The Institute of Political Science at Florida State University was established by Congress in 2020 with a budget of $1 million. It is modeled after the James Madison Center in Princeton, which promotes “the understanding and appreciation of American ideals and institutions.”
FSU IOP currently conducts several public policy polls and primarily hosts speakers and researchers discussing citizenship, government and public policy. Since its inception, however, its focus has been a bit vague.
Governor Ron DeSantis is trying to make that mandate clearer. Under a massive higher education plan announced Tuesday, the FSU IOP can be used by K-12 teachers to guide students on what the governor calls “personal liberty and democracy.” Start working on tool development.
There are two other programs similar to FSU’s IOP. One is at the University of Florida and the other is at Florida International University.
Under the governor’s plan, FIU’s program will work in conjunction with FSU’s tools to develop classroom curricula that can be distributed to schools. The University of Florida Hamilton Center will grow into a full-fledged university on the University of Florida campus by 2024.
The governor sees this as an opportunity to promote what he calls Western ideals and push back what he sees as an “awakened” ideology that he believes has permeated Florida’s public higher education.
The backlash includes banning universities from spending on diversity, equity and inclusion. The governor also proposes curbing his DEI spending at public universities and making it easier to hire and fire faculty. DeSantis is also asking lawmakers to invest her $100 million in recruiting and retaining them.
