NewsState

Actions

Gov. DeSantis​ announces executive order to eliminate Common Core in Florida

Posted at 10:36 AM, Jan 31, 2019
and last updated 2019-01-31 18:19:23-05

CAPE CORAL, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Thursday he is issuing an executive order to eliminate Common Core from Florida schools.

WATCH NEWS CONFERENCE:

"One of things we would constantly hear about on the campaign trail is frustration from parents with Common Core and the testing," said Gov. DeSantis at a news conference at Ida S. Baker High School in Cape Coral.

The Governor said he wants to work with the Florida Department of Education, as well as speak with teachers and parents about their experiences with Common Core.

"Let's get this right," said Gov. DeSantis "We want high quality, we want to demand excellence."

The Governor said he wants to streamline standardized testing, make civics a priority in schools, and increase the rate of literacy.

Common Core is a set of academic standards in mathematics and arts/literacy that outline what students should know at the end of each grade. Some parents argued the guidelines were too rigid and required too much testing for students.

"When you complained about Common Core, I hear you. I told you I would do something about, and today we're acting to bring those promises into reality," said Gov. DeSantis.

The Governor said the effort to eliminate Common Core is going to be a year-long process, and they will bring new standards to the legislative session next year.

"This is going to be a process that will take the balance of this year and then we will go to the Legislature next session and want to get that done," said Gov DeSantis. "We don’t want to dilly dally, but at the same time we want to get it right."

On Wednesday, the Governor held a news conference at Tampa Bay Technical High School, where he announced a plan to improve Florida's workforce education program.

Since he was sworn in on Jan. 8, Gov. DeSantis has made the following announcements: