Ron DeSantis Has Done His Schooling from Reformed School System In Florida: Ron DeSantis made a name for himself in the classrooms of Florida and used this reputation to win over conservative voters. Expect to hear about it frequently during campaign speeches. The Republican presidential candidate is not the first governor to advocate for “parental rights” or restrict classroom discussions of race and gender.
DeSantis, on the other hand, has won over Republican regulars by establishing an extensive legislative record as a “education governor” in the midst of battles with Democrats and civil rights organisations. Now, he intends to tour the nation promoting this album in order to lead the Republican Party.
Since becoming governor in 2019, DeSantis’ policies enshrining a “Parents’ Bill of Rights,” significantly expanding school choice, allowing teachers to be armed, and advocating for expanded workforce education have earned him this moniker among conservatives. In addition, he has collaborated with other Republicans to alter Florida’s higher education by installing key allies in statewide positions, and he has engaged in a public dispute with the College Board over its African American studies course.
When asked on Wednesday what role the president should play in education-related culture war matters, DeSantis stated on Fox News, “Because it’s a war on truth, I believe we have no choice but to wage war on woke.”
DeSantis’ actions resemble those of Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R-Va.), who was elected in a transition state by emphasising parental rights in education during a time when school closures caused by Covid frustrated families of all political stripes.
Ron DeSantis Has Done His Schooling from Reformed School System In Florida
However, the state of Florida has enacted the nation’s most stringent regulations prohibiting the discussion of race and gender in the classroom. OnIt has inspired conservatives in a number of states, including Texas, Tennessee, Alabama, and Arkansas, to implement similar legislation. Here are a few Florida laws and initiatives supported by DeSantis that have attracted the attention of other Republican-led states.
As a result of the global pandemic, K-12 schools received more attention, prompting the Florida legislature to adopt the Parental Rights in Education Act last year. Opponents of the proposal have dubbed it the “Don’t Say Gay” law because it forbids instructors from discussing sexual orientation and gender identity in the classroom. During this legislative session, Republican legislators added restrictions on the use of a student’s pronouns if they “do not correspond” with their designated s*x at birth. Within five school days of receiving a book challenge, schools must remove the challenged book from circulation.
There is currently legislation in at least ten states that address parental rights, and the overwhelming majority of state legislatures have introduced plans to do so.
In addition, this year, Republicans in the House of Representatives passed a comprehensive “Parents Bill of Rights” law that has become a focal point of the Republican education agenda. It outlines parents’ rights regarding their children’s education, including the right to participate in teacher-parent conferences, review school budget documents, review course materials, and appear before a school board.
In Nonpartisan School Board Elections, Endorsement
In 2022, DeSantis used his political influence to invest nearly $2 million in school board campaigns across the state. With the assistance of his campaign, two dozen conservative candidates were elected, and the governor has pledged to continue “flipping seats” in future elections.
Through his endorsements, Florida, the third most populous state in the United States, has been transformed in numerous ways by Governor DeSantis.
He concentrated on school board elections in areas where incumbents had rejected Republican policies and endorsed thirty conservative candidates. In addition to receiving $1,000 from DeSantis’ campaign organisation, each of his endorsees also received support from Republican legislators.
“For far too long, these school boards have failed to reflect the values of the communities they were ostensibly elected to serve,” DeSantis said in December at a training programme for school board members titled “Freedom Blueprint.”
Limiting Programmes for Racial Education
Individual Freedom Act, introduced by DeSantis in 2022, is also known as the Stop-WOKE Act due to its restrictive position on race and gender discussions in schools and the workplace. Individual Freedom Act prohibits educators from delivering instruction that causes students to “feel guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress” based on their race, colour, s*x, or national origin.
Despite DeSantis’s explicit request, the law prohibits classes on “white privilege.” The law’s opponents claimed it was an attempt to “whitewash” the past. DeSantis stated, “We will not tell any kindergartener that they are an oppressor on the basis of their race and what may have occurred 100 or 200 years ago.” And we will not inform other children of their ethnic oppression.
The DeSantis administration has used the statute, which has been challenged in court, to reject the College Board’s proposed new AP African American studies course.DeSantis demanded revisions after criticising the nonprofit exam developer for including lectures on queer theory and intersectionality.
Since then, Florida legislators have debated whether or not to institute state-run university credit-granting programmes and exams.
Stop Requiring For Covid In Schools
DeSantis’ actions during the pandemic may have propelled him into the national prominence and increased his viability as a presidential candidate. After the epidemic forced schools to close, the governor did not hesitate to dispute with schools in an effort to get students back into classrooms for in-person education.
The Florida Education Association, the state’s teachers union, filed a lawsuit against him over his decision to force schools to reopen for in-person instruction by threatening to withhold funding from those who did not comply. In response to covid mandates imposed on schools, he issued an executive order that placed full responsibility for mask use on the shoulders of parents.
He relied on the legal authority of parents to “make health care decisions for their minor children.” Later, DeSantis made headlines for imploring children to remove masks during an event, which he described as “ridiculous” and “Covid theatre.” As Covid-19 has waned, members of school boards supported by DeSantis have begun removing educational leaders who enforced epidemic regulations.
