Florida blocks undocumented students from state universities
Century Tower at the University of Florida campus in Gainesville, Florida. [Photo courtesy: UF]
FLORIDA - Florida is the latest state to approve policies that restrict undocumented students from enrolling in public universities.
The state's Board of Governors voted Thursday to ban undocumented students from state universities.
According to the policy, "a person who is present in the United States unlawfully shall not be eligible for initial enrollment in any state university which, for the most recent academic years, did not admit all academically qualified applicants, except for cases in which applicants were rejected for non-academic reasons."
The ban will go into effect starting with the 2027-28 academic year.
Response to the policy change
Gov. Ron DeSantis praised the decision in a social media post.
"Glad to see the Board of Governors ratify the prohibition on illegal alien students at our colleges and universities," the post said. "Always need to put Floridians—and Americans—first."
The United Faculty of Florida and the Florida Education Association criticized the Board of Governors' decision.
"The Board of Governors has lost sight of its responsibility to safeguard higher education for the common good," Robert Cassanello, president of the United Faculty of Florida, said in a news release. "Rather than increasing our university system's capacity to educate Florida's future workers and leaders, this rule stymies growth and closes doors that have helped our communities, which is especially devastating at a time when Florida faces critical shortages in healthcare, education and skilled trades."
The vote comes a few months after Florida's Board of Education passed similar rules to ban undocumented students from enrolling in state colleges and adult education programs.
Florida becomes 4th state to adopt restrictions
Florida joins three other states—Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina—that already have policies to restrict the enrollment of undocumented students.
The Source: This article was written with information released from the State University System of Florida Board of Governors Meeting on Sept. 3, from statements shared by Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Education Association and the United Faculty of Florida.