State lawmakers receive high marks on Florida Education Report Card
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (FLV) – State lawmakers received high marks on Foundation for Florida’s Future 2023 Florida Education Report Card following the legislative session.
The foundation graded lawmakers based on their support of student-centered education policies.
Out of 159 lawmakers, 133 received an A or a B.
House Speaker Paul Renner, R-Palm Coast, and Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, R-Naples, received an A+.
House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell, D-Tampa, and Senate Minority Leader Lauren Book, D-Davie, both received a C.
Three Democrats made the House Honor Roll: Rep. Kimberly Daniels, D-Jacksonville, Rep. Lisa Dunkley, D-Lauderhill, and Rep. Susan Valdes, D-Tampa. No Democrat Senators made the honor roll list.
The Honor Roll recognizes legislative champions who “took bold or exceptional action to pass student-centered legislation aimed at improving the lives and educational results for Florida students and their families.”
Grades are based on legislators’ voting records and demonstrations of leadership. House and Senate voting records are calculated on a ratio of favorable votes cast for student-centered policies out of the total opportunities to vote on those policies.
Many lawmakers shared their scores on social media.
“I’m proud to have earned an A+ and Honor Roll on this year’s Florida Education Report Card!” Rep. Dean Black, R-Yulee, said.
I’m proud to have earned an A+ and Honor Roll on this year’s Florida Education Report Card!
— Dean Black (@DeanBlackFL) May 22, 2023
Check it out: https://t.co/iPaE5SEoOr pic.twitter.com/ggRa74IWzM
“Florida’s 2023 legislative session brought notable changes for our state’s families, educators and children, building on more than two decades of student-centered policies that makes the Sunshine State the best place in the nation to learn and live,” Executive Director of the Foundation for Florida’s Future Patricia Levesque said.
The governor signed “historic” school choice legislation that will expand school choice vouchers to all students in the state, among other school related measures.
He signed another bill to prohibit a school from requiring students and teachers to use preferred pronouns. It also adds guidelines for books that citizens wish to challenge in schools.
“There’s a lot of nonsense that gets floated around and what we’ve said in Florida is, we are going to remain a refuge of sanity, and a citadel of normalcy, and kids should have an upbringing that reflects that,” DeSantis previously said.
The legislation extends the existing K-3 ban on instruction relating to sexual orientation and gender identity to also include PreK-8. Charter schools must comply with this requirement.
DeSantis also signed multiple higher education reform bills, including one to eliminate funding for diversity, equity, and inclusion, and critical race theory programs in higher education.
According to U.S. News & World Report, Florida is ranked number one in both education and higher education in 2023.
To see more grades, click here.
