By Bill Korach www.thereportcard.org

In an exclusive interview with The Report Card, Gov. Scott emphasized the importance of the passing of three education bills into law.

“I signed three bills into law that underscore my commitment to local control of our classrooms, and my rejection of top-down, one-size-fits-all Washington, DC management of Florida Schools. CS/HB 864 says that the district school board has final responsibility for ALL instructional material in the classroom. The school board must allow parents to be heard. District school boards can no longer pass the buck to Tallahassee or DC.

CS/SB 188 eliminates the prospect of data mining or any other form of inappropriate data collection. And finally HB 7031 eliminates all references to Common Core national standards in Florida law.” (italics added by editor).

CS/HB 864 is of particular importance given the past flow of power first to Tallahassee and then to Washington. It provides that the school district board has the final responsibility for all instructional material adopted by the district for the classroom. It requires all districts to convene a public hearing. To receive public comment and requires policies that allow parental objection to materials.

Gov. Scott’s interview has elicited some disbelief about his intentions to thoroughly purge Common Core. Gov. Scott’s intentions are less material than the three bills that will support those who believe in local autonomy.

In the past, Florida purchased 25 textbook titles that had a market pro-Islam, anti-Israel and anti Christian bias. Many Florida textbooks seem to find only flaws in America’s history and reject the conceprt of American Exceptionalism. Now parents and civic-minded citizens can object and the local board cannot pass the buck to Tallahassee, or Washington.

State Senator Alan Hays, R District 11 was the primary sponsor of the bill. CS/HB summary clearly provides a powerful tool to parents and residents who had felt they were excluded from the process:

The bill increases local control over public K-12 instructional materials by giving more transparency and accountability for stakeholders. The bill provides that a district school board has the constitutional duty to select and provide adequate instructional materials, and is responsible for the content of all instructional materials used in a classroom.

A district school board must have instructional materials policies that:

• Allow a parent to object to his or her child’s instructional materials, with a description of the process to handle objections and provide for resolution;
• Allow a parent to contest the district school board’s adoption of instructional materials, with requirements to notice and hold the hearing on the challenge; and
• Notify a parent of the ability to access his or her child’s instructional materials online.

A district school board that implements its own instructional materials program must adopt rules that:

• Identify the review cycle by subject area;
• Select reviewers, including parents with children in public schools, and identify reviewer qualifications and responsibilities;
• Establish a process by which the district school board will hold a public meeting to receive public comment, and a public hearing to adopt instructional materials; and
• Allow student editions of recommended instructional materials to be viewed by the public online for at least 20 calendar days before the public meeting and public hearing.

Some voices have been skeptical about the intentions of Governor Scott to purge Common Core. However, these three bills will provide a powerful tool to citizens if they will exercise their rights.