Tag: florida department of education

On Monday, Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran issued an executive order opening schools in August and having them open at least five days a week. Schools across Florida have been closed due to the coronavirus pandemic since March.

At the end of January, DeSantis announced the Marcus Foundation agreed to send $5 million to the FCDI “to elevate civic knowledge, civic skills and civic disposition for middle and high school students through speech and debate.”

While both DeSantis and Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran said they wanted schools across the state to be fully open in the fall, they did not announce that every school will be open, noting that much of the planning to reopen campuses will be done at the local level.

“Florida’s school districts have worked diligently with the Florida Department of Education (FDOE) to operationalize their distance learning plans by March 30, and FDOE provided that same support to public charter schools and many private schools, ensuring continuation of the best possible educational services throughout Florida,” the FDOE noted.

With the federal government issuing new social distancing guidelines earlier this week, Florida announced that public and private K-12 school campuses will remain closed throughout April.

On Tuesday, Florida Department of Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran used executive authority to ensure schools throughout the state are closed through April 15 due to the coronavirus threat even as standardized tests were called off and online learning continues.

This week, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody held the second 2020 meeting of the Statewide Task Force on Opioid Abuse in Bradenton. Moody is the chairwoman of the task force.

“Once more, Florida’s students have demonstrated their serious commitment to education as they continue to place third in the nation in Advance Placement (AP) test results,” said Gov. Ron DeSantis. “High school graduates who succeed in these AP courses are on the path to personal, academic and professional success and should be congratulated.”

These new standards are a result of the governor’s continued opposition to Common Core. At the start of last year, DeSantis issued an executive order “outlining a path for Florida to improve its education system by eliminating Common Core and paving the way for Florida students to receive a world-class education to prepare them for jobs of the future.”

DeSantis said that more than 5,600 students and their parents have already taken advantage of these Reading Scholarships during the current school year. She also announced that ABCmouse will be launching a pilot program for their Mastering Math app and will soon announce the launch of their Mastering Reading app.

The proposed Florida Benchmarks for Excellent Student Thinking (B.E.S.T.) Standards are expected to be released in the coming days. 

“The First Lady and I appreciate the support we have received over the past year. Every day, I wake up grateful for the opportunity to go to work on behalf of Floridians. While we can reflect and be proud of these accomplishments, there is always more that can be done."