Just a few years ago, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush was one of the leading proponents of the Common Core and Florida was an early adopter of the standards. What a difference a few years and a lot of hard work from concerned moms makes.
In Jeb’s home state, his former constituents are demonstrating their opposition to the Common Core across the political spectrum. State Representative Debbie Mayfield (R-Vero Beach) has introduced a bill which would return the state education commissioner position to an elected one, presenting an opportunity for Florida voters to reject the Common Core. Since former Governor Bush changed the position to an appointed one, there has been a bipartisan desire to reverse that change:
In 2012, Sen. Joe Negron, a Stuart Republican, sought to change the education commissioner back to an elected position, but he ended that bid two days before the beginning of session that year. Democratic Sen. Dwight Bullard, a schoolteacher from Cutler Bay, also made a failed attempt to switch the position in response to his frustration about standardized testing. The measures in Mayfield’s bill have long been supported by the teacher union Florida Education Association, which also wants an end to Common Core.
The GOP in Florida is now leading the charge to give Florida voters an accountable voice in the education of their children and clearly gaining support from all sides, as strategist Matt Justice pointed out to The Tampa Tribune: “Everybody across the board is all kind of united against Common Core.” For Floridians anxious to exercise their right to vote their distaste for the Common Core, the passage of Rep. Mayfield’s bill would be a strong step in the right direction.
Kevin Dawson is Deputy Operations Manager for the American Principles Project.
