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Today’s entry: Even if the state board adopts the rule change banning CRT, how do we know it still won’t be taught at the local level. If the books are already in our schools and teachers want to teach it, what’s going to stop them?
Bottom Line: At the moment, of course, there’s nothing that could stop it. After that moment, however, there's a lot that could. Today’s note is in reference to the Florida Department of Education’s meeting tomorrow which will consider a proposed rule change by the DeSantis administration which would ban the teaching of critical race theory in Florida’s schools.
Step one is having the rule adopted. While it’s believed the state’s board of education will go along with the proposed rule change it’s not a given. There has been a strong lobbying effort against the adoption led by the Florida Education Association. Florida’s largest teacher’s union. That not so little factoid plays directly into your concerns. If the state’s largest teacher's union is expanding resources to fight for the ability to teach CRT in Florida’s schools, clearly there’s a desire within the education establishment to teach it.
Should the Florida Board of Education adopt the rule change and a teacher press forward with advancing CRT in the classroom anyway, the consequences can be severe. They may engage in what’s officially called “Education Misconduct”. Now, if the Florida Board of Education prohibits the teaching of critical race theory in Florida’s schools and should teachers attempt it anyway, parents have the ability to report concerns or violations. Should a violation be found by the state, "the Education Practices Commission, a quasi-judicial body, determines what penalty to issue against an educator's certificate. Penalties that can be issued against an educator's certificate can range from a letter of reprimand, fines, probation, suspension or revocation. This is yet another reason why it’s important for parents and concerned citizens to be engaged with what’s happening in the classroom regardless of what happens with the state board’s CRT decision on Thursday.
What happens when the day comes that DeSantis isn’t around to fight these battles anymore? We need to do our part and teachers who go rogue can be held accountable if we do our part. The goal is for that not to be necessary but for us to ready.
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