Undocumented students will be barred from all 12 Florida public universities starting in the 2027-28 school year. The state Board of Governors voted unanimously Sept. 3 to amend its admissions rule, a decision that narrows college options for Lakewood Ranch-area graduates.

The 17-member board changed its general admissions regulation, Rule 6.001, without debate at a meeting at Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers. The rule bars anyone "present in the United States unlawfully" from initial enrollment at state universities that did not admit all qualified applicants in the two most recent years. In practice, all 12 universities meet that threshold. Students already enrolled will not be affected.

The vote landed on the consent agenda after preliminary approval in June. Eight members of the public spoke during a comment period, the Florida Phoenix reported. All urged the board to reject the ban.

Roberto Garcia, an instructor at Florida Gulf Coast University, was among those who addressed the board.

"At its core, this regulation asks our universities to look at an academically qualified student … and tell them that none of that matters because of their immigration status," Garcia said during his two-minute comment.

College Pathway Also Closes for Local Students

The university ban follows a separate rule the State Board of Education approved on June 30 barring undocumented students from Florida's 28 state colleges. That rule covers the State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota, a primary pathway for area graduates who start at a two-year institution before transferring.

Together, the two policies close virtually every public higher-education door in the state.

Lakewood Ranch High School posted a 97% graduation rate for the 2025-26 school year, the highest among Manatee County high schools, according to the Observer. The School District of Manatee County hit a record 90% overall.

No county-level count of undocumented graduates is publicly available. Statewide, about 8,000 undocumented students graduate from Florida high schools each year, according to the Higher Ed Immigration Portal.

The state university system does not track how many enrolled students lack legal status. The Orlando Sentinel reported that in the 2024-25 year, at least 4,672 undocumented students were enrolled in state colleges and an estimated 2,000 more at state universities, based on out-of-state tuition waiver counts.

Florida became the fourth state with a prohibitive enrollment policy, joining Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina, and the largest state to adopt one, Florida Politics reported.

DeSantis Praises Vote as Teacher and Faculty Unions Condemn It

Gov. Ron DeSantis praised the vote in a post on X, saying the board was putting Floridians and Americans first. Lt. Gov. Jay Collins, whom DeSantis appointed in August 2025, said on X that taxpayers should not be expected to subsidize opportunities for people who entered the country illegally.

The Florida Education Association, which represents 120,000 members, and the United Faculty of Florida, representing more than 25,000 faculty, both criticized the decision. FEA President Andrew Spar said in a statement that Florida had already invested in these students, many of whom were brought to the country as children, and called the policy "wasteful."

The Florida Legislature considered bills to ban undocumented students from higher education during the 2026 session, but those measures died in committee. DeSantis appointed 14 of the board's 17 members.

Florida's K-12 schools are not affected. The U.S. Supreme Court's 1982 ruling in Plyler v. Doe bars states from denying public education to children based on immigration status.

Career and Technical Education Rule Up for Discussion Sept. 16

A related rule that would block undocumented students from career and technical education programs is scheduled for discussion at a Board of Education meeting on Sept. 16 at Polk State College.