ANNALS OF DeSANTI$TAN: Enrollment cap bill looms over Florida’s international students. (Ariana Badra, Florida Independent Alligator, March 2, 2026)

Another nasty nostrum in our former Congressman from St.  Johns County, demagogic Florida Governor RONALD DION DeSANTIS's Florida?   So no policy reason is desired or required so long as xenophobia is the underlying irrational reason?  Quo vobis videtor? (What do y'all reckon?). You tell me.  From University of Florida Independent Alligator:

Enrollment cap bill looms over Florida’s international students

Florida bill could reshape international enrollment at its public universities

By Ariana Badra

March 2, 2026 | 6:45pm EST

House Bill 1279 is a newly proposed law requiring Florida College System institutions and state universities to limit the number of foreign citizen students to 5% from any given country.

Photo by Dylan Speicher | The Independent Florida Alligator

A bill moving through the Florida Legislature could impose new limits on international student enrollment at public universities, forcing them to compete with out-of-state U.S. students for a limited number of spots in the state’s top schools. 

If enacted, the bill would mark the first time Florida lawmakers have codified a cap on international student enrollment at public universities. 

The legislation was first filed in early January by Rep. Kincart Jonsson, R-Lakeland, along with cosponsors, none of whom responded to email requests for comment. A similar but not identical Senate version of the bill, filed by Sen. Erin Grall, R-Vero Beach, has yet to be heard in any committees.

Under the proposal, state universities would be required to ensure that no more than 5% of their nonresident population consists of international students from any one country. The measure also mandates that preeminent public universities maintain freshman classes made up of at least 95% Florida residents, based on a three-year average. 

Any of Florida’s four preeminent state research universities — UF, Florida State University, the University of South Florida and Florida International University — failing to meet the law’s requirements by July 1, 2030, would be ineligible for certain state funding. The University of Central Florida looks to join this preeminent designation following the Florida Board of Governors' approval in June.