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The state of K-12 education: Florida schools are under a microscope

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As the DeSantis administration continues to make headlines with its K-12 education policies and culture wars, an exodus from public school students to private education — with the help of a new voucher program — and thousands of teacher vacancies, it can be easy to forget that some 2.9 million public schoolchildren woke up early, strapped on their backpacks, and began a new school year.

In the vast majority of Florida’s public school districts, kids came back to classrooms on Thursday, in a kaleidoscope of diversity:

Hispanic students represent 36.4 percent of the statewide school system, followed by white students, at 35.3 percent; Black students at 20.9 percent; Students of two or more races at 4.1%, Asian students at 2.8% and other smaller groups, according to Department of Education data.

Meanwhile, Gov. Ron DeSantis has touted his education bona fides on the campaign trail as the GOP presidential primary ramps up. 

But what students learn in school and what teachers can say in school is part of the changing — and fearful — educational environment. 

Florida is beginning the 2023-2024 school year with nearly 7,000 teaching vacancies – up from about 6,000 one year ago and 2,400 in 2016, according to the Florida Education Association.

Andrew Spar, president of the Florida Education Association. Credit: FEA Officer portrait.

Andrew Spar, president of the FEA, said that morale among teachers across the state is very low.

“I think this is one of the darkest periods we’ve ever seen for public education in Florida,” Spar said, citing both Florida’s status as one of the lowest states in teacher pay and the public politicization of the school system.

Removing books and “Don’t Say Gay”

Florida’s education system has made headlines and spawned lawsuits for its bans on various books that critics say are immoral, with more than 350 unshelved between July and December 2022, according to PEN America. Earlier this week, Hillsborough County announced it would pull entire works of William Shakespeare from its curriculum, opting instead for excerpts, in order to avoid violating the 2022 Parental Rights in Education Act, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

That current law relates to classroom instruction, saying school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in prekindergarten through 8th grade. The state Board of Education this spring, in the form of a rule, extended the protocol to up to 12th grade.

The Florida Department of Education did not respond to a request for comment.

But Cassie Palelis, a spokesperson with the Florida Department of Education, later told the Tampa Bay Times that Shakespeare should not be removed from classrooms, adding that eight works of The Bard are included within the state’s academic standards for English Language Arts.

As if to drive the point home, on Tuesday, Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. included “Romeo and Juliet” in his monthly reading challenge to Florida high schoolers.

FEA President Spar said he believes that Diaz has been purposefully vague on what is and isn’t allowed in classrooms according to state law.

“I do think there is an overreaction from districts,” Spar said. “But I think that overreaction from districts is driven by the fact that the commissioner of education and the Department of Education are not being clear on what needs to be done and taught, and what’s not allowed.”

Spar contended that the Department of Education’s lack of clarity on how districts are to follow the law is an intentional effort to damage public schools.

“I believe absolutely that the governor and Commissioner of Education want parents to abandon public schools,” Spar said. “If you create enough chaos and confusion, if you attack the curriculum in such a way that parents are concerned their children are not getting a complete and honest education, then they’ll leave the public schools.”

HB 1 and Florida’s new voucher program

Florida already had one of the most far-reaching voucher programs in the country before DeSantis signed HB 1 into law in March. For the first time, the new law allows students, regardless of household income, to use public dollars for private schools.

Students rushing to go to recess. Klaus Vedfelt/Getty Images

These vouchers, or “scholarships,” are typically $7,700, according to Step Up for Students – the state-backed non-profit meant to facilitate students and families with scholarship programs.

An April poll by the Florida Policy Institute found that 60% of registered voters in Florida – including 52% of Republicans – wanted to keep the former income eligibility requirement, which only allowed households earning up to $120,000 to use a voucher.

Step Up anticipates serving about 100,000 more students than last year, although they said in an email it is too early to determine how many students receiving scholarships for the 2023-2024 school year are doing so directly because of HB 1.

Doug Tuthill, president of Step Up for Students, said that an expanded voucher program would give parents who feel their child has unique needs for a particular learning environment more flexibility.

“Our families are looking for customization. They want flexibility to be able to customize an education for their child,” Tuthill said. “Some kids don’t need it. Some kids can survive in any country can thrive in any environment. But I think you’re gonna see a lot of kids who need something that’s really crafted just for them.”

Academic standards

Two recent controversies over the Florida curriculum that made national headlines was the apparent elimination – and then reversal – of AP Psychology courses and the controversial benchmark in African-American history standards that required the instruction that some slaves could learn beneficial skills while subjugated.

Vice President Kamala Harris visited Florida to blast Gov. DeSantis and the state government for the policy, and the controversy quickly became a flashpoint in the presidential campaign.

The governor and other state officials have vigorously defended the curriculum, saying that it empowers slaves and portrays their resilience. However, Commissioner Diaz pulled out of a town hall scheduled for Thursday in Miami, where he was expected to hear from lawmakers and partners.

Florida students will still be able to take AP Psychology, Diaz told superintendents Wednesday, after days of confusion on whether the course’s curriculum on sexual identity would violate Florida law.

The Florida Department of Education has sparred with the College Board – the overseer of AP classes – in the past over course content. Some school districts – such as Hillsborough County – have already opted to replace the course with the Cambridge AICE (Advanced International Certificate of Education) Psychology course.

The post The state of K-12 education: Florida schools are under a microscope appeared first on Florida Phoenix.

This article originally appeared here and was republished with permission.

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