Falling Black College Enrollment in Florida Puts Heat on Gov. Bush’s Policy
TALLAHASSEE, Fla.
New figures show fewer Black students are attending Florida universities, providing ammunition for critics of Gov. Jeb Bush’s 5-year-old policy that excludes race in admissions decisions.
Six of the state’s 11 public universities reported a drop, and the percentage of Blacks in this year’s freshman class is at its lowest since Bush became governor in 1999.
The decline comes despite continued growth in the overall student population at the state’s public universities — a 3.1 percent increase to nearly 282,000 students, according to figures released last week.
“We need to find out what’s going on,” said David Griffin, former secretary of the Florida Department of Lottery and a trustee for the historically Black Florida A&M University.
Bush has celebrated freshmen enrollment numbers to rebuff criticism of his 5-year-old One Florida plan, which barred universities from using race in admission decisions. The state adopted the Talented 20 program, which guarantees a spot at a state university to those in the top 20 percent of their senior classes.
