Lawmaker’s Bill Would Cut ‘DEI Crap’ From School Accreditation Process

A Florida Republican lawmaker is introducing a bill to overhaul how schools get accredited in a move he suggests could refocus education toward practical ends, rather than ideology.

Accreditation is the process by which a school gets recognized as a legitimate institution, and Rep. Randy Fine, R-Fla., argues that it has been hijacked.

“The radical Left is very skilled at coming up with vehicles to control us, and one of the ways they have done that is they can’t control the universities in red states, so they take control of the accreditation agencies, and they use that to push their agenda,” Fine told The Daily Signal.

Specifically, his Accreditation Choice and Innovation Act proposes a requirement for accreditors not to have conflicts of interest, implements educational performance standards for determining whether a school can be accredited, and prevents accreditors from punishing schools for following their religious mission.

House Education Committee Chairman Tim Walberg, R-Mich., backed the bill in a statement to The Daily Signal.

“Accreditors should be focused on the primary mission of our higher education system—improving student outcomes, not pushing radical agendas. We must empower our students with a high-quality education, and that starts with fixing the accreditation system,” he said, adding:

The Accreditation Choice and Innovation Act allows for capable new accreditors, cuts red tape for institutions, and tangibly aligns accreditation standards with real student success.

I look forward to working with Rep. Fine to get this across the finish line.

Fine views this fight as part of a larger culture war.

Accreditors “said you have to do all this DEI crap if you want to get accredited,” he said, referring to diversity, equity, and inclusion mandates. “The bill says you can’t do that anymore. We have the ability to determine what we want accreditors to accredit based upon.”

He added, “I wanted it based on, like, ‘Do you get a useful degree where you can get a job?’ They want it be based on, like, ‘Can you become a community organizer and hold an encampment on campus?’”

Fine is not expecting any Democrats’ cooperation, though.

“I didn’t come here to try to get Democratic support. I came here to save the country. We’re in the shape that we’re in because of Democrats,” he said.