University of West Florida remains ‘super woke’ despite DEI ban, says staff
March 23, 2026
Despite Florida’s strict Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion laws, professors in the University of West Florida’s social work program are still teaching the destructive ideology.
Jessica Morton, a Field Placement Coordinator in the department, described their faculty as “super-woke” in a hidden-camera video.
Morton and fellow Field Placement Coordinator Miranda Brown gushed to Accuracy in Media’s undercover investigative journalist about the program’s commitment to DEI–and the “loophole” they’re using to defy state law.
According to them, their accreditation board requires DEI and their program couldn’t exist if it wasn’t accredited. They say this is a loophole that allows them to continue injecting the ideology into their program.
“Not just to say that we don’t go by the rules, but unfortunately we’re not going to be able to be in complete compliance with all of the things that they’re saying because we are bound by our accreditation,” Morton told AIM’s investigator.
The Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) has several standards that must be met for accreditation. According to a 2022 copy of these standards, programs must “Engage Anti-Racism, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (ADEI) in Practice.” This is considered one of nine “core competencies.”
Programs in states with DEI bans have increasingly started leaning on this CSWE standard as a loophole to continue teaching the woke ideology.
Morton and Brown further divulged that everyone, from the educators at the University of West Florida, to the department chair, all the way to the dean, are “on our side.”
According to Brown, some professors may try to protect themselves as they defy the law by asking students not to record during their classes.
“We’re crazy over here. We are not going down without a fight,” Morton reiterated.
“It’s very bright and blue over here,” she added, seemingly implying that the program’s educators are Democrats.
She also claimed the professors “do not care at all” about the law against DEI.
Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., signed Senate Bill (SB) 266 back in 2023, which expressly prohibits institutions from using public money to fund DEI initiatives.
But at the University of West Florida, they believe their accreditation standards supersede the law.
And it’s clear they think their defiance will fly under the radar–but AIM isn’t letting that happen. We’re going into schools undercover to find out who is still pushing illegal DEI.
Go to DEIinFlorida.com to send one message that goes directly to all relevant officials. Demand action for schools like the University of West Florida, which are brazenly pushing destructive DEI despite state law.