Florida has eliminated Common Core from its schools following an executive order from Governor Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.), according to a press release issued by the Florida Department of Education.
“The Department of Education released the proposed Florida B.E.S.T. (Benchmarks for Excellent Student Thinking) Standards for English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics, and announced that Common Core has been officially eradicated from Florida classrooms,” the press release stated, saying that the changes will go into effect from Feb. 12.
DeSantis said that eliminating Common Core would be a “great next step for students, teachers, and parents.”
DeSantis also said that with the new program, B.E.S.T., the department of education has “developed clear and concise expectations for students at every grade level” that “allow teachers the opportunity to do what they love most—inspire young Floridians to achieve their greatest potential.”
He added: “These standards create pathways for students that lead to great college and professional outcomes and parents will now be able to reinforce what their children are learning in the classroom every day. Florida’s B.E.S.T. Standards were made by Florida teachers for Florida students, and I know they will be a model for the rest of the nation.”
Common Core was established in 2009 by state leaders as a set of standards that students would have to meet by the end of the school year focused on the core subjects like literacy and math.
However, there were issues with the standards and Common Core, and U.S. News reported that DeSantis issued an executive order to get rid of the standard because of the disapproval of the program from parents and others.
Richard Corcoran, Commissioner of Education, said: “Governor DeSantis made it very clear that we had to reimagine the pathway to young Floridians becoming great citizens, and we’ve done exactly that with the B.E.S.T. Standards. Florida will be the first state in the nation with an ELA booklist that spans grades K-12, the first state in the nation with a civics booklist embedded in its ELA standards, and a state that has dropped the crazy math. Florida has completely removed ourselves from the confines of Common Core.”
DeSantis stated that he had “heard parents from across the state loud and clear and they all agree that it’s time to finally end Common Core,” according to U.S. News.
In his statement, he further stated that by issuing this executive order to remove Common Core, Florida’s education system “aims to ensure that Florida has the best academic standards in the nation.”
