Florida unveils multistate plan to subvert 'woke' university accreditors

BOCA RATON, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis’ campaign to purge Florida’s public university system of “woke” ideology has included eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, scrubbing “identity politics” from general education courses and installing politically-aligned leadership in presidencies.

Now, he is coming for the accreditation boards that evaluate universities. But instead of trying to get them to realign, he appears ready to subvert them.

DeSantis announced at a press conference Thursday at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton that Florida is launching a new accreditor in collaboration with university systems in five neighboring red states: North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina, and Texas A&M. All five states voted for President Donald Trump in the last presidential election and have generally aligned with Florida’s conservative higher education agenda, including its rollback of diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.

DeSantis framed the initiative as a way to “upend the monopoly of the woke accreditation cartels,” saying, “These juntas have developed where the Department of Education in the past has approved them to be accreditors, and so they basically don’t have accountability.”

The new accrediting body, to be called the Commission for Public Higher Education, aims to disrupt the longstanding dominance of traditional accreditors by emphasizing student outcomes over bureaucratic procedures, according to DeSantis.

If approved by the U.S. Department of Education, the plan would allow Florida to break ties with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, the long-established accreditor of Florida’s 40 public colleges and universities. Florida officials have had an increasingly strained relationship with the agency in recent years.

Trump has also taken aim at the accreditation system as part of his broader higher ed agenda. In May 2023, he pledged to remove “radical Left accreditors” and approve new agencies focused on “defending the American tradition and Western civilization,” protecting free speech, and eliminating DEI mandates. He has described accreditation as a “secret weapon” in reshaping American universities.

‘Trial run’ to begin

Accreditation, as defined by the U.S. Department of Education, is intended to “ensure that institutions of higher education meet acceptable levels of quality.” It is also essential for institutions to remain eligible for federal student aid, which students can only receive if they attend an accredited school.

Once a relatively obscure topic, college accreditation has become a frequent target of conservative criticism. Detractors argue the current system enforces outdated policies, stifles institutional innovation, and advances a liberal agenda, often through mandates tied to DEI initiatives.

DeSantis emphasized the importance of securing federal approval under the Trump administration.

“You could have a president come in next and potentially revoke it, and they could probably do that very quickly,” he said. “We didn’t really have the prospects of launching anything like this successfully during the Biden years, but it’s a new day.”

The CPHE will likely need at least two years to obtain recognition from the Department of Education, which oversees the approval of accrediting agencies nationwide. In the meantime, DeSantis said Florida institutions will begin a “trial run” with CPHE to test its framework and standards.

It remains unclear whether Florida’s 40 public institutions will be required to adopt CPHE accreditation or if they’ll be allowed to remain with SACSCOC or choose another agency.

State University System Chancellor Ray Rodrigues said at the press conference that the traditional model of accreditation has been overly focused on “inputs and processes” rather than “outputs and student achievement,” suggesting a shift in priorities under the new system.

‘Serving students, not agendas’

Florida’s tensions with SACSCOC date back to 2021, when the agency raised concerns after the University of Florida initially barred professors from offering expert testimony in a voting rights lawsuit against the state. (The university later reversed course.) That same year, SACSCOC flagged the university system’s Board of Governors for considering then-Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran — a sitting board member at the time — for the Florida State University presidency. (Corcoran has served as president of New College of Florida since 2023.)

The state’s push to create a new accreditor follows its failed lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the federal accreditation process. Florida argued that Congress had “ceded unchecked power” to accrediting agencies and asked the courts to block the Department of Education from enforcing parts of the Higher Education Act. A federal judge in the Southern District of Florida rejected the lawsuit in October.

Before CPHE can operate as an official accreditor, it must undergo a rigorous approval process with the Department of Education, which evaluates whether new agencies meet federal standards. If successful, CPHE could reshape the accreditation landscape in the region — offering a new model focused on student outcomes, institutional flexibility, and alignment with conservative priorities.

“I think the U.S. Department of Education wants to be quick on this,” DeSantis said.”I think they’ll eventually approve this accreditor.”

At the same time, Trump’s promises to wield accreditation as a weapon to enforce conservative policies have raised alarms among some educators, who fear that the process could become overly politicized. Critics argue that CPHE may face hurdles in gaining broad acceptance if it is seen as an ideologically motivated alternative.

For now, Florida and its partner states are moving forward with plans to establish CPHE, betting that the Trump administration will pave the way for its recognition.

As DeSantis put it: “We’re not just going to sit back and let the same old system keep churning. This is about making sure our universities serve students, not agendas.”