WFCN –
Florida A&M University, which is home to Black students, is the subject of a possible class-action lawsuit on state policies that the office of Attorney General Ashley Moody has urged a federal appeals court to dismiss, arguing that the policies in question are discriminatory and stem from segregation.
Last week, attorneys from Moody’s office submitted an 85-page brief requesting that the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals confirm the dismissal of the case by U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle. The decision was made on behalf of six students from Florida A&M University.
Legal representation for the students argues that FAMU-related state actions amount to a violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964’s Title VI and the Union’s Equal Protection Clause. For instance, they claim that FAMU has suffered due to underfunding and program duplication with neighboring Florida State University and other faculties.
According to the state’s brief, “70 years removed from segregation, Florida presumptively has met its affirmative duty to dismantle its segregative system and has not enacted policies with discriminatory intent.” Among other things, it stated that the case doesn’t take finance into account.
“In just seven decades, Florida’s population has increased from 3.5 million to more than 22 million, and the state’s university system has grown from three to twelve,” the brief exclaimed. There are a lot of new things for lawmakers to think about because of such drastic changes: Can you recommend a fiscal plan that will help the state’s rapidly growing population?
To what extent does each school require? Tell me how many kids are under their care. How does their research stand out? Please tell me the amount of money they get from sources other than the state. In addition, how much money does the state have to devote?
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Nevertheless, the kids’ lawyers said in an appeals brief submitted in May to the court in Atlanta that the state has “maintained discriminatory practices traceable to segregation.” The brief cited FAMU‘s need for distinctive academic programs that are in great demand as an example of how the university might attract a diverse student body.
In a statement released in May, the state of Florida acknowledged that FAMU’s academic identity remains tainted by its racialized past. “That stems from FAMU’s inability to cater to a diverse student body, build an academic identity apart from its segregated past, and avoid duplicating academic programs at other state universities, especially FSU, which is geographically close by.”
The state, Chancellor Ray Rodrigues, and the Board of Governors of the university system are named as defendants in the 2022 case.
Because the plaintiffs failed to prove that inequalities across state colleges originated from “de jure” segregation, or segregation that is sanctioned by law, Hinkle dismissed the lawsuit in January. Concerning matters like program overlaps with other colleges, he dismissed the arguments.
“The plaintiffs complain that FAMU has too few unique, high-demand programs — programs not available at any of the eleven other state universities,” Hinkle wrote. During oral argument, however, the plaintiffs were unable to provide any examples of programs that FAMU does not currently provide due to past or present intentional discrimination or de jure segregation.
The lawsuit fails to provide any evidence that FAMU’s smaller student body is the result of de jure segregation or deliberate racial discrimination, even though Florida State University and the University of Florida both have larger student bodies and more courses to choose from.
In its brief submitted last week, the state essentially repeated Hinkle’s findings on the matter.
“The plaintiffs’ claim that Florida intentionally withholds FAMU’s access to certain high-demand programs—a practice that is purportedly rooted in segregation,” the brief expressed. A contemporary state effort to curtail FAMU’s curriculum was not alleged by the plaintiffs, nevertheless. According to their findings, FAMU has not been approved for a single program.
Even FAMU claims to have 34 distinct programs, including 4 “unique high-demand” majors, that are not available at neighboring FSU. Yeah, Florida State University does provide “five times the number of unique programs” compared to Florida Atlantic University. There are about five times as many students at FSU as there are at FAMU.