Summary
In January 2019, Governor Ron DeSantis issued Executive Order 19-32 directing the Commissioner of Education to comprehensively review Florida’s kindergarten through grade twelve academic standards to eliminate Common Core and return Florida to the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic. Through this review, the Florida Department Education articulated how Florida will eliminate Common Core (Florida Standards) and ensure Florida is prioritizing the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic while providing a roadmap to make Florida’s standards number one in the nation. Throughout the review process, the Florida Department of Education included parents, teachers and stakeholders. Florida teacher experts participated in 154 virtual and 11 face-to-face meetings.
National content experts and more than 80 Florida-based education stakeholder groups provided input. Nine Florida Standards Listening Tour stops were held around the state in October 2019 to collect public comments, with seven of the stops noticed as rule development workshops. Over 100,000 reviews were made online by the public on drafts of new standards. The review increased the quality of instructional curriculum; suggested innovative ways to streamline testing; identified opportunities to equip high school graduates with sufficient knowledge of America’s civics, and outlined a pathway for Florida to be the most literate state in the nation.
The proposed rule amendment will completely eliminate Common Core from Florida Standards through the adoption of new English language arts and mathematics Next Generation Sunshine State Standards, called Benchmarks for Excellent Student Thinking (B.E.S.T.), pursuant to Section 1003.41, F.S.