TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida’s public universities will no longer allow a standalone introductory sociology course to count toward general-education requirements after state leaders on Thursday approved a sweeping, systemwide ban that reflects years of Republican criticism of the discipline.

The move — which was not originally on the agenda for the State University System’s Board of Governors — will effectively relegate introductory sociology to an elective starting this fall, removing it from the core curriculum taken by most undergraduates.

It also marks an escalation in Florida leaders’ efforts to reshape college instruction, particularly on topics such as race, gender and inequality, which conservative officials have increasingly targeted as “woke.”

For years, Republican lawmakers and education leaders have argued that sociology — especially high-enrollment introductory courses — has been overtaken by progressive ideology and strayed from empirical scholarship. Thursday’s vote is among the most far-reaching actions yet in that campaign.

The decision bars introductory sociology from the state’s general-education catalog — the set of foundational courses all students must complete, regardless of major, across subjects such as math, science, humanities and social sciences.

The surprise change came at the recommendation of State University System Chancellor Ray Rodrigues, who cited faculty resistance to a newly approved, state-designed sociology curriculum and textbook.

Rodrigues pointed to professors who have called the materials an “affront to academic freedom” and “subpar” for limiting how courses address race, gender and sexuality. He also referenced reports that some faculty planned to comply with state rules on paper while continuing to teach restricted topics — comments he said undermined confidence in keeping the course in general education.

In pushing for its removal, Rodrigues argued the discipline has become “ideologically captured.”

“Sociology as a discipline is now social and political advocacy dressed in the regalia of the academy,” he said during the board’s meeting in Pensacola. He also criticized the American Sociological Association, the discipline’s largest national organization, citing its focus on inequality and social change as evidence the field has shifted away from objective scholarship.

In a text message to the Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times, Rodrigues said the board’s action amounts to a firm prohibition: Universities will not be allowed to reintroduce an introductory sociology course into general education, even if redesigned to comply with state law.

The decision was not unanimous. Two board members voted against the change, including faculty representative Kimberly Dunn, an accounting professor at Florida Atlantic University, who warned it was too broad.

“The removal may be premature and broader than necessary,” Dunn said. “Sociology contributes directly to the competencies we consistently emphasize. These are skills our graduates need across every sector.”

She said keeping sociology in general education preserves “disciplined, evidence-based inquiry into critically important aspects of the human experience.”

Faculty across the state have similarly warned that restrictions on the revised course — including limits on teaching that presents systemic racism, sexism or oppression as primary drivers of inequality — would strip the discipline of core concepts and distort the field.

Thursday’s vote is the latest step in a broader effort to remake general education across Florida’s 12 public universities.

That push began in 2023, when the Republican-controlled Legislature, with backing from Gov. Ron DeSantis, passed a higher education law requiring a review of courses and restricting instruction tied to diversity, equity and inclusion. The law directs universities to emphasize “foundational” knowledge and bars instruction rooted in what state officials describe as “identity politics,” including theories that frame systemic racism and inequality as embedded in American institutions.

Sociology quickly became a focal point. In 2024, the Board of Governors removed “Principles of Sociology” from the list of approved core courses required for graduation, replacing it with a history class. State officials then worked with a small group of faculty and administrators to develop a revised framework and textbook aligned with the law, which was distributed to campuses earlier this year.

That curriculum — which limits teaching that presents systemic racism, sexism or oppression as primary drivers of inequality — drew backlash from professors statewide, many of whom said it stripped core concepts and misrepresented the discipline. Some faculty involved in drafting it later distanced themselves from the effort.

Only four universities — the University of South Florida, Florida A&M University, the University of North Florida and Florida Gulf Coast University — had formally requested to drop introductory sociology from their general-education offerings.

Thursday’s vote went further, applying the change across all 12 public universities.

Florida’s 28 public colleges, however, will continue offering introductory sociology as a general-education course using the state’s revised framework, Education Commissioner Anastasios Kamoutsas said during the meeting.

Supporters say introductory courses had become too focused on contemporary social-justice frameworks and that the new standards restore an emphasis on classical thinkers, empirical methods and a broader range of perspectives.

Universities will still offer sociology majors and courses, but some faculty warn that removing the introductory class from general-education rolls could have lasting consequences on liberal-arts departments.

Introductory sociology has long been a high-enrollment course that draws students from across majors, often serving as a gateway to fields such as criminology, public health, education and social work. Without its general-education designation, professors say, fewer students are likely to take it — a shift that could reduce enrollment in upper-level courses and hemorrhage tuition revenue from departments over time.

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