A federal judge on Thursday cleared the way for a lawsuit, which alleges racial discrimination in the funding and management of Florida A&M University, the state’s only public historical Black university, to proceed against Gov. Ron DeSantis and education officials.
U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle rejected a motion to dismiss by Attorney General Ashley Moody and gave six FAMU students 30 days to amend their complaint to provide more data in support of their allegations.
The students are represented by Miami civil rights attorney Josh Dubin and the New York firm of Grant & Eisenhofer. They allege the underfunding is an example of “de jure” segregation, a vestige of racism rooted in state policies that existed before the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
The Dispute
The suit was filed in September and names DeSantis, the state university system Board of Governors, Chancellor Ray Rodrigues, Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr., and the State Board of Education as defendants.
Background:Six FAMU students file federal lawsuit alleging Florida systematically underfunds university
The plaintiffs are four undergraduates and two postgraduates who highlight a series of decisions, they said shows a pattern of discrimination against the Tallahassee school.
In court documents, their attorneys argue a funding disparity prevents the school from offering high-demand programs to attract students and faculty and also to properly maintain the campus.
“The importance of this case not only resides in the disparity of the money, but just in understanding that history is repeating itself and it’s affecting us now,” said Nyabi Stevens, a junior psychology major from Fort Lauderdale.
“The only way to change the ways of the past and influence the future is by doing this work. We’re here doing what we need to do as students and as representatives of African Americans across the nation, “said Stevens.
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The state, however, argues Stevens and the others are suing the wrong people and institutions.
Senior Assistant Attorney General Anita Patel explained DeSantis does not have ultimate decision-making authority over state universities – he only appoints members to the Board of Governors, and the BOG must comply with the Legislature’s directives on funding.
And although Chancellor Rodrigues may interact with university presidents, lawmakers, and the governor, he is not responsible for how issues of “critical importance” are decided.
“The mere allegation that he has “regular interaction” with these individuals does not demonstrate that the injuries raised by plaintiffs, are traceable to him or that he has the ability to remedy the injuries alleged,” explained Patel.
“Then tell them who they can sue,” responded Hinkle.
Hinkle suggested he may remove some defendants, such as DeSantis, from the suit for lack of standing but took issue with the defense Patel offered.
“If your argument is that we can run a segregation system or that this is a constitutional violation and there’s nothing that can be done about it, that won’t wash,” Hinkle told Patel.
A question of institutional identity
Dubin argued the cumulative effect of state policy is to strip FAMU of its unique institutional identity.
He pointed out the state fails to match at 100% federal land grant funds to FAMU but does so for the University of Florida, the state’s only other land grant institution, which refers to schools founded to further agricultural research.
That funding disparity reduces the school’s ability to attract students and increase faculty diversity, diminishing the university’s stature, argued the students.
Dubin told the court the closing and merging of the FAMU engineering school to create a joint college of engineering with FSU in 1982 was “to strip FAMU of its individual identity.”
He laid out a pattern of de jure segregation that dates to the 1965 closing of the FAMU law school and the transfer of its assets to Florida State University.
The law school was reestablished in 2002 in Orlando.
The suit points to dozens of FAMU programs being duplicated at predominately white institutions as further devaluation of FAMU’s role in the state university system.
Of the 52 majors FAMU offers, only 12 are not offered at cross-town Florida State University.
“What we are asking for is this institution to be recognized for what it is, a land-grant institution with a unique identity and not to be stunted in its growth,” said Dubin.
Money at issue
Florida has two land-grant institutions, the University of Florida and FAMU, which receives federal research dollars states are obligated to match.
While UF gets a 100% match, FAMU historically gets less than 50%, according to a 2013 study by the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities.
And the students say overall state funding for UF and FAMU are worlds apart.
They calculate state support in 2019 for a UF student amounted to $14,984 and $11,450 for a FAMU student.
DeSantis, HBCUs and money
The difference amounts to approximately $1.3 billion since 1987. And the suit expresses fears DeSantis’ 2022 Stop WOKE Act may cost FAMU more money, specifically performance-based funding grants designed to reward success.
HB 7 prohibits the teaching of certain concepts related to sex and race. FAMU offerings such as “The Role of Race in Criminal Procedure” would be subject to sanctions, under the law,” said Dubin.
The act is temporarily blocked in federal court, but it goes to the heart of Dubin’s arguments that Florida policy is stripping FAMU of its identity as a historically Black institution.
If it is upheld, then courses that examine the role of race in the judicial system would be subjected to review by the Board of Governors and DeSantis.
Dubin said that could result in FAMU being ineligible for state allocated performance-based funding.
“Upon information and belief, many other FAMU programs would subject the school to the loss of State allocated performance-based funding if not discontinued, should the law come into effect,” said Dublin in court documents.
Dubin explained to Hinkle how provisions in HB 7’s makes it difficult for a historic Black university to write a mission statement that would be reviewed by DeSantis, Rodrigues, and SUS Board of Governors.
Hinkle gave Dubin 30 days to refile the lawsuit with more data to illustrate how program duplication is a problem in a state university system with 12 schools serving 22 million residents, and how issues identified are rooted in a segregated school system that existed before passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
“I think that our complaint will just be stronger when it’s amended,” said Dubin.
The suit seeks a jury trial to determine whether a court appointed mediator should recommend ways to rectify inequities and whether Florida should commit to parity in support of public universities within five years.
James Call is a member of the USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at jcall@tallahassee.com. Follow on him Twitter: @CallTallahasse; Contact Tarah Jean at tjean@tallahassee.com or follow her on twitter @tarahjean_
