Education

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis eliminates Common Core

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — ON TV: This week, students in Florida will make the switch from Common Core to Florida Best Standards. Action News Jax reporter Brittney Donovan gives you a closer look at the changes students, teachers and parents will see inside the classroom on FOX30 and CBS47. Click here to watch live.

With the direction of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, the Department of Education announced that Common Core has been officially removed from Florida classrooms.

Florida schools will now adopt a newly proposed process called Florida B.E.S.T. (Benchmark of Excellent Student Thinking) Standards for English Language Arts and Mathematics. The State Board of Education recommended that the new standards are formally adopted by February 12.

“Florida has officially eliminated Common Core. I truly think this is a great next step for students, teachers, and parents,” Governor Ron DeSantis said. “We’ve developed clear and concise expectations for students at every grade level and allow teachers the opportunity to do what they love most – inspire young Floridians to achieve their greatest potential. 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.”

“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,” Commissioner of Education Richard Corcoran said. “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.”

Action News Jax reached out to some local school districts to learn how the new teaching method will be incorporated in the classroom and none have responded at this time.

The Florida B.E.S.T. Standards are posted at http://www.fldoe.org/standardsreview.

Jessica May

Jessica May

Jessica May is an assignment editor and digital content producer for Action News Jax.