Gov. DeSantis, Florida DOGE slam UWF program to train STEM teachers in high-needs schools

Gov. Ron DeSantis did tell the University of West Florida to “buckle up.”

Florida’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is now criticizing the use of $800,000 in federal funding going to the Pensacola university for instruction using social justice models. The scrutiny came almost a month after the new effort from DeSantis’ Office launched an audit of Florida’s university and college offerings.

Florida DOGE posted an abstract online with details about the two-Summer social justice citizen science project.

“Florida’s DOGE efforts are ensuring that light is shined on waste, fraud, and abuse in the state of Florida,” a post of the Florida DOGE X account reads.

“Our team recently discovered that the University of West Florida is actively engaged in a grant that has utilized over $800,000 in federal funding from the National Science Foundation entitled Educating Science and Mathematics Majors to Teach with Social Justice Models in High-Needs Schools to train math and science teachers on how to promote social justice and ‘cultural responsiveness’ in their classrooms.

DeSantis said UWF should return money spent on the effort, which he ridiculed online.

“No Florida college or university should be focused on social justice or woke ideology over classical education,” DeSantis posted on X. “This money should be refunded as part of Florida’s DOGE efforts — which would add to the nearly $1 billion that Florida has already returned this year.”

UWF officials said the program has been in place for about a decade, predating 2023 legislation signed by the Governor meant to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion efforts at Florida universities.

“This grant was originally awarded in 2017, with the most recent renewal awarded in 2022, prior to SB 266,” reads a statement from the university. “We are reviewing all annual reports and have found no concerning activity, but we will continue to review.”

Florida’s Clearinghouse for Applied Research shows the program running under UWF’s College of Education and Professional Studies, and said funding from the National Science Foundation will expire in 2027. UWF said funding comes from the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program.

The university said that while “social justice” was referenced in the abstract, the actual program at UWF doesn’t incorporate it.

“The Noyce program provides scholarships to selected students enrolled in a UWF Teach program, designating them as Noyce Scholars,” an email from the school reads. “As part of their experience, Noyce Scholars complete a citizen science project under the guidance of UWF faculty, which is later translated into a lesson plan for grades 6-12. The primary goal of the program is to increase the number of qualified math and science teachers in the local school districts.

“The current (second) Noyce grant is supporting two Noyce Scholars. One completed a project on water quality sampling methods in Summer 2024, and another will complete a project on aspirin synthesis in Summer 2025. These projects do not have a social justice focus, nor will future projects incorporate such a theme. Scholarship awards are based on merit, including GPA, letters of recommendation, and a letter of interest.”

Moreover, the school said while the total grant was for $871,573, the university has only utilized about 25% of the funds.

Lawmakers from the Panhandle questioned if the Governor’s Office achieved much in identifying the funding.

“The DeSantis administration entered some buzz words into a search engine and called it a day. They’re looking more and more like VEEP than House of Cards,” said Rep. Alex Andrade, a Pensacola Republican. “I guess they need to DOGE their own DOGE operations.”

DeSantis notably spotlighted the funding after the close of the Legislative Session, where three of his recent appointees to UWF’s Board of Trustees failed to secure confirmation by the Senate. The appointments drew vocal pushback from conservative and education leaders in the conservative Panhandle.

But after the rejections, DeSantis in a press conference said the school should still “buckle up,” as reported by the Pensacola News Journal.

“You’re going to see a lot of changes there for the better,” he said in Pensacola. “How does, like, the most conservative part of the state have some of the most liberal programs in the state? It doesn’t make any sense. So the times are a-changing there, too.”