GOVERNOR RON DESANTIS
"In Florida, our parents have every right to be involved in their child’s education. We are not going to let politicians deny parents the right to know what is being taught in our schools."
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill into law Friday that requires Florida school districts to be transparent in the selection of instructional materials, including library and reading materials.
As a part of the “Year of the Parent,” a commitment DeSantis has made to prioritize parental rights, DeSantis signed HB 1467, which includes several protections for parents, such as requiring school districts to allow parents to review all books in the school library, all required classroom book lists, and any instructional materials teachers use.
“In Florida, our parents have every right to be involved in their child’s education. We are not going to let politicians deny parents the right to know what is being taught in our schools. I’m proud to sign this legislation that ensures curriculum transparency,” DeSantis said.
“While teachers, school administrators, and school board members have a tremendous amount of authority over what and how our kids are taught in school, at the end of the day, parents – not schools – are responsible for raising children," Senate President Wilton Simpson said. "Florida parents are seeking greater involvement in many aspects of our education system, and this legislation speaks to that effort. The books our kids are reading in schools need to have proper vetting.”
The new law also establishes a 12-year term limit for school board members. Adding term limits, House Speaker Chris Sprowls said, “helps to weaken any political motives and shifts the focus of school boards back to the best interests of our children, as it should be.”
The new law requires school districts convening for the purpose of selecting instructional materials to post meeting notices and make them open to the public. They must also provide access to all materials at least 20 days prior to the school board taking official action on instructional materials, according to the new law. The Department of Education will also be required to publish a list of materials that have been removed or discontinued by school boards as a result of an objection and disseminate the list to school districts for their consideration.
School district library media center materials and assigned school or grade-level reading lists must also be reviewed by a district employee holding a valid educational media specialist certificate and require the DOE to develop an online training program for librarians and media specialists. Additionally, the superintendent of schools in each district must certify to the DOE Commissioner that all school librarians and media center specialists have taken this training.
"I hadn’t been involved with the school board prior to COVID. It got us paying attention,” Rebecca Sarwi, a Volusia County parent, said. “Our first time showing up in person at the school board meeting, I, along with 6 other mothers, were trespassed from the location for a whole year due to not wearing a mask and they silenced our voice from public comment."
“It has been an eye-opening experience to the lengths that they would assert their power,” she added. “But since COVID restrictions made us acutely aware of the power behind the school board, we are now paying attention to their meetings, agendas and curriculum and so many other concerns were coming to the surface now that we are paying attention.”
Other parents expressed concerned about sexually explicit material in libraries and classroom reading lists.
“The Year of the Parent” comes after the U.S. Department of Justice last year announced it would be investigating parents who protest at school board meetings, potentially considering them domestic terrorists. The DOJ did so after the National School Boards Association sent a letter to the DOJ likening parents protesting the teaching of so-called critical race theory, mask mandates and other local school decisions to domestic terrorists and requested federal intervention.
The association, to which state school board associations pay dues, later apologized. But 26 state school board associations distanced themselves from it, including Florida's.
Within months of the NSBA’s DOJ letter, the Florida Schools Boards Association unanimously voted to end its association with it over “concerns surrounding NSBA’s governance, leadership, transparency, and failure to embrace non-partisanship.”
However, the DOJ has not changed its stance, and 14 Republican attorneys general sued. Led by Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, they want the DOJ to drop its directive to investigate parents and to respond to letters and Freedom of Information requests that multiple attorneys general submitted last year.
Last month, the Florida Legislature also passed a parental bill of rights that requires schools to teach children age-appropriate material. It also requires that parents be able to access their children’s records and involve them in the decisions about mental health and other services offered for their children. It also allows parents to sue schools over violations.
Governor Corrects the Record in Florida
Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday issued a proclamation declaring Sarasota native and Olympic silver medalist Emma Weyant the "real winner" of the 500-yard freestyle event at the Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships last Thursday.
According to the university, Weyant finished the race with the third-fastest time in UVA history, as well as her own fastest career time. But Thomas beat her by 1.75 seconds, becoming the first transgender athlete to win a NCAA Division I title and the first man to do so in a women's event.
But Thomas' victory was controversial, as critics like DeSantis say men have biological advantages over women that makes direct athletic competition between the two sexes unfair.
"By allowing men to compete in women's sports, the NCAA is destroying opportunities for women, making a mockery of its championships, and perpetuating a fraud," DeSantis said Tuesday.
"In Florida, we reject these lies and recognize Sarasota's Emma Weyant as the best women's swimmer in the 500y freestyle."
At a press conference Tuesday, the Republican governor praised Weyant as a tough competitor and announced he would sign the proclamation declaring her the actual winner of the NCAA competition.
“If you look at what the NCAA has done by allowing basically men to compete in women’s athletics, in this case, the swimming, you had the number-one woman who finished was from Sarasota. And then Weyant, she won the silver medal, she’s been an absolute superstar her whole career,” DeSantis said.
“She trains, I mean, to compete at that level is very, very difficult. And you don’t just roll out of bed and do it. That takes grit, that takes determination, and she’s been an absolute superstar and she had the fastest time of any woman in college athletics.”
He accused the NCAA of trying to "destroy women's athletics" by allowing gender-dysphoric men to compete against women.
“They’re trying to undermine the integrity of the competition, and they’re crowning somebody else the woman’s champion and we think that’s wrong ... we’re going to be doing a proclamation saying that Emma is the best female swimmer in the 500-meter freestyle, because she earned that," DeSantis said.
ATTORNEY GENERAL ASHLEY MOODY
Did you know that robotexts are now outpacing robocalls in terms of total messages received? Last year, more than 87 billion automated texts were sent nationwide compared to 72 billion robocalls. These automated messages often contain spam, malware or may even be connected to scams.
This week, I released Scams at a Glance: Robo-texts and Robocalls. This new resource is full of information about both scam robotexts and robocalls, and what to do when you receive one of these messages.
It’s important to know how to identity problematic messages, as Americans lost more than $10 billion dollars to robotext scams in 2021 alone.
General tips from our Scams at a Glance: Robotexts and Robocalls brochure include:
- Do not click on links in text messages from unknown numbers, as the messages may contain malware or lead to malicious websites.
- Avoid answering texts from unrecognized senders. Responding to, liking or clicking these messages shows the scammer that the targeted user is active and could lead to more frequent scam messages.
- Never answer calls from unknown numbers, nor provide personal or financial information to unexpected or unsolicited calls.
- Consider downloading text and call-blocking apps to further prevent scam texts and calls from reaching a mobile phone.
By knowing how to spot robotexts and robocalls, and avoid scams associated with these fraudulent messages, you can help us build a Stronger, Safer Florida.
