Florida Board Abandons Challenge to Legislature’s Tuition-Setting Authority

The Board of Governors that oversees Florida’s financially pressed public university system has dropped out of a lawsuit challenging the Legislature’s grip on tuition increases, The Miami Herald reported. While the withdrawal does not end the lawsuit, system leaders hope the departure will hasten its demise. The board’s chairwoman, Ava Parker, said discussions with legislators had improved to the point that “we can put this lawsuit behind us.” The state’s governor, Charlie Crist, a Republican, commended the board’s action, and Republican lawmakers suggested that the truce might make them more receptive to the universities’ pleas for funds.