PENSACOLA, Fla. – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis held a press conference at a charter school in Pensacola Monday morning.
DeSantis spoke about House Bill 1258 which limits challenges on books to one per month for anyone without students in a Florida school.
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“We are beefing up our turnaround in-school status,” DeSantis said. “The kids are going to be educated but not indoctrinated.”
“Many books with pornographic material have been removed from public and private schools and parents will have the right to prevent their children from reading if they see fit,” he added.
DeSantis spoke at the Warrington Preparatory Academy in Escambia County and was joined by Florida Department of Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. who also shared his support for the bill.
“Our focus is to remove books that don’t belong in our school and to make sure our schools are not abusing the school with its book challenges,” said Diaz.
The bill also implements a turnaround plan for struggling charter schools throughout the state of Florida.
The sponsors of the charter school are responsible for monitoring the schools’ finances and ensuring that schools participate in a state accountability system.
“Florida is number one in the nation for education, but there’s always more to be done,” DeSantis said. “We won’t stop working for Florida’s students and parents. HB 1285 codifies several great enhancements for education that will keep Florida number one.
“We believe that every student in this state has the potential to succeed which is why we will take prompt action to put them on a better path,” he added.
According to a news release from the governor’s office, HB 1285 does the following:
- Provides a clear and concise process for a struggling school to convert to a charter school.
- If a school receives consecutive low-performance evaluations, it is deemed a “turnaround school.” If the district’s plan to turn the school around does not succeed, the pathway for the school to find new direction and leadership should be simple and efficient
- These changes will eliminate lengthy and drawn-out negotiations between the incoming charter school and the school district, to ensure no student is trapped at a failing school in Florida.
- A charter school must give preference to kids in the previous school zone and must serve the same grade levels as the previous school.
- The charter school cannot be charged rent for the facility and the school district cannot charge an administrative fee.
- Ensures that book challenges are limited for individuals who do not have children with access to the school district’s material.
- Unlimited objections remain for parents with children in the school district, which includes homeschooled students accessing district materials.
- Individuals without children in the district will be limited to one objection per month.
- Protects schools from activists trying to politicize and disrupt a district’s book review process.
- Continues to support military families with the Purple Star Schools of Distinction Program.
- Institutes Purple Star School Districts, which recognizes districts with Purple Star Schools making up 75% of schools in their district.
- Helps to ensure a seamless transition for military families moving into Florida by requiring schools to provide them with support and resources.
For more information on the Purple Star Schools of Distinction program, click here.
Miami-Dade Public Schools released the following statement on the new proposed bill which you can read below.
Local 10 viewers can watch the press conference here: