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Although Florida A&M and Florida State are the only two public land-grant universities in the state, the complaint claims the gap amounted to almost $1.3 billion from 1987 to 2020.
Six Black students are suing Florida, alleging the state discriminates against their historically Black college in Tallahassee while favoring its largest public university, which is predominantly white and in the same city.
The Florida A&M University students who filed the lawsuit claim the University of Florida receives a higher state appropriation per student than FAMU. According to NBC News, although the two institutions are the only two public land-grant universities in the state, the complaint claims the gap amounted to almost $1.3 billion over 33 years, from 1987 to 2020.
“Our school has always made a little go a long way, but we shouldn’t have to,” said plaintiff Britney Denton, a first-year doctoral student at FAMU, NBC reported. “There are bright and determined people here who deserve the same level of support and quality of resources as FSU next door or any other state school in Florida.”
A 2022 Forbes analysis found that FAMU received $2,600 less per student in 2020 than the University of Florida. Forbes said the HBCU depends more on state support than its white counterpart.
Named in the lawsuit are the Florida Board of Education and its commissioner, Manny Diaz Jr.; the state and its Republican governor, Ron DeSantis; and the State University System’s board of governors and its 12th chancellor, Ray Rodrigues.
In the first court hearing for the class-action complaint filed in September, Judge Robert L. Hinkle of the Northern District of Florida heard oral arguments on Thursday. He denied the state’s plea to dismiss the lawsuit but called for revisions.
In addition to other grievances, the lawsuit accuses the state of enabling Florida State to duplicate more than 40 FAMU programs, making it harder for FAMU to draw in prospective students in those academic areas.
HBCUs were established in an era when most institutions were segregated to give Black students a chance for higher education and upward mobility. However, decades of underfunding, and economic downturns nationally, have caused several challenges for the schools, including a lack of resources and housing issues.
The plaintiffs are requesting injunctive action under numerous laws, including Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act – which forbids racial discrimination in federally financed programs – and are demanding the state commit to equity in its support of historically Black colleges and universities.
Citing DeSantis’ “aggressive attempts to erase Black history and to restrict diversity, equity and inclusion programs” in the state’s schools, the NAACP issued a travel advisory for Florida just weeks before the Thursday hearing.
Josh Dubin, a civil rights lawyer defending the plaintiffs, noted that FAMU didn’t receive funding proportional to traditionally white students or the freedom to forge its own identity. He added that FAMU’s facilities aren’t adequately maintained due to insufficient funds.
“We’re talking about segregating African American students from white students,” said Dubin, according to NBC. “This obviously has racism at its core.”
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