A federal judge in the Northern District of Florida is allowing a class action lawsuit alleging funding discrimination against the nation's historically black colleges to proceed by ordering the filing of an amended complaint concerning Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU).
“The first amended complaint alleges differences between FAMU and other public universities, including in funding, quality of faculty, graduation rates, and mission statements, but the first amended complaint is short on facts tying these differences to the segregated-by-law system,” wrote Judge Robert L. Hinkle in his June 12 decision.
Student plaintiffs from FAMU, the state’s only historically public black university, accuse Florida's State University System’s board of governors and system chancellor Marshall M. Criser III of financially starving the Historically Black College & University (HBCU) while favoring traditionally white schools.
“HCBUs were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to serve Black students due to segregation and racism,” said Dr. Tracy A. Pearson, a trial and appellate lawyer.
The plaintiffs seek declaratory and injunctive relief, not an award for damages.
FAMU, one of only two public land-grant colleges in Florida, is 136 years old and generates more African-American bachelor of arts graduates than any four-year public college in the nation, according to National Center for Education Statistics data.
“It’s still playing catch-up in the state of Florida, which we feel has acted with an astonishing lack of good faith, despite decades of directives from the federal government that all students in the state receive equal educational opportunities,” said Joshua Dubin, a civil rights attorney who is representing the plaintiffs along with the Grant & Eisenhofer law firm. "This deliberate indifference toward HBCUs is not unique to Florida, but FAMU is where we’re joining the fight to ensure education is fair for everyone.”
When Donald Trump was President, he committed $255 million in permanent annual funding to HBCUs and signed the FUTURE Act to increase Federal Pell Grant program funding.
The complaint states that compared to FAMU, the University of Florida receives a larger state appropriation per student that totals $1.3 billion over 33 years from 1987 to 2020.
“The complaint isn’t about simple state oversight or forgetfulness,” said Bobby Brown, an attorney in Grant & Eisenhofer’s Civil Rights group. “The shortfall in Florida’s support for FAMU is starkly evident.”
The state argued that the lawsuit failed to state a claim because the plaintiffs did not tie the existing Performance Based Funding Model (PBFM) and allegations regarding the Individual Freedom Act (IFA) to de jure segregation.
“As to the PBFM, Plaintiffs allege that the PBFM ignores the significant historical disadvantages that Black students face,” wrote Senior Assistant Attorney General Anita Patel. “But alleging that inequities exist or that they are the result of past discriminatory treatment is not enough.”
An amended complaint from the plaintiffs is due to the court by July 3.
The PBFM is discriminatory because it fails to recognize that HBCUs support a student population that disproportionately faces discrimination in employment, and employment outcomes as well as challenges impacting the four-year graduation rate, student GPA, and retention, according to Pearson.
"A failure to provide financial support sufficient to bridge gaps that would improve these numbers maintains a lack of equity with other schools who do not specialize in supporting Black populations," Pearson told the Florida Record.