One of Governor DeSantis’ campaign promises was to eliminate “all vestiges of the Common Core” from Florida’s education system as it stands today. Once in office, DeSantis even went as far as issuing an executive order to eliminate the “Common Core.” For the past several months since DeSantis took office, educators from the state have been working on revising Florida’s K-12 English-Language Arts and Math standards as they inch closer to DeSantis’ goals.
Now that the second draft of the proposed changes is out, the Florida Department of Education wants to hear from the state’s public. The department just announced nine separate hearings that’ll take place across the state, beginning October 7th and stretching out until October 23rd.
Depending on the location, respective residents will get the chance to discuss standards, with the intention of hashing out what they do or don’t like about them. The goal is to come to an agreement in which both parties — the public and the state — are satisfied with the academic expectations set for children in public schools.
Ironically enough, a large majority of written responses for the time being include the opinion that most Floridians see no point in changing the state’s academic standards. Conservatives dislike the “Common Core” because they consider that a federal curriculum is imposed on the state. Initially, the “Common Core” was created by the National Governors Association and eventually adopted by states. Nowadays the “Common Core” is advocated by federal leaders instead.
Before DeSantis took office, Governor Rick Scott also wanted to upend the “Common Core.” During Scott’s tenure, Florida stopped participating in a national testing organization that was associated with the “Common Core,” despite the fact that Florida was one of the lead states previously championing this initiative.
Florida’s Department of Education is scheduled to deliver a new proposal for the governor by December. The objective is not only legislative review, but the department would also like to issue its final approval in the Spring of 2020. Revisions to other areas such as civics education, are sure to follow as well. If you are interested in participating, visit the Florida Department of Education site and check when one of these hearings is coming to a town near you.
Chris began his writing as a hobby while attending Florida Southern College in Lakeland, Florida. Today he and his wife live in the Orlando area with their three children and dog.
