{"id":3435,"date":"2019-02-17T10:35:32","date_gmt":"2019-02-17T15:35:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=3435"},"modified":"2019-02-17T10:35:32","modified_gmt":"2019-02-17T15:35:32","slug":"new-instructional-materials-bill-includes-controversial-issues-requirement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=3435","title":{"rendered":"New Instructional Materials bill includes “controversial issues” requirement"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>A bill filed Friday in the Florida Legislature, House Bill 855<\/a>, proposes making a slew of changes to instructional materials laws, tackling issues like pornography and sex education. Science is not directly mentioned in the bill, but there are two sections that can definitely impact science materials.<\/p>\n

One proposal is small yet significant. Below is a section of current law that the bill would change. Parts underlined are additions to law the bill proposes, and strike-throughs are deletions.<\/p>\n

462 (2) EVALUATION OF INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS.\u00e2\u20ac\u201d
\n463 To use the selection criteria listed in s. 1006.34(2)(b) and
\n464 recommend for adoption only those instructional materials
\n465 aligned with or exceed<\/span> the Next Generation Sunshine State
\n466 Standards provided for in s. 1003.41. Instructional materials
\n467 recommended by each reviewer shall comply with all quality and<\/span>
\n468 content criteria established in state law, including an<\/span>
\n469 assurance that such materials are researched-based and proven to<\/span>
\n470 be effective in supporting student learning; are<\/span> be, to the<\/del>
\n471 satisfaction of each reviewer,<\/del> accurate and factual; provide<\/span>,<\/del>
\n472 objective, balanced, and<\/span> noninflammatory viewpoints on<\/span>
\n473 controversial issues; are<\/span>, current,<\/del> free of pornography and
\n474 material prohibited under s. 847.012; are of acceptable quality;<\/span>
\n475 are in full compliance with s. 847.012, s. 1003.42, and all<\/span>
\n476 other state laws relating to instructional materials;<\/span>,<\/del> and are<\/span>
\n477 suited to student needs and their ability to comprehend the
\n478 material presented.<\/p>\n

My first concern is in line 465: the addition of “or exceed.” I believe this is meant to dovetail with another bill we’re watching in the senate (Senate Bill 330<\/a>) that proposes allowing school districts to choose their own sets of academic standards as long as they are equal to or more rigorous than the state’s academic standards. In other words, the Florida Citizens Alliance, who wrote the senate bill and this bill, are trying to influence several parts of Florida education law and weave them all together into their own vision of what education should look like. The addition of “or exceed” can be seen in several places throughout this bill.<\/p>\n

The next concern is lines 472 to 473: namely the “controversial issues” part. The Alliance tried several times to get equal time in science textbooks for their creationist and anti-global warming views. When they ultimately failed, they complained that school boards were not adhering to Florida state statute 1006.31<\/a>, which says, “Instructional materials recommended by each reviewer shall be, to the satisfaction of each reviewer, accurate, objective, balanced, noninflammatory, current, free of pornography …” So, here they are trying to include that language in another part of state law and marry it to the phrase “controversial issues.” This bill also adds a reference to 1006.31 in line 532.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>An interesting fact to note is that the bill sponsor is Rep.\u00c2\u00a0Walter Byran “Mike” Hill<\/a> from Pensacola. I recognize him from an interview he did with Bill Nye in the National Geographic Explorer show Bill Nye: Global Meltdown<\/em>. I show that video to my high school environmental science class every year. Rep. Hill frustrated the heck out of Bill Nye because Hill steadfastly refused to acknowledge that global warming is a very real threat being caused by humans. I recommend you see for yourself. Rep. Hill’s interview starts around 8:30 in this version<\/a>. No wonder Rep. Hill would agree to help the Alliance with this bill.<\/p>\n

The other main concern I have with this bill is the changes being made to the hearings that must be held whenever a citizen complains about instructional materials. If you’re not familiar with the relatively new law about hearing officers, read our issues page about it<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A new law passed by our state legislature and signed by our governor in 2017 now allows any citizen, not just a parent, to protest to local school boards about instructional materials and those protests could then force the school board to appoint a hearing officer to collect evidence about the complaints. This has led to several challenges already, some of them blatantly targeting evolution and other science topics.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

First, here is one drastic change:<\/p>\n

230 3.a. If the district school board finds that an
\n231 instructional material does not meet the criteria under sub
\n232 subparagraph 2.a.<\/span>a.<\/del> or that any other material contains
\n233 prohibited content under sub-subparagraph 2.b.<\/span>b.<\/del>, the school
\n234 district shall proactively remove<\/span> discontinue use of<\/del> the
\n235 material regardless of whether a parent or resident has objected<\/span>
\n236 to the material<\/span> for any grade level or age group for which such<\/del>
\n237 use is inappropriate or unsuitable<\/del>.<\/p>\n

I believe this will allow for any school board member who doesn’t like certain instructional materials, such as textbooks with evolution of global warming, to claim that the materials were not properly vetted and toss them without having to wait for a citizen to file a complaint.<\/p>\n

And here’s the real kicker:<\/p>\n

248 d. After exhausting all local policy remedies and<\/span>
\n249 appealing to the State Board of Education, a parent or resident<\/span>
\n250 may sue in circuit court for an injunction to remove such<\/span>
\n251 materials and may recover reasonable attorney fees and costs.<\/span><\/p>\n

Don’t like the school board’s decision? Sue them.<\/p>\n

The Alliance raged about the perceived unfairness of the hearings they engaged in last year when they tried to challenge evolution and global warming in the science textbooks that were up for adoption by the school districts. They vehemently disagreed with the selection of the hearing officer and the way the proceedings were conducted. You can see for yourself how they reacted to the hearings in Collier County in my post about that experience<\/a>.<\/p>\n

So, they want to change key elements of the process (underlines are additions; strike-throughs are deletions):<\/p>\n

252 4.3. Each district school board must establish a process
\n253 by which the parent of a public school student or a resident of
\n254 the county may contest the district school board’s adoption of a
\n255 specific instructional material. The parent or resident must
\n256 file a petition, on a form provided by the school board, within
\n257 30 calendar days after the adoption of the material by the
\n258 school board. The school board must make the form easy to use,<\/span>
\n259 prominently advertise the school board’s policy and the form<\/span>
\n260 available<\/del> to the public, and publish the form on the school
\n261 district’s website. The form must be signed by the parent or
\n262 resident, include the required contact information, and state
\n263 the objection to the instructional material based on the
\n264 criteria of s. 1006.31(2) or s. 1006.40(3)(d). A hearing officer<\/span>
\n265 must give priority to a parent’s or resident’s objections based<\/span>
\n266 on failure of a material to comply with the criteria of s.<\/span>
\n267 1006.31(2) or s. 1006.40(3)(d) in his or her written findings.<\/span>
\n268 Within 30 days after the 30-day period has expired, the school
\n269 board must, for all petitions timely received, commission<\/span>
\n270 conduct<\/del> at least one open public hearing by an independent<\/span>
\n271 before an unbiased<\/del> and qualified hearing officer. A district<\/span>
\n272 school board may not appoint its own hearing officer and<\/span> the
\n273 hearing officer may not be an employee or agent of the school
\n274 district. At least 7 days before the hearing, a school board<\/span>
\n275 must provide each petitioner with a written notification of the<\/span>
\n276 date and time of the hearing and publish on its website for the<\/span>
\n277 public all instructional materials included in a petition. A<\/span>
\n278 school board’s failure to provide petitioners with the required<\/span>
\n279 written notice or publish such instructional materials on its<\/span>
\n280 website for the public shall result in the hearing being<\/span>
\n281 rescheduled to satisfy these requirements.<\/span> The hearing is not
\n282 subject to the provisions of chapter 120.; however, The hearing
\n283 must provide sufficient procedural protections to allow each
\n284 petitioner an adequate and fair opportunity to be heard and
\n285 present evidence to the hearing officer on all petitions timely<\/span>
\n286 received. The hearing officer shall provide written findings on<\/span>
\n287 each objection with his or her recommendations to the school<\/span>
\n288 board. Failure of the hearing officer to provide written<\/span>
\n289 findings on each objection voids the adoption process. Members<\/span>
\n290 of the district school board, the district school<\/span>
\n291 superintendent, and any attorney for the school district may<\/span>
\n292 attend a hearing as part of the audience, but may not<\/span>
\n293 participate in the hearing. An attorney for the school district<\/span>
\n294 may not have been involved in designing or establishing the<\/span>
\n295 rules of operation for the hearing.<\/span>
\n297 The rationale for the<\/span> school board’s decision for each contested<\/span>
\n298 instructional material must be documented and available to the<\/span>
\n299 public. Decisions regarding such instructional materials by the<\/span>
\n300 school board may be appealed by the petitioner to the State<\/span>
\n301 Board of Education. A petitioner may appeal the decision of the<\/span>
\n302 state board to a circuit court and may seek damages or<\/span>
\n303 injunctive relief, or both. The circuit court has original and<\/span>
\n304 exclusive jurisdiction of all proceedings brought under this<\/span>
\n305 section. If any proceeding brought under this section is deemed<\/span>
\n306 to be frivolous by the court, the petitioner may recover<\/span>
\n307 reasonable attorney fees and costs<\/span> after convening a hearing is<\/del>
\n308 final and not subject to further petition or review.<\/del><\/p>\n

Wow. Just wow. That is breathtaking. The Alliance didn’t like who the school boards selected as hearing officers, so lines 271-271 take care of that. The Alliance didn’t like that some hearing officers didn’t submit written recommendations, so lines 285-289 take care of that. The Alliance didn’t like how the school district lawyer interpreted the law governing hearings, so lines 289-295 take care of that. And the Alliance didn’t like the school boards’ decisions, so lines 301-308 take care of that.<\/p>\n

And that’s how special interest groups in Florida make laws.<\/p>\n

I haven’t discussed in this post the sections on sex education and pornography because they’re not really relevant to our focus on science education. But they’re just as insane as what I’ve covered here.<\/p>\n

This bill is a clear and present danger to all of Florida education. It essentially gives special interest groups like the Alliance immense power to bully school boards into submission.<\/p>\n

We need your help to fight this bill. There is a chance that it won’t ever make it out of the starting gate, which would be wonderful and wise. But the Alliance has been growing in influence. Remember, Alliance members were on the new governor’s education transition team<\/a>. We can’t just assume that bad bills like this one will be sidelined. We have to remain vigilant and active.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A bill filed Friday in the Florida Legislature, House Bill 855, proposes making a slew of changes to instructional materials laws, tackling issues like pornography and sex education. Science is not directly mentioned in the bill, but there are two … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pcZNLl-Tp","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3147,"url":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=3147","url_meta":{"origin":3435,"position":0},"title":"The Florida House’s bad textbook bill now has a Senate companion","author":"Brandon Haught","date":"January 6, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Florida House Bill 827 (Instructional Materials), filed in November by Rep. Byron Donalds in preparation for the 2018 state legislative session proposes changes to several of our laws that govern the review and selection of instructional materials used in our public schools. It didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have a Senate companion bill for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Textbooks"","block_context":{"text":"Textbooks","link":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?cat=26"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2985,"url":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=2985","url_meta":{"origin":3435,"position":1},"title":"Another “controversial theories” bill filed and other bad news","author":"Brandon Haught","date":"November 29, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"My sincere apologies, folks. I have a laundry list of bad news to tell you about. Let's get right to it. \"Controversial Theories\" bill I've already told you about Senate Bill 966, introduced by Sen. Dennis Baxley, that proposes allowing school districts to adopt their own sets of educational standards\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Religious Liberties Act 2017"","block_context":{"text":"Religious Liberties Act 2017","link":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?cat=33"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3189,"url":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=3189","url_meta":{"origin":3435,"position":2},"title":"Alert: Bad Instructional Materials bill on the move!","author":"Brandon Haught","date":"February 3, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"A bad Florida Senate bill we're watching is on the move! SB 1644 is on the education committee agenda for Tuesday, Feb. 6. The committee meets at 9 a.m. Senate Bill 1644 (and\u00c2\u00a0Florida\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s House Bill 827) would, if enacted, revise the procedures for adopting instructional materials to permit members of\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2567,"url":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=2567","url_meta":{"origin":3435,"position":3},"title":"It’s baaaaack: Instructional Materials bill filed","author":"Brandon Haught","date":"February 23, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Last year, Florida Citizens for Science voiced our opposition to bills filed in the Florida legislature that would have made significant changes to how textbooks and other instructional materials are selected and reviewed at the local school district level. The good news is that the bills died. The bad news\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Instructional Materials bills '17"","block_context":{"text":"Instructional Materials bills '17","link":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?cat=32"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3444,"url":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=3444","url_meta":{"origin":3435,"position":4},"title":"Getting ready for another wild ride in Tallahassee","author":"Brandon Haught","date":"March 2, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"The state legislative session kicks off Tuesday. We here at Florida Citizens for Science are as busy as can be as we monitor several bad bills filed in the legislature that can negatively impact science education. Additionally, the review of all academic standards directed by Gov. Ron DeSantis has a\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2421,"url":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=2421","url_meta":{"origin":3435,"position":5},"title":"They’re not dead yet & Getting the word out there","author":"Brandon Haught","date":"February 1, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"In my previous post I said that the \"instructional materials\" bills in the state legislature don't look like they're going anywhere. But I also said that they can't be considered dead yet. I was right:\u00c2\u00a0'No bill is dead' in Florida Senate Education, chairman says. 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