the candidate who refers to him as “Meatball Ron” and “Ron DeSanctimonious.”
Since shutting down his campaign for the GOP nomination, DeSantis has returned to Florida and has embarked on a bill-signing spree that has involved billion-dollar infrastructure commitments, wetland revival, and numerous other praiseworthy efforts. However, he has not forgotten his commitment to staunching diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts, even though his previous “Stop WOKE Act” has been shut down by courts and his Parental Rights in Education Act (better known as the “Don’t Say Gay” law) has been reduced to a shell of its controversial former self.
The Stop WOKE Act (formally known as the Individual Freedom Act) was intended as governmental regulation of education in Florida, restricting the content of what instructors could teach in classrooms. Critics accused the act of government overreach and a far-right attempt to shut down diversity efforts in schools.
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US District Court Judge Mark E. Walker shut down the Stop WOKE Act in 2022, calling it a violation of the First Amendment. The Eleventh Circuit Appeals Court upheld that decision in March (per CNN), with Judge Britt Grant writing:
“By limiting its restrictions to a list of ideas designated as offensive, the Act targets speech based on its content and by barring only speech that endorses any of those ideas, it penalizes certain viewpoints — the greatest First Amendment sin.”
“The answer is clear: Florida’s law exceeds the bounds of the First Amendment. No matter how controversial the ideas, allowing the government to set the terms of the debate is poison, not antidote.”
Now, Governor DeSantis has signed a new bill into law that once again hits directly on the First Amendment issues he’s already tangled with in courts with Disney.
“Systemic Racism, Sexism, Oppression, and Privilege”
Ron DeSantis recently signed HB 1291 into law, a new attempt for the government to ensure that teachers do not involve social criticism or DEI in schools. Rather than involve actual lesson plans or content, this new law instead restricts teachers themselves from being trained to involve any concepts of “systemic racism, sexism, oppression, and privilege.”
The Governor’s official website says HB 1291:
- Prohibits teacher preparation programs from indoctrinating prospective teachers by teaching distorted versions of significant historical events; and
- Prevents the infusion of identity politics in teaching methods and prohibits instructing that theories such as systemic racism, sexism, oppression, and privilege are inherent in America’s institutions.
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DeSantis vs. Disney
This relates to Disney because the year-long conflict between the corporation and DeSantis, at its root, had to do with the former’s attempt to promote itself as a diversity-friendly, progressive company. In recent years, Disney has come to be regarded as one of the most “woke” companies in America, which arguably hit its peak when former CEO Bob Chapek publicly denounced the Don’t Say Gay law.
In response, Governor DeSantis dissolved the Reedy Creek Improvement District where most of the Walt Disney World Resort is located, replaced it with the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, and installed his own board of supervisors. An immediate flurry of lawsuits followed, most notably Disney v. DeSantis, in which the company accused the governor of violating its First Amendment rights in a case of governmental overreach.
That is the exact same issue that got the Stop WOKE Act slapped down, the Parental Rights in Education Act gutted, and will almost certainly spring up for HB1291. Given that DeSantis can’t seem to stop pushing this particular issue, it’s only a matter of time before Disney gets involved again.
Do you think DeSantis and Disney will come into conflict again soon? Tell us in the comments below.
The full text of HB 1291 can be read here: