Florida Board of Education

The Florida Board of Education, also known as the State Board of Education (SBE), is a committee composed of members appointed by the Florida governor to guide and direct the public K-12, community college and state college education in the U.S. state of Florida.

History

From Reconstruction through 2002, the commissioner of education had been a Cabinet-level position, elected by the people and directly responsible for public education in Florida. The 1998 Constitutional Revision Commission proposed a rewrite of Article IV, Section IV of the Florida Constitution that reduced the Florida Cabinet from six elected officials to three. The voters approved the changes and it became effective January 7, 2003. The Florida commissioner of education became an appointed position and the Florida Department of Education became the overall responsibility of the governor. The revised constitution also created a new Florida Board of Education with seven members (one of whom is the commissioner of education), appointed by the governor. The Florida commissioner of education manages the day-to-day operations of the FLDOE. The current commissioner is Richard Corcoran, appointed in 2018.

Meetings

The Florida Board of Education meets at least bi-monthly in Tallahassee; more often if issues require it. Public hearings are also held periodically at locations throughout the state.

Controversial regulations

In 2021 the Florida Board of Education prohibited teaching about critical race theory or the 1619 Project in public schools.

In April 2023, the Board of Education extended the Florida Parental Rights in Education Act, often called the "Don't Say Gay" Act, from covering kindergarten to third grade students into covering the entire range of kindergarten to twelfth grade. The regulation forbids teachers from discussing topics of sexual orientation and gender identity, except as part of reproductive health courses. The Board clarified that they did not believe that even their exception on health classes would come up frequently, as Chancellor Paul Burns said that "abstinence is the required expectation of what we teach in our schools".

In July 2023, the Board of Education approved a Social Studies curriculum with lessons on how "slaves developed skills" that could be used for "personal benefit." Vice President Kamala Harris traveled to Jacksonville where she denounced the curriculum as whitewashing slavery and urged Floridians to "fight back" against "extremists in Florida who want to erase our full history and censor our truths." Two members of the work group who established the curriculum standards countered by saying the curriculum provides "comprehensive and rigorous instruction on African American History."

Members

Former members

See also

• Florida Department of Education

• State University System

• Florida College System

References

External links

• Florida Department of Education website

1. Florida Board of Governors
2. Florida Department of Education
3. State University System of Florida
4. Brown v. Board of Education
5. Florida Parental Rights in Education Act
6. Florida Board of Regents
7. State Board of Education
8. Education in Florida
9. Florida Board of Control
10. Florida College System
11. Florida Prepaid Postsecondary Education Expense Board v. College Savings Bank
12. Governing boards of colleges and universities in the United States
13. Anti-LGBT curriculum laws in the United States
14. Broward County Public Schools
15. Diversity, equity, and inclusion
16. List of colleges and universities in Florida
17. Everson v. Board of Education
18. New College of Florida
19. Erika Donalds
20. Florida Cabinet