Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has tasked state universities to with compiling reports on all public money spent on gender-affirming medical care.
A memo from DeSantis’ Office and Budget Policy Director Chris Spencer, dated January 11 and published by the University of North Florida student newspaper Spinnaker on Tuesday, requests dozens of data points related generally to “persons suffering from gender dysphoria” who have sought care at a state university-funded health facility. The memo was addressed to all 12 Florida State University System institutions.
In a four-page document, Spencer asks for a wide range of information, including the number of people who were diagnosed with gender dysphoria, the number who sought out gender-affirming procedures and medications, the number who received behavioral health services in addition to gender-affirming care, and detailed breakdowns of each subcategory. Additionally, Spencer asked for details on all policies and procedures, including those that had been created but never implemented, that had been related to gender-affirming care over the previous five years.
Officially, the data collection is being ordered to ensure school administrators are “governing institutional resources and protecting the public interest” appropriately, according to Spencer’s memo. Much like the ban already in effect for Florida Medicaid programs, it seems like an obvious overture towards removing funding for any institution that offers such care.
Spencer’s memo sets a deadline of February 10 for each university to respond.