Florida Board of Education

The Florida Board of Education, also known as the State Board of Education (SBE), is a committee composed of members appointed by the Florida governor to guide and direct the public K-12, community college and state college education in the U.S. state of Florida.

History

From Reconstruction through 2002, the commissioner of education had been a Cabinet-level position, elected by the people and directly responsible for public education in Florida. The 1998 Constitutional Revision Commission proposed a rewrite of Article IV, Section IV of the Florida Constitution that reduced the Florida Cabinet from six elected officials to three. The voters approved the changes and it became effective January 7, 2003. The Florida commissioner of education became an appointed position and the Florida Department of Education became the overall responsibility of the governor. The revised constitution also created a new Florida Board of Education with seven members (one of whom is the commissioner of education), appointed by the governor. The Florida commissioner of education manages the day-to-day operations of the FLDOE. The current commissioner is Richard Corcoran, appointed in 2018.

Meetings

The Florida Board of Education meets at least bi-monthly in Tallahassee; more often if issues require it. Public hearings are also held periodically at locations throughout the state.

Controversial regulations

In 2021 the Florida Board of Education prohibited teaching about critical race theory or the 1619 Project in public schools.[1]

In April 2023, the Board of Education extended the Florida Parental Rights in Education Act, often called the "Don't Say Gay" Act, from covering kindergarten to third grade students into covering the entire range of kindergarten to twelfth grade. The regulation forbids teachers from discussing topics of sexual orientation and gender identity, except as part of reproductive health courses. The Board clarified that they did not believe that even their exception on health classes would come up frequently, as Chancellor Paul Burns said that "abstinence is the required expectation of what we teach in our schools".[2]

In July 2023, the Board of Education approved a Social Studies curriculum with lessons on how "slaves developed skills" that could be used for "personal benefit."[3] Vice President Kamala Harris traveled to Jacksonville where she denounced the curriculum as whitewashing slavery and urged Floridians to "fight back" against "extremists in Florida who want to erase our full history and censor our truths." Two members of the work group who established the curriculum standards countered by saying the curriculum provides "comprehensive and rigorous instruction on African American History."

Members
Name Position Occupation First Confirmed Current Term Begins Current Term Ends
Ben Gibson Chair Partner, Shutts & Bowne, Tallahassee[4] March 8, 2018 07/14/2017 12/31/2024[5]
Ryan Petty Vice Chair Communications executive, school safety activist March 13, 2020[6] 01/21/2020 12/31/2022[7]
Monesia Brown Member Director of Public Affairs and Government Relations, Walmart April 29, 2021 01/12/2021 12/31/2024[8]
Esther Byrd[9] Member Legal Assistant, Cord Byrd Unconfirmed 03/11/2022 TBA[10]
Grazie Pozo Christie Member Radiologist Unconfirmed 03/11/2022 TBA[11]
Joe York Member executive, AT&T March 8, 2018[12] 01/12/2018 12/31/2021[13]
Manny Díaz Jr. Commissioner Politician N/A June 2022

Former members
Name Occupation First Confirmed Term Ended
Thomas R. Grady Insurance executive, former state Rep.[14] March 8, 2016 12/31/2022[15]
Marva Johnson Regional Vice-President of State Government Affairs, Charter Communications[16] April 29, 2014 12/31/2021[17]
Andy Tuck Citrus farmer, Highlands County[18] April 3, 2014 12/31/2021[19]
Gary Chartrand business executive 2011 12/31/2014
Roberto Martinez 12/31/2012
Sally Bradshaw political consultant 2011 October 2013 (resigned)[20]
John A. Colon 12/31/2014
Barbara S. Feingold 12/31/2014
John R. Padget 12/31/2012
Kathleen Shanahan 12/31/2013
Akshay K. Desai 12/31/2013 (resigned early)
T. Willard Fair 2010
Roberto Martinez 2008
Phoebe Raulerson 2008
Kathleen Shanahan 2009
Linda Taylor 2009

See also

References
  1. Schwartz, Sarah (2021-06-11). "Map: Where Critical Race Theory Is Under Attack". Education Week. Retrieved 2021-07-13.
  2. Natanson, Hannah (April 19, 2023). "Florida bans teaching about gender identity in all public schools". The Washington Post.
  3. Breen, Kerry (2023-07-23). "Map: Where Critical Race Theory Is Under Attack". CBS NEWS. Retrieved 2023-07-24.
  4. "Personnel note: Rick Scott appoints Ben Gibson to State Board of Education". Florida Politics. July 14, 2017.
  5. "Executive appointments". Florida Senate. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  6. Swisher, Skyler. "Florida Senate confirms Parkland parent Ryan Petty's nomination to state Board of Education, despite concerns about his social media posts". South Florida Sun Sentinel. No. March 13, 2020.
  7. "Executive appointments". Florida Senate. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  8. "Executive appointments". Florida Senate. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  9. Gancarski, A. G. (March 12, 2022). "Esther Byrd, QAnon-adjacent defender of Jan. 6 insurrection, appointed to Florida Board of Education". Florida Politics.
  10. "Governor Ron DeSantis Appoints Two to the State Board of Education". Ron DeSantis. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  11. "Governor Ron DeSantis Appoints Two to the State Board of Education". Ron DeSantis. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  12. Wright, Colleen. "One new member, two reappointed to State Board of Education". Tampa Bay Times. No. Jan. 16, 2018.
  13. "Executive appointments". Florida Senate. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  14. Solochek, Jeffrey S. (October 30, 2015). "Former state lawmaker Tom Grady appointed to Florida Board of Education". Tampa Bay Times.
  15. "Executive appointments". Florida Senate. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  16. "Marva Johnson". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
  17. "Executive appointments". Florida Senate. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  18. "Andy Tuck". Department of Management Services. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
  19. "Executive appointments". Florida Senate. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  20. Wallace, Jeremy (October 14, 2013). "Common Core advocate resigns suddenly from Board of Education". Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
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