Gray Rohrer
One day after touting a bill to speed up the conversion of failing traditional public schools to charter schools, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed it.
“By focusing on core academic subjects and rejecting indoctrination in the classroom, we have become a standard-bearer for educational excellence,” DeSantis said. “The legislation I signed today continues to build on Florida’s previous accomplishments.”
The bill (HB 1285) requires school districts who opt to convert a failing traditional public school to a charter school to have a contract with a charter school company by Oct. 1 of the final year of control of the school, leaving enough time to prepare a turnaround plan.
The sweeping measure also restricts the challenges to books in public school libraries. Under the current law anyone can file numerous challenges to books, which must then be reviewed for compliance with a state ban on sexually explicit material. Under HB 1285, those without children attending schools in a given district will only be able to challenge one book per month.
DeSantis highlighted both of those provisions at an event in Pensacola on Monday, but during the bill signing event Tuesday at Jacksonville Classical School, he emphasized a part of the bill requiring the State Board of Education to adopt rules for issuing classical education teaching certificates.
Supporters of the bill hope the measure will help recruit teachers to such schools.
“That’s going to create more and more momentum for the classical movement in Florida,” Education Commissioner Manny Diaz said. “This is going to allow us to enhance that teacher development and that teacher recruitment.”
DeSantis also highlighted a provision expanding the state’s Purple Star School District Program to aid students with parents in the military and to require schools to offer juniors and seniors the option to take a military recruitment aptitude test and speak with a military recruiter.
11 comments
TruBluFlorida
April 16, 2024 at 12:51 pm
Two more years, two more years. VOTE, VOTE, VOTE. Read, “The Shock Doctrine” by Naomi Klein. “The brute tactic of systematically using the public’s disorientation following a collective shock—wars, coups, terrorist attacks, market crashes, natural disasters—to push through radical pro-corporate measures, often called “shock therapy
Republicans destroy things in order to claim success. Destroying public education is all the Gov has left before the tide changes in FL. They will destroy everything before we vote them out.
rick whitaker
April 16, 2024 at 1:47 pm
TRUBLU, you are so right, so what can be done about it. the florida gop must go, but who would be left. doesn’t matter, just about any dem would be better than just about gop. florida needs to step up and drive the rats into the sea.
Caps Lock
April 17, 2024 at 7:36 am
Rhonda and the rotted ReThugliCon Supermajority belong in in prison. Killing public education to keep people dumb and under someone’s thumb is a crime against humanity.
No sane teacher wants to come to Florida, where Rhonda is more worried about paying football coaches than ensuring competent educators in the classroom.
Michael K
April 16, 2024 at 2:47 pm
Did anyone bother to consider Floridas miserable track record with Charter Schools and the high failure rates?
rick whitaker
April 16, 2024 at 10:02 pm
MICHAEL K, yes, the failures in florida, my state tennessee, and other states are all having failures with charter schools. in my opinion there are 4 things that should never be privatized in a civil society. education, military, corrections and education. profit ruins those things. gross materialism loves the money in those categories.
TallyPatriot
April 17, 2024 at 9:26 am
You said education twice….I hope the 4th is Healthcare.
rick whitaker
April 17, 2024 at 1:30 pm
TALLYPATRIOT, thank you so much. i did, as you noted, mean healthcare. i’m not that good at writing, so i can use all the help i can get.
LuAnn
April 17, 2024 at 10:40 am
DeSantis and the GOP is destroying Florida.
Joe
April 17, 2024 at 7:06 pm
Pure grift.
Richard D
April 29, 2024 at 11:59 am
It’s obvious that Desantis is anti-public education. He is working on behalf of the Catholic church, in particular, which owns the largest system of private schools in the U.S. The vouchers he promotes are said to pay up to $8,000 per year for students to attend private schools, all forced on the taxpayers by Roman Catholic Desantis and his cronies. There is no objective evidence to prove that private and charter schools are academically superior to public schools.
rick whitaker
April 29, 2024 at 2:02 pm
RICHARD D, i agree with you all the way on the public school destruction issue. is this the same richard d that i usually disagree with?
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