“Florida’s public schools are not just another competitor in the education marketplace. They are THE CONSTITUTIONAL FOUNDATION OF FLORIDA’S EDUCATION SYSTEM, A PUBLIC TRUST AND THE ONLY EDUCATION SYSTEM THE CONSTITUTION REQUIRES THE STATE TO PROVIDE. Florida may choose to fund educational alternatives, but it cannot neglect its constitutional obligation to public schools.”
Crystal Etienne, President of EDUVOTER Action Network from an editorial in the Tallahassee Democrat
OUR CHILDREN ARE OUR FUTURE
Our children are our greatest legacy. Education is one of the most important things we can provide them—and protecting that education system is something that affects every one of us.
We must act to protect public schools.
We are partnering with other organizations, including EDUVOTER, to address the growing challenges facing our public schools.
THIS ISSUE IS CRITICAL!
WE NEED YOUR HELP! It is time to roll up our sleeves and develop a meaningful ACTION PLAN to undo the damage that has already been done to our public school and prevent further harm, degradation, and possible collapse of our educational system..
ISSUES AND CONCERNS:
- Vouchers: How are they being used—and potentially abused? What can we do about it? AUDIT OF DOE and Funding Accountabiltiy Challenges
- Florida Department of Education: How do we effectively put pressure on the DOE to address these concerns?
- Teacher Pay: Florida teachers remain among the lowest-paid in the nation. How do we change that?
- Performance Standards: Most parents agree that high stakes testing does not work. Teachers are forced to ‘teach the test’. Kids are stressed out by all the testing. How do we set performance metrics for schools and students that are transparent and fair without unduly burdening our already overburdened teachers?
- Limits on “Parental Choice”: Vaccine opt-outs are rising because Florida has some of the broadest opt-out options in the country. As a result, about 88% of Florida kindergarteners are fully vaccinated, well below the 95% threshold typically needed for herd immunity. In some counties, vaccination rates have dropped below 80%, raising concerns about potential outbreaks and making schools less safe for everyone. What are the limits of allowing parents to dictate individualized policies that affect the entire population of the school their child attends. Are some parents preferences more important than others?
- Curriculum: Book bans are the highly visible face of the curriculum wars but there are many other battles raging as well. Many Florida schools are using PragerU curriculum to teach an alternative history in which white people are centered and slavery is defended. Whose agenda is defining curriculum choices for our classrooms?
- AI in the Classroom: AI is already in our classrooms. You have likely not heard much about it but it is “teaching” your first-grader to read. Replacing human teachers with machines is another ploy to cut funding to public schools. We need to ensure that all parents know how AI is being used now and what the plans are for future use.
- Teacher recruitment: How do we attract and retain qualified teachers in our public schools? And how do the qualifications and certifications required of public-school teachers compare with those required by private schools participating in the voucher program?
- Elections & legislation: We need to understand how elections, legislation, and policy decisions directly affect our public schools.
- Accountability for private schools: Private schools receiving taxpayer dollars should be accountable for the money they receive and for the education they claim to provide. Where there is documented abuse or fraud, we need to expose it and demand accountability.
SAVE OUR SCHOOLS NEWS
Vouchers Promise Students With Disabilities a Path to Private School. Parents Say That’s Not the Reality.
When children are approved for education savings accounts, a voucher-style program like the one Florida uses, states often put public money into accounts parents can use to pay expenses like tuition. If families can’t find a private school and don’t use the money, it may roll over to another year or, depending on the state,…
Florida Cabinet Approves Process To Designate CAIR And Others As Domestic Terrorist Groups
In a procedure that took less than two minutes, Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Cabinet voted Friday to approve a rule governing the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s designation of Florida groups as domestic or foreign terrorist organizations. The approval paves the way for the state to thus designate the Council on American Islamic…
SNAP Cuts Could Lead To Kids Losing Free School Breakfast And Lunch
Cuts to the nation’s largest food assistance program will likely spill over into schools, causing students to lose access to free breakfast and lunch. More than 1 million American children have lost access to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, following a recent federal law. Now, as schools gear up for a new term,…
Continue Reading SNAP Cuts Could Lead To Kids Losing Free School Breakfast And Lunch
DeSantis Administration Moving To Regulate AI From Pre-K To Ph.D.
Editor’s Note: I sent Mitch Perry, a reporter at the Florida Phoenix and WMNF News, an email last week asking if he and his team could ferret out information about AI opt-our in our public schools. I had read an article that indicated that the Florida Department of Education was considering implementing the opt-out after…
Continue Reading DeSantis Administration Moving To Regulate AI From Pre-K To Ph.D.
Why I Refuse to Use “AI”
The arguments around the use of “AI” are exhausting. I’m tired of re-typing my reasons, so this document is a summary of some of the many reasons why I refuse to use AI. These reasons are not particularly original. They have been stated many times by others. These are not all the reasons not to…
Why Democrats Must Embrace a “Mom Populist” Education Agenda
Pease Elementary in downtown Austin, Texas, has sat empty since 2020. Formerly the oldest continuously operating school in Texas, Pease was shuttered by the Austin Independent School District to save money. On a steamy day this summer, the hulking structure provided an appropriate backdrop for the political campaign of Gina Hinojosa, the Democratic state representative…
Continue Reading Why Democrats Must Embrace a “Mom Populist” Education Agenda
Did School Vaccines Just Become A Campaign Issue?
Mandated vaccines for school attendance—and a parent’s ability to reject those vaccines— may have been injected into the race for Florida governor. With five months left before he’s term limited out of office, the administration of Gov. Ron DeSantis Monday released a proposed regulation that would eliminate a number of vaccines required for public and…
Continue Reading Did School Vaccines Just Become A Campaign Issue?
Leaked Plans Show School Buses Could Become Roaming Surveillance Vehicles
School buses may soon become roaming surveillance vehicles, 404media reported on Tuesday after reviewing leaked documents detailing plans to equip buses with automatic license plate readers (ALPR). The data would then be turned over to law enforcement, adding to the worrying and unconstitutional trend of warrantless mass government surveillance of law-abiding citizens across the country.…
Continue Reading Leaked Plans Show School Buses Could Become Roaming Surveillance Vehicles
Barns, Go-Karts and Strip Malls: The Wild West of Private Schools That Collect Taxpayer Dollars
Editor’s Note: ProPublica depends on the public to come forward with their stories, which help inform their deep-dive reporting. Have you had trouble finding a school or using a voucher-style program? Do you have concerns about schools — public or private — in your area? Help them understand how families across the country are navigating…
Young People Hate AI CEOs So Passionately That It’s Almost Hard to Believe
A decade ago, young adults were flocking to vaunted tech giants like Google and Apple in pursuit of exciting jobs on the cutting edge of tech. In 2026, however, the status quo of young people who are uncritically enamored with the tech industry and its billionaire overlords has gone completely out the window. A new…
Continue Reading Young People Hate AI CEOs So Passionately That It’s Almost Hard to Believe
Cops Love ICE’s New Shock Gloves. Parents Want Them Out of Schools.
In early August, ICE revealed plans to purchase $20 million worth of electric-shock gloves, manufactured by a company called Compliant Technologies. The gloves work on direct contact with exposed skin and deliver a painful electric charge. Police departments, jails, and even school resource officers across the country have used the gloves for years—though human rights…
Continue Reading Cops Love ICE’s New Shock Gloves. Parents Want Them Out of Schools.
15 States Have Laws That Allow Corporal Punishment In Schools. Here’s Where, And Why
One day, about eight years ago, when Tessa Davis’ son was in kindergarten, she got a call from his school outside Little Rock, Ark. She said the school told her he had grabbed a girl’s jacket in the cafeteria and twisted it – they thought he was trying to choke her. Given his past misbehavior,…