JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A bill in the Florida Senate is taking a look at how college and university leadership is selected. The legislation has advanced through the Senate Appropriations Committee on Higher Education and is now one step away from reaching the Senate floor.
That’s according to Local 10 News Jacksonville news partner WJXT.
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The legislation, known as SB 1726 on Higher Education, focuses on filling top roles within Florida’s higher education system. It mandates that search committees present at least three finalists for any open president position.
Additionally, it establishes a residency or alumni status requirement for candidates seeking leadership roles in Florida universities and colleges.
Sen. Alexis Calatayud, a Republican from District 38, emphasized the importance of transparency in the selection process. “I feel that it is incredibly important that we have an opportunity to understand who some of those individuals are,” she said.
Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith, a Democrat representing District 17, pointed out that many appointees previously seen in the committee would not meet the new eligibility criteria, which he said is a good thing.
The bill also along with the House version, states that certain positions under the governor may not serve on the presidential search committee. Furthermore, the House version prohibits the governor from discussing vacancies or advocating for specific appointments.
Gov. Ron DeSantis has expressed opposition to the House version, referring to the bill as the “Make Universities Woke Again” Act.
Our colleges and universities must educate, not indoctrinate. We have brought accountability to our higher education system, fought the woke, and returned the focus to the classic mission of universities.
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) April 9, 2025
Republicans in the Florida House are trying to roll back this progress,… pic.twitter.com/Z0SkQQ6kRI
Despite this, the legislation has garnered full support from each Senate committee, although an amendment regarding polling has raised questions.
The amendment would require the Board of Governors to adopt regulations that prohibit universities from conducting public opinion surveys from polling activities related to candidates for any federal, state, or local office.
Sen. Tom Leek, who represents Flagler, Putnam, and St. Johns counties, expressed confusion about the polling provision.
“I really don’t understand the polling part,” Leek said. “But we can talk about that offline.”
Michael Binder is the Faculty Director of UNF’s Public Opinion Research Lab. He said they do both candidate and issue-based polling for public consumption and research on trends and behaviors.
“If it caught senators off guard, can you imagine how it felt to directors of polling centers across the state? Yeah, of course, it caught me off guard,” he said.
Binder explained that candidate polling is crucial for researchers to understand political behaviors and public sentiment toward candidates. He expressed concern that the amendment could hinder this important work.
“This is a concern not only for me but just to the state itself and what this means for the university system,” he said. “It would really put us behind other states that are doing this type of work.”
Several senators, including Leek, voiced their concerns about the amendment, emphasizing the need for further refinement before the bill reaches the Senate floor.
“I recognize that committees are where bills go to get better,” Leek said. “This bill has a lot of things that I think need to get better.”
As the bill progresses, Binder noted that discussions are ongoing with senators and House members across the state. The Senate version of the bill received a favorable vote of 7-0 and will now head to the Rules Committee before a full vote.
