Florida’s Governor Ron DeSantis on New Accreditation Institutions

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced plans for Southern states to come together on Thursday to create their own accreditation bodies for higher education. This move aims, he says, to “overturn the monopoly of awakened accreditation cartels.”

The states involved—Florida, Texas, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee—are forming a consortium known as the Public Higher Education Board. This group will focus on establishing new accreditation models.

DeSantis stated during a press conference at Florida Atlantic University that pursuing “alternative certification” is essential. He emphasized that this will lead to a more effective system prioritizing student outcomes and academic quality.

He expressed concern that existing accreditation processes influence all levels of education—undergraduate, doctoral, and professional schools—by imposing mandates on programs addressing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). According to DeSantis, these accreditors often threaten to withhold certification from schools that adopt policies against DEI initiatives.

“The accreditors tell them they have to do these things, so when we say, ‘There’s no day,’ the accreditor says… ‘No, no, no, you won’t get certified unless you do DEI.’ Are they suggesting our universities are not in compliance with state law?” he questioned.

He further remarked on the current state of accreditation, referring to it as a “cartel” where all accredited institutions follow the same ideological trends, which may not reflect the values Florida wants to see in its universities.

Diving deeper, DeSantis pointed to the necessity for approval from the current administration’s U.S. Department of Education, indicating that past efforts to reform accreditation under the Biden administration did not progress.

He noted, “The Trump administration is interested in reforming this process. They want new players in the game.” This suggests a push to create competition in accreditation bodies.

In response to the announcement, a Department of Education representative highlighted a recent executive order from President Trump aimed at reforming the accreditation process, arguing that some accreditors had misused their power.

The new accreditation system aims to focus on high-quality and high-value educational programs while using data to enhance decision-making and process efficiency.

DeSantis indicated that he expects even more conservative Southern states to consider joining these new institutions for accreditation.

In closing, an education official expressed pride in collaborating with other university systems to create an accreditation framework prioritizing the delivery of effective educational programs.