There is another article today about the proposed radical changes to the state’s textbook selection process.
School bill removes citizens from textbook reviews
Average citizens may lose what limited role they have now in the state’s adoption of public school textbooks — a proposal from the GOP-controlled Legislature that has infuriated conservative activists already accusing the state of selecting biased instructional materials.
The law change appears in the middle of a 77-page bill which contains myriad proposals affecting Florida’s public schools, from increasing virtual education to loosening the rules for class-size compliance. Scott received the bill from lawmakers on Tuesday and has until June 1 to act on it.
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That overhaul has outraged some activists in the Tea Party and related groups, which last year helped propel more Republicans into the GOP-controlled Legislature, and Scott into the governor’s mansion.
“‘We the People’ should have a say on what textbooks OUR CHILDREN read,” Tea Party activist Shari Krass wrote recently in a letter to Scott.
Krass and activists like her believe some texts used by Florida schools are slanted to favor Islam over Judaism and Christianity.
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The ACLU of Florida, which has battled conservative activists in the past over the teaching of evolution, was less concerned about the change in textbook adoption.
“So long as the people choosing the texts can honor the principles of academic merit over a political cause, it should not matter if they are experts, parents or members of the community at large,” ACLU spokesman Derek Newton said.
