DeSantis Is Destroying Education In Florida, Now He Wants to Ruin Your State

The last post looked at the scourge of white Christian nationalism, something on which Ron DeSantis has gone full bore as he and his enablers in the Florida legislature have sought to erase gays, honest accounts of race and history and sensitivity to anyone other than white evangelicals/Christofascists from education, both at the public school level and at the university level. In DeSantis's up is down, light is dark world, he claims inclusion of gays and honest history are a "war on truth" when in reality he is the one waging war on truth and seeking to disparage and malign countless Floridians.  Indeed, civil rights groups have rightly issued travel advisories against travel to Florida if one falls within targeted groups (which equates to everyone who isn't white and heterosexual).  Like a majority of today's Republicans, DeSantis wants to return society to the early 1950's, a time when "blacks knew their place" and gays remained invisible to survive.  With the launch of his hopefully ill-fated presidential campaign, DeSantis wants to take the poison he is peddling nationwide.  Everyone who believes in honest history, diversity and decency towards others should be uniting to send DeSantis and his Christian nationalist agenda - as well as those who want to emulate his destruction of a truth based education (e.g., Glenn Youngkin) - to the dust bin of history.  A piece in Politico looks at the hate and evil DeSantis is peddling.  Here are highlights:

The presidential hopeful isn’t the first Republican governor to embrace “parental rights” or limit how race and gender are discussed in schools. But DeSantis has built a long legislative record as an “education governor” amid battles with Democrats and civil rights groups that endeared him to rank-and-file GOP voters. Now he’s planning to pitch that record across the nation in a bid to become the new leader of the Republican Party.

Since becoming governor in 2019, DeSantis earned the nickname among conservatives by codifying a “Parents Bill of Rights,” vastly expanding school choice, allowing for armed teachers, and advocating for new workforce education. He has also rolled back higher education diversity programs, engaged in a high-profile feud with the College Board over its African American studies course and worked with other Republicans to reshape higher education in Florida by installing key allies in statewide posts.

“In Florida, we say we’re the state where woke goes to die,” he later added. “As president, I’m going to make sure woke ideology ends up in the dustbin of history.”

DeSantis’ moves are similar to Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R-Va.), who won election in a battleground state by emphasizing parental rights in education as Covid-driven school closures frustrated families across the political spectrum.

But Florida now has the most sweeping set of restrictions on classroom discussions about race and gender in the nation. It’s also inspired conservatives in dozens of states, including Texas, Tennessee, Alabama and Arkansas, to duplicate these laws.

The Florida Parental Rights in Education Act that took effect last year and was billed as an effort to give parents more control over what their children learn at school after the pandemic increased scrutiny of K-12 education.

Opponents of the measure have dubbed it the “Don’t Say Gay” law because it bars educators from teaching lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity. This legislative session, GOP lawmakers bolstered the law by including restrictions on using a student’s pronouns if they “do not correspond” with their sex assigned at birth. Schools are also now required to pull books that are challenged within five days of someone flagging it.

DeSantis pushed the Individual Freedom Act — referred to as the Stop-WOKE Act — in 2022 which limits the way gender and race are discussed in classrooms and workplaces. Under the Individual Freedom Act, teachers are barred from teaching lessons that would make students “feel guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress” due to their race, color, sex or national origin.

Specifically requested by DeSantis, the law prohibits instruction on issues like “white privilege.” Critics of the legislation argued that the policy attempts to reframe or “whitewash” history.

While the law has been mired with legal challenges, the DeSantis administration has been using its law to reject the College Board’s new AP African American studies course. DeSantis has pushed for the changes in the course after slamming the nonprofit testmaker for including lessons on queer theory and intersectionality.

DeSantis’ latest feat is barring Florida colleges and universities from spending on most diversity, equity and inclusion programs under a slate of higher education reforms.

Florida is purging subjects like critical race theory and “DEI-infused” coursework from its schools, and university leaders are primed to take on a wide-scale review of courses and majors offered to students with lessons that assert “systemic racism, sexism, oppression and privilege.”

The legislation has influenced Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick in Texas who have been shepherding legislation to require public universities to shutter their DEI offices and ban diversity training and hiring statements.

Be very afraid and be sure to vote a straight Democrat ticket in every election.  Boycotting Florida is also a good idea.