Gov. Ron DeSantis visited Escambia County on Monday to express his support for HB 1285, saying it will further solidify Florida's status as the best educated state in the nation.
Speaking at Warrington Preparatory Academy, the governor said the bill would streamline the process of converting failed “turnaround schools” into charter schools, ensure that children are not retained in low-performing schools, and allow school districts to earn a spot on the Purple Star School roster. He said that he would encourage the expansion of the Support military families.
He said the bill would streamline the content challenge process for parents and prevent malicious challenges by activists. Specifically, residents who are not parents or guardians of children in their local school district will be limited to one Book Challenge per month.
“We need to stop trying to make frivolous books,” DeSantis said. “What's happening in this county is not what the law was trying to do. I know there were a lot of books in Escambia that somehow got peer-reviewed that shouldn't have been peer-reviewed. You need to use common sense in this regard.”
In Escambia County, Northview High School teacher Vicki Baggett objected to numerous books in Escambia County and appeared before the Santa Rosa and Okaloosa County Boards of Education to further object. Under the new law, her new challenges will be limited to her one per month because she has no children in the district.
DeSantis did not mention Baggett by name during Monday's event.
“It's performative, it's political, it's trying to be an activist when it should be an educator,” he said.
“Even if you don't have children in the school district, you're still a citizen. You can have an interest in education, but there's only so much you can object to. You can object, but only once a month. Because what we found is that there are activists out there who are against everything under the sun, and it comes from every end of the political spectrum. ''The governor said.
Penguin Random House, the world's largest trade book publisher, PEN America, a “free expression organization,” and several individuals have announced that Escambia County schools will be releasing books that discuss race and racism. The lawsuit alleges that the deletion and access restrictions violated the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. , which goes against the recommendations of the District Review Board, which is responsible for evaluating book issues such as LGBTQ identity.
The Escambia County District filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit in Pensacola federal court, but it was denied. The judge urged both parties to resolve the case through mediation rather than proceeding to court.
photograph. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis touted the education bill Monday at Warrington Preparatory Academy in Escambia County. Image from NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
