| In recent years, Florida's State Board of Education hasn't shied away from asserting a more dominant role in enforcing statutes that apply to public schools. It has required districts to replace principals at low-performing campuses, for example, and levied financial penalties against school boards that skirted masking rules. This month, the State Board took its position even further, warning officials in one county to follow laws that have yet to take effect.
— Jeffrey S. Solochek, jsolochek@tampabay.com |
| Follow the law, whether you agree or not, State Board member tells school district leader |
| It's not unusual for Floridians to reach out to state officials when they've felt wronged, or had concerns about the actions of their local school district leaders. More often than not, the state officials have responded that it wasn't their role to run the schools, and they'd forward the complaints to the districts for further review. Lately, though, the lines have become more blurred. It's a result of the courts ruling that school districts must presume laws implemented by the Legislature are constitutional, agreeing with the DeSantis Administration's stance that districts are subservient to the state. That's led to a recent encounter that left some observers wondering just how far the state might go to intervene. What made this item stand out is that the issue centered on a workshop conversation of the Lee County School Board, which took no action as it explored the in's and out's of three new laws that are to take effect in July. Someone called the Department of Education to report that the board discussed "ways to circumvent the upcoming requirements." It prompted a letter to the district from acting commissioner Jacob Oliva, who reminded the superintendent that "state law supersedes School Board policies, and school districts must adhere to all Florida Statutes and Rules."
State Board member Ben Gibson, a lawyer who has advised the DeSantis Administration, reiterated the point when the Lee superintendent came before the board in May to discuss teacher pay. Gibson said the district faced "pretty serious allegations" regarding its discussions on the "pretty popular laws" relating to instruction about gender and race, parent rights and instructional materials adoption. "If you don't like the law, quite honestly, these are good debates to have but, at the end of the day, it's important to implement the law and follow the law," Gibson said, calling the State Board the chief implementation body for ensuring that districts do so. |
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