Florida Continues to Emphasize Civics Education as National Test Scores Fall

Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed several bills over the past few years designed to improve the U.S. history and civics knowledge of Florida students.

The need for such reform was spotlighted by a decline in eighth grade social studies scores on The National Assessment of Educational Progress examinations. These tests designed to measure student achievement in several subject areas in the fourth, eighth and 12th grades.

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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Exposes John Cornyn-Sponsored Civics Bill Expanding Critical Race Theory in Public Schools

A bill that would actually allow Critical Race Theory (CRT) to be pushed on every public school in the country has finally been exposed for what it is by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R).

In a statement June 30, DeSantis’ office released the positive results of Florida’s 2022 civics assessments since a major update to the state’s civics standards emphasizing the exceptional nature of the American founding and Constitution.

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Greater Georgia Details Anti-Voter ID Curriculum Taught in Atlanta Public Schools

Greater Georgia, an organization focused on registering new voters and started by former Senator Kelly Loeffler, detailed an effort between Atlanta Public Schools and New Georgia Project to teach students about “restrictive” voter identification laws.

The New Georgia Project, which has close connections to Democrat Stacey Abrams, targeted approximately 2,000 high school students.

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ACLU Requests Tennessee Records on Announced Charter School Partnership with Hillsdale College

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Tennessee has asked the state of Tennessee to release all records regarding an announced charter school partnership with Hillsdale College.

The organization sent open records requests on Monday, requesting information about Governor Bill Lee’s (R-TN) “developing partnership with Hillsdale College to establish a number of publicly funded charter schools in Tennessee,” a press statement said.

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‘A K-12 Civics Report Card’ Ranks America’s Leading Civics Education Programs

In a new report released Wednesday at the Boston-based Pioneer Institute, one of America’s top education scholars provides reviews and grades for the nation’s leading civics programs.

At a time when the purpose of civics education grows increasingly polarized, and many organizations present rival resources, Dr. David Randall, author of “Learning for Self-Government: A K-12 Civics Report Card,” evaluated 15 leading civics programs and graded them on their effectiveness.

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DeSantis Vetoes Four Bills, Including PIP Repeal and Civic Literacy Education

On Thursday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced he vetoed four bills. The bill most notably being struck was SB 54, a bill related to motor vehicle insurance due to the bill potentially having “unintended consequences,” the DeSantis team said.

The bill was a repeal which would have eliminated no-fault PIP system and would have required more than $25,000 worth of mandatory bodily injury coverage. Florida’s lawmakers supported the legislation, but the insurance lobby argued the repeal could lead to more uninsured drivers.

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Tennessee Labor Department Offering English Literacy, Civics Education Grant for Hamilton County Immigrants – No Proof of Legal Status Required

Tennessee’s Department of Labor and Workforce Development (TDLWD) is offering grants to educate Hamilton County immigrants in English literacy and civics. However, TDLWD confirmed with The Tennessee Star that it won’t be requiring proof of legal status for participation. TDLWD hasn’t required proof for nearly two years. The department explained that its Adult Education Division made the change to align with federal regulations concerning the program. The only requirements for immigrants who participate in the program are that they are over 16 years old, not enrolled in secondary school, and classified as an English language learner.

Hamilton County drew significant attention over the last few months after it was discovered that the Biden Administration was driving and flying unaccompanied migrant children into Chattanooga. Several weeks ago, followup reports emerged that these children were potentially enduring abuse at their holding facilities. Around the same time, one teenage boy went missing from the Chattanooga facility.

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Conservatives Criticize Washington Post for Misleading Headline on DeSantis

Many conservatives noted that The Washington Post issued a misleading headline on Thursday that mischaracterizes the contents of a bill signed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

The legislation, HB 233, “requires state colleges and universities to conduct annual assessments of the viewpoint diversity and intellectual freedom at their institutions to ensure that Florida’s postsecondary students will be shown diverse ideas and opinions, including those that they may disagree with or find uncomfortable.” DeSantis signed the legislation on Wednesday in addition to two other bills aimed at boosting civics education requirements throughout the state at all levels.

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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Signs Bills to Enhance Civics Education

Classroom full of kids, that are being read a book

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed multiple bills on Tuesday aimed at increasing the level of civics education throughout the state’s schools.

“The sad reality is that only two in five Americans can correctly name the three branches of government, and more than a third of Americans cannot name any of the rights guaranteed by the First Amendment. It is abundantly clear that we need to do a much better job of educating our students in civics to prepare them for the rest of their lives,” DeSantis said when explaining the need for the legislation. 

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DeSantis Doubles Down on Banning Critical Race Theory

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis continued his push to ban Critical Race Theory (CRT) from Florida’s classrooms while speaking at the State Board of Education Meeting. He maintained the ideology, which is designed to distinguish people based on skin color and considers the United States’ systems of justice and governance as inherently racist, will not be featured as part of instruction, and will instead focus on “the best possible civics instruction standards.”

During the meeting, the State Board officially banned CRT from classrooms in an effort to prevent “state-sanctioned racism,” DeSantis said on Twitter.

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Florida Department of Education Launching Listening Tour

The Florida Department of Education is launching a listening tour for two weeks hoping to get feedback regarding revisions to education standards for civics and English-language arts (ELA). The three tour stops will take place at:
Thursday, June 3 – Osceola County
Tohopekaliga High School
3675 Boggy Creek Road
Kissimmee, FL 34744
Wednesday, June 9 – Baker County
Macclenny Elementary School
1 Wildkitten Drive
Macclenny, FL 32062
A part of the new standards is a provision explicitly stating teachers and classroom instructors will not be permitted to “share their personal views or attempt to indoctrinate or persuade students to a particular point of view” that is inconsistent with state standards.

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Constitution Camp Launching This Summer for Tennessee Middle Schoolers

This summer, Tennessee’s middle schoolers can look forward to a free Constitution camp – a day of education, games, and prizes on July 7. Students will be treated to a free lunch and a t-shirt as well.

The camp will focus on presentations discussing the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, Bill of Rights, Founding Fathers, and slavery, followed by games reinforcing what the students learned. The camp is based on a curriculum that was directed and started by Sandi Wells.

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