The Day DeSantis Said Corcoran Doesn’t Get To Dictate Local Decisions…

On July 15, 2020, the State Board of Education (FLBOE) held their first in-person meeting since February, meeting at Strawberry Crest High School, a public high school in Hillsborough County. Governor Ron DeSantis made a rare appearance, opening the meeting, where he discussed his recent legislative “successes” – funding his teacher pay initiative and expanding private school vouchers – and, then, spoke about the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the start of the upcoming school year. You can watch his remarks here. He recognized that some parents might be nervous about the return to the classroom and focused on providing options and empowering parents:

“We’re in the midst of a coronavirus pandemic but we’re also in a situation where we need to provide as many options to parents as possible in terms of the education of their kids. And I’ve said from the very beginning, you know, how this thing evolves and how we move towards having school back in session, any parent, you know, has the option to opt for whatever they think is best for their kids in terms of academics, safety, what have you, so that means you want to continue with virtual learning even though your school district may have kids back in school – as a parent, we need to empower them to make those decisions.”

DeSantis went on to discuss how people under 18 are low risk, how Florida never closed it’s daycares and how in-person education is important for a developing child’s well being. He admitted that, despite Florida being celebrated as a leader in virtual education, “bottom line is our kids fell behind just like everybody else” (Really? If everyone is behind, then who exactly have they fallen behind?). He admitted that, back in early June a “strong majority” of parents would have supported a face to face return to school but, since, such support has become “more split.” He said, “I think you’d be foolish not to listen to the parents and make sure they have all the options that they need.”

The question is: should districts be required to offer face to face options, during a global pandemic, even if that might be unsafe for staff and students?

On July 6th, Commissioner of Education, Richard Corcoran, released Emergency Order 2020-E0-06, which granted districts much needed financial flexibilities and assured stable funding for the first half of the school year, if districts, under the advice of health officials, agreed to “open brick and mortar schools at least five days per week for all students” (among other things). To be clear, the EO did say the reopening of “all schools” was subject to the “advice and orders of the Florida Department of Health, local departments of health, Executive Order 20-149 and subsequent executive orders.” You can (and should) read the entire EO here.

The “all schools open” portion of the order has caused chaos and confusion for districts in the midst of creating their re-opening plans, primarily because of the perceived threats to funding should districts fail to reopen their brick and mortar schools on Day One. Though children may be at lower risk for Coronavirus, they don’t drive the school bus or teach themselves. Teachers in districts where the pandemic is raging are concerned and the pandemic appears to be raging all across Florida.  According to the recently leaked 7/14/2020 White House Coronavirus Task Force Governor’s Report, many, many districts in Florida now fall into the “red zone” which calls for more stringent protective measures (including limiting social gatherings to 10 people). 

Even Dr. Sally Goza, the President of the American Academy of Pediatrics, weighed in on 2020-EO-06: “The way the numbers are looking in Florida right now are concerning. The level of the virus is really high. And so a statewide mandate to reopen [schools] without consideration of community spread really goes against our recommendations.”

When the EO was discussed later in the FLBOE meeting, Board Member Michael Olenick urged Commissioner Corcoran to rescind the five-day-a-week portion of the mandate, saying “that is what caused the confusion and that is what causes the fear.” He felt the rest of the EO made sense but “What needs to be rescinded is that aspect that all schools must open,” allowing school leaders to make the decisions that make sense in their specific county. 

Corcoran disagreed, saying in-person instruction is best for kids and Florida’s public schools should be required to give parents that choice when the new school year starts. “They absolutely should have that option,” he said, “and it will not come out of the emergency order.” None of the other FLBOE board members came to Olenick’s defense.

Later in the day, back in Tallahassee, DeSantis held a press conference, focused on Coronavirus. He began by discussing his appearance at the FLBOE meeting earlier that morning. Unlike the Commissioner, who has insisted on face-to-face learning, the Governor seemed to suggest it was most important that the option of distance learning be provided to all students…

“This morning I had the opportunity to pay a visit to the State Board of Education meeting, and I know that there’s a lot that we’re dealing with the Coronavirus and rightfully so… I know a lot of parents have a lot of angst about just the situation generally and then, of course,  what’s gonna happen with the school year and I know we have 67 different school boards, school districts, all looking at their particular circumstances. For me, I think one of the core principles is, you know, parents need to have the ability to opt for the type of learning that they think is important. And so if they’re more comfortable in a distance learning environment, then they obviously need to have that choice.  I know there’s a lot of different issues relating to how the schools will operate.  And, obviously, we see the epidemic have a different shape in different counties, different regions of the state. But the parental choice, I think, is really the core component because ultimately it’s the parent that is in the best position to make decisions for their children. And, so, I reiterated that to the Board of Education and, also, instructed Commissioner Richard Corcoran on that accordingly. And I think it’s very, very important.”

After his prepared remarks, the governor entertained questions. A journalist wondered whether people were getting mixed messages, highlighting Board Member Olenick’s concerns regarding the call for schools to reopen “at least five days per week for all students” and the idea that the EO was confusing.

The Governor responded by appearing to throw Commissioner Corcoran under the bus:

“I understand the Commissioner has done some stuff on that and I think that that’s fine but, I mean, at the end of the day, you know, these school superintendents have unique constituencies and it’s going to be a collaborative effort and I don’t think it’s gonna be just the Department of Education… I think they can recommend but I don’t think they can dictate every decision on this.”

He suggested that how parents view the return to school likely varies depending on the status of the pandemic in each area.

“It should NOT be dictated by the Department of Education. I think they can recommend but, ultimately, we want every school district to do what’s best for the kids, for their education, to make sure they have opportunities to do well and also making sure that the parents have the agency so that if you have a school district that’s offering the in-person instruction, which many of parents think is very important, if you have parents that aren’t comfortable with that, that they have the ability to opt for distance learning and so that is what it’s got to be, but I can tell you there is going to be differences in how this operates and, actually, there should be.” 

DeSantis said, given the diversity of Florida and the impacts of the pandemic, that first day of school will most likely look different in Northwest Florida than it does in Miami-Dade:

“But there is a consistent message when it comes to education statewide and that is parents have the right to choose the appropriate environment for their child – if they want to opt for distance-learning then they should absolutely be able to do that and that option should be provided for them.”

And, just like that, Governor DeSantis returns the power to local school boards and superintendents. The Commissioner may “recommend” and (should) provide guidance, but should not dictate every decision. Local school districts, in collaboration with public health officials, must make the decisions necessary to keep their students and staff safe during this raging pandemic.

P.S. Would like to have been a fly on the wall when the Commissioner was told he wasn’t allowed to “dictate”… historically, that has been his MO…

---

While finishing up the final edits on this piece on 7/17/20, while districts around the state were struggling to create options compliant with the “all schools open” requirement in 2020-E0-06, Governor DeSantis, at a press conference in Apopka, was asked to clarify whether Commissioner Corcoran’s EO was a mandate or simply a recommendation. The Governor replied that he thought what the Commissioner was trying to say is that the goal should be to get kids back in the classroom, but “if you actually look at the way it’s structured it’s not exactly mandatory,” noting the involvement of the Department of Health and “all this other stuff.”

When asked whether there would be a penalty for a district that doesn’t open in-person (the EO threatens loss of funding flexibility if districts don’t offer a face-to-face option), the Governor responded “My goal is not to penalize people,” saying he wants to work with districts. He reiterated that distance learning was not that great and school communities provide many important activities for kids, like band, theater and sports. He hopes districts will work towards reopening schools because “it’s the right thing to do” but wanted to avoid getting into a “tit for tat” in the midst of a crisis and did not think penalizing was “the way to go.”

In the meantime, the Department of Education is trying to frame the EO as allowing parents “the option to CHOOSE what is best for their student this fall,” with a fancy graphic:

Rather than offer clarification, this seems to add to the confusion by ensuring that some students have a guaranteed seat if they wish to return to their brick and mortar school… Something tells us this story isn’t over…

Stay tuned.