Florida A&M students sue state, alleging racially biased funding gap

Black students at Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University are suing the state over alleged racial discrimination, claiming that local political leaders have deliberately denied the historically black college equal funding with the University of Florida, a predominantly White school.

The class-action lawsuit, filed in federal court in Florida, also accuses state higher education officials of duplicating academic programs Florida A&M (FAMU) is known for in an attempt to siphon enrollment from the school. The lawsuit names six FAMU students as plaintiffs and Florida's higher education system, including Chancellor Marshall Criser III, as defendants.

"Throughout its history and up to the present day, Florida has purposefully engaged in a pattern and practice of racial discrimination, principally through disparate funding, that has prevented HBCUs, including FAMU, from achieving parity with their traditionally White institution counterparts," the complaint alleges.