A prominent conservative activist appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis is under investigation by the Department of Education for alleged civil rights law violations, according to a Daily Mail report.
Christopher Rufo, reportedly hired by DeSantis to purge the New College in Sarasota of wokeness, is being investigated by President Joe Biden’s Department of Education.
The investigation began with a complaint by unnamed “students, faculty, and staff” claiming the college’s trustees and administrators, including Rufo, violated civil rights law.
The new college leader reportedly used female pronouns in reference to the college’s Dean of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, whom he had fired. DOE officials claim Rufo misgendered Yoleidy Rosario-Hernandez.
Rosario-Hernandez requests she be referred to using the pronouns “Ze/Zir/Zirs/Ellx,” according to her LinkedIn profile.
The complaint further alleges the college, under Rufo, removed gender neutral signage from bathrooms and defunded Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and Gender Studies programs.
Rufo has been vocal about the complaint, sharing portions of it on social media. He described the situation as the “petty tyranny of DEI ideology.”
The complaint also mentions an incident where Rufo pressed criminal charges against a student, Catherine “Libby” Harrity, for two instances of allegedly spitting at him.
In tweets about the case, which was later dropped, Rufo mentioned Harrity used they/them pronouns but continued to refer to Harrity as “she.”
The complaint notes, “Harrity also uses she/her pronouns, so the intended insult reads as particularly belabored.”
On social media, Rufo highlighted allegations that defunding the DEI department and the Gender Studies Program constituted a violation of civil rights law.
“This is an outrageous attempt to subvert democratic governance and entrench left-wing ideological power under the guise of civil rights,” remarked Rufo.
DeSantis has been proactive in addressing concerns about ideological bias in Florida’s public education system.
Last year, he instructed Florida’s public universities to disclose all government funds spent on DEI-related programs and the teaching of critical race theory.
The governor appointed Rufo to the university in January in a push to address “wokeness” in public colleges. In May, DeSantis signed a law banning state and federal funding for DEI schemes in public higher education.
“This bill says the whole experiment with DEI is coming to an end in the state of Florida,” asserted DeSantis.
Rufo, in an online blog, expressed concerns about the investigation.
“The Biden Administration has demonstrated repeatedly that it is willing to weaponize the federal law enforcement apparatus against school board parents and other conservative reformers,” he remarked.
“We are ready for the fight,” Rufo continued. “When Governor DeSantis appointed the new board of trustees, he told us: ‘If the media isn’t attacking you, you’re not doing your job.'”
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