Any discussion on educational standards in Florida demands input from all communities

In January, the new governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, announced during a visit to Ida S. Baker High School in Cape Coral, Florida, that he had signed an executive order to eliminate Common Core.

Common Core was created by the National Governor’s Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers in 2010. The purpose of the initiative was to establish grade level standards for math and English learning across the entire United States and its territories. Common Core was adopted by more than 40 states, including the District Columbia. Florida was also among the states that adopted the initiative.

Civil rights groups, including UnidosUS, have long contended that providing a clear set of shared academic goals and expectations ensures all students have the foundation they need to be college- and career-ready. As a result, UnidosUS believes the governor’s action to dismantle the state’s Common Core standards and replace it with a new standard requires an authentic stakeholder engagement process that acts in the best interest of students.

“Revising academic standards requires a data-driven, evidence-based, transparent process that actively involves all education stakeholders from students to parents and teachers to administrators,” says Amalia Chamarro, UnidosUS’ associate director of education policy.

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