DeSantis-controlled Disney World oversight district slashes diversity, equity initiatives

In the ongoing dispute between Walt Disney World and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, diversity, equity, and inclusion programs were abolished Tuesday by the media conglomerate's governing district — the latest move to restrict such measures in the state.

The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, which is now controlled by appointees of DeSantis, said in a statement that it was cutting its DEI committee, related job duties, and any remaining initiatives from when the district was controlled by Disney proponents. Those initiatives had awarded contracts based on racial and gender parity goals.

"The so-called diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives were advanced during the tenure of the previous board and they were illegal and simply unAmerican,” the district's new administrator Glenton Gilzean said in the statement. “Our district will no longer participate in any attempt to divide us by race or advance the notion that we are not created equal."

The initiative cuts is the latest move against diversity programming by the DeSantis base. The governor signed legislation in May that banned state funding for diversity programs at Florida’s public colleges. DeSantis has also been fighting to regulate how the state’s education system approaches topics like race and gender.

The announcement also comes amid a yearlong feud between Disney and DeSantis, who punished the company by taking away its ability to self-govern and appointing a new board of supervisors. Disney has since sued DeSantis and his appointees in federal court, claiming the "government action was patently retaliatory, patently anti-business, and patently unconstitutional."

Disney World and the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District did not immediately respond to USA TODAY's request for comment.

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DeSantis appointed five new board members and an administrator in February after renaming the Reedy Creek Improvement District, effectively stripping Disney of its self-governing power over the 38-square-mile entertainment empire. 

The DeSantis takeover of the district was passed by Republican lawmakers, allowing the new board of supervisors to oversee municipal services at Disney's theme parks and hotels. Prior to DeSantis’ changes, the district ran under Disney supporters for more than five decades.

The company also made agreements with its previous oversight board members, removing authority over design and development from the new board members.

Disney sued DeSantis and his appointees in federal court, claiming that their actions violated free speech rights by retaliating against the company because of its criticism last year of the "Don't Say Gay" bill. DeSantis requested immunity from the legal feud last week, which Disney rejected.

In a second lawsuit filed in state court, the DeSantis appointees are seeking to invalidate the agreements made with previous board members.

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Latest limitation of DEI initiatives in Florida

The dissolution of Disney's DEI initiatives is the latest limitation of such measures in Florida.

In May, DeSantis, who is running for the GOP presidential nomination, signed a legislation banning state funding for diversity programs at the state's public universities.

The governor and his Republican-majority Legislature also passed the state's so-called “Stop WOKE” law, which restricts how race is discussed in Florida schools, colleges, and workplaces. But last November, a federal judged locked the law’s enforcement in colleges, universities and businesses, calling it "positively dystopian."

Contributing: Thao Nguyen, Kayla Jimenez and Sarah Elbeshbishi, USA TODAY; Associated Press