Florida education commissioner debunks claim schools need ‘permission slip’ for Black history
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. fired back at outrage from a report that a Miami-Dade County school was sending out permission slips for students to be taught about African American and Black history.
Guest speaker events and extracurriculars in Florida’s public schools require permission slips, regardless of the topic, under state rules passed last year.
A parent, Chuck Walter, said he had to give his permission for his child to participate in what the slip described as students listening “to a book written by an African American.” The event was titled “Read Aloud.”
The form was entitled to address “school-sponsored activities, events, and supplemental programs.”
“Required for participation in any and all school-sponsored activities, events, or supplemental programs,” it said.
The state’s rules requiring permission from parents applies to “school-sponsored events or activities,” which applies to “any event or activity” outside of core instructional time, such as supplemental programs and events.
The slip included basic descriptions of the African American history education event as required under state rules for all events of the same kind.
NBC News reported that the slip was given to Walter by Coral Way K-8 Center.
Diaz said the notion public schools must ask parental consent to teach African American history is a “hoax.” Teaching Black history is required under Florida law for all public schools.
“Florida does not require a permission slip to teach African American history or to celebrate Black History Month,” Diaz said. “Any school that does this is completely in the wrong.”
Florida law states that all public schools must teach “the history of African Americans,” ranging from slavery in the colonies, abolition, prejudice, racism, discrimination and segregation, along with covering “vital contributions of African Americans to build and strengthen American society and celebrate the inspirational stories of African Americans who prospered.”
The state also has an African American History Task Force, headed by Diaz.
“The Commissioner of Education’s African American History Task Force is an advocate for Florida’s school districts, teacher education training centers, and the community at large, in implementing the teaching of the history of African peoples and the contributions of African Americans to society,” the task force’s description says.
NBC Miami reported that the school is using the permission slip to comply with a recently passed parental rights in education law and Gov. Ron DeSantis’ signature “Stop WOKE Act,” both of which crack down on age-inappropriate, ideologically-charged teaching for students.
