Gov. Ron DeSantis is pushing for Florida's public colleges to remove certain general education courses from their offerings for the upcoming academic year, to comply with a state law that targets "woke ideologies" in higher education, according to a report.

College professors and advocates of free speech fear that the planned classification of hundreds of courses as electives, that were previously counted toward graduation requirements, is only the beginning of such classes being eliminated completely, according to Politico.

"This sort of state overreach could spell disaster for student and faculty retention, and the academic standing of Florida institutions," Katie Blankenship, who leads a state office for the free speech advocacy group PEN America, told the outlet.

Academics and students who disagree with the way officials are utilizing their newfound power to eliminate courses like Women in Literature, Sociology of Gender, and Anthropology of Race & Ethnicity are upset over the state's participation in the curriculum-making process, which has traditionally been left to schools.

Nonetheless, the Board of Governors argued that the state is only carrying out the wishes of the GOP-controlled Legislature, which demanded a thorough examination of general education offerings in 2023 to make sure the programs do not teach "identity politics" nor contain "unproven, speculative, or exploratory" material.

"If their subject matter is prohibited by statute but is compelling, then students are going to elect to take it," university system Chancellor Ray Rodrigues said. "But what is not going to happen in Florida — the students are not going to be forced to take courses that have these prohibited concepts in order to fulfill their general education requirements."

The course review included hundreds of classes from 12 state colleges and was prompted by a broad higher education bill approved by Florida Republicans last year that also barred expenditure on diversity, equality and inclusion initiatives. The measures are a component of Florida's efforts, driven by DeSantis, to transform its higher education system through changes such as a post-tenure review system that will put "unproductive" teachers on notice.

Universities that continue to provide general education courses despite the Board of Governors' recommendations risk losing essential state funds.