OPINION AND COMMENTARY Editorials and other Opinion content offer perspectives on issues important to our community and are independent from the work of our newsroom reporters. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), on Feb. 24 in Orlando. John Raoux AP Gov. Ron DeSantis is a […]
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Florida “Stop WOKE Act” Enacted to Restrict DEI Initiatives by Employers, Associations, and Certification Organizations | Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
Even before the legislation passed the Florida legislature on March 10, 2022, it attracted widespread criticism, and opponents of the law used the intervening time to prepare a legal challenge on First Amendment grounds. That lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida on […]
Florida education department explains ban of math textbooks due to racial content
The state banned 41% of textbooks reviewed for student use due to their inclusion of critical race theory (CRT) and other educational frameworks on which Gov. Ron DeSantis is cracking down. The Florida Department of Education received a surge of demands from media outlets and the public, seeking explanation for […]
Florida Department of Education releases examples of math exercises they say teach critical race theory or Common Core
After a delay of nearly a week, the Florida Department of Education has released examples that it says backs up its rejection of dozens of math textbooks because they contained questions and exercises based on critical race theory or Common Core. The state did not identify which textbooks the examples come from, but one […]
What textbooks were deemed inappropriate by the Florida Department of Education?
FORT MYERS More than 50 math textbooks were rejected by the state of Florida’s Department of Education. It’s the longest list of rejected math textbooks in state history. The Florida Department of Education decided the material in the books does not meet its standards. On Thursday, the department shared […]
A Look at the Textbooks Rejected by the Florida Department of Education
After the Florida Department of Education rejected dozens of math textbooks last week, the big question was, Why? The department said some of the books “contained prohibited topics” from social-emotional learning or critical race theory — but it has released only four specific textbook pages showing content to which it […]
DeSantis signs four bills, prompting lawsuits against two of them | Florida
(The Center Square) – At the close of a controversial, three-day special legislative session, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed four bills into law. Two lawsuits were filed on Friday over two of the bills. During the special session, the legislature passed three bills: SB 2-C – The Congressional Districts of the […]
Florida Department of Education offers examples of math book concerns
Six days after rejecting dozens of math textbooks because of concerns about “impermissible” content, the Florida Department of Education on Thursday quietly posted a few examples of what it found objectionable. One item about algebraic expressions called polynomials reads, “What? Me? Racist? More than 2 million people have tested their […]
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis sued by LGBTQ students, parents over new law
A group of over a dozen students, parents, educators and advocates filed a federal lawsuit Thursday against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and the state’s Board of Education, alleging that newly enacted state legislation would “stigmatize, silence, and erase LGBTQ people in Florida’s public schools.” The Parental Rights in Education bill, […]
Florida Court Rulings Show Importance of Exclusion Wording
Two recent decisions from the Florida appellate courts highlight the ambiguous nature of water damage claims and lawsuits and how they are interpreted by the courts. In Geovera Specialty Insurance Company v. Graig Glasser, 4DCA No. 4D20-2001 (2/16/2022),the 4th District Court of Appeal held that the trial court erred in […]