Florida Governor Ron DeSantis delivered a twofer on Jan. 23, speaking at Duval Charter School in Jacksonville, where he announced several new policy initiatives to improve teacher compensation and classroom learning. At the same time, DeSantis detailed measures that could crush the teachers union’s political power as well as its bargaining strength with school boards.
Taking Aim at the Teachers Union
It was all good news for Florida conservatives and a particularly bad day for the statewide teachers union, the Florida Education Association. First, DeSantis detailed an increase in teacher pay to be delivered through large grants to school districts. The governor made it a point to emphasize that these funds would be earmarked exclusively for teacher salaries. He said that too often, money available to educators went unspent due to political gamesmanship by the unions, and then he showed them what gamesmanship was.
Under his new plan – awaiting legislative approval – much of the funding increase will be delivered on a first-come, first-served basis. This will cut the bargaining power the union has against school boards. Intransigence usually works in favor of labor, but with this move, DeSantis motivates teachers to encourage their unions to act quickly in making labor agreements. However, this might be a minor factor compared to stopping the government from collecting union dues. He trashed the opacity of dues and said the state would cease collections on the union’s behalf. Forgetting politics for a moment, the forces of inertia suggest the impact of such a reduction in dues payments will be massive.
Everything Is Racist
Ron DeSantis (Photo by Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Last week DeSantis’ administration made headlines over another education matter. The Florida Department of Education blocked a new Advanced Placement African American History course from being implemented. Asked about it after his speech in Jacksonville, the governor said, in Florida, “we want education, not indoctrination.” And “in the state of Florida, our education standards not only don’t prevent but they require teaching black history – all the important things – that’s part of our core curriculum.”
DeSantis suggested that when he first heard the course did not meet the state standards for approval, he thought it might be a minor issue. Later he learned it was “way more than that.” He stated one of the lessons was on “queer theory” and asked rhetorically, “Who would say that an important part of black history is queer theory?” He said that amounted to someone pushing an agenda on schoolchildren:
“When you look to see they have stuff about intersectionality, abolishing prisons – that’s a political agenda.”
“We believe in teaching kids facts and how to think, but we don’t think they should have an agenda imposed on them. When you try to use black history to shoehorn in queer theory, you are clearly trying to use that for political purposes.”
What Else?
Some other features of the plan include the imposition of an eight-year term limit for board of education seats. DeSantis also discussed a hotline for teachers who felt pressured to violate state law in favor of obeying their board of education or school administrators. It was a shot across the bow at rogue districts and their leaders who would thumb their noses at Florida’s laws. The governor managed to weaken a politically threatening teachers union while delivering an increase in teacher funding. Look for his stock to rise with conservatives as the battle for the Republican nomination looms.
