College Board rift widens, canceling TikTok and broader battle over civil rights emerges

It’s Monday, Feb. 20, and in honor of President’s Day, let’s start with a word from two of the best: “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.” – Abraham Lincoln. “The harder the conflict, the greater the triumph.” – George Washington.

Ron on the move: Gov. Ron DeSantis will be traveling to Illinois today to speak at a law enforcement union event, according to the invitation released by the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police. Meanwhile, the Hill reports, Illinois’ Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker is positioning himself as the liberal foil to DeSantis, using his administration to advance progressive policies on culture war issues of abortion, gun rights and, particularly, education.

On Saturday, DeSantis attended the “Rising Leaders Summit” in Palm Beach, an event hosted by the conservative Global Liberty Institute, whose co-director is Scott Atlas, the doctor who advised the governor during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Atlas was criticized by many in medicine for opposing testing and lock down policies while advocating for herd immunity before vaccines were available.

WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

Feud festers: The College Board’s feud with Florida over its Advanced Placement African American studies course has intensified – and so has the heat the board is facing. In a letter addressed to College Board CEO David Coleman, more than 1000 African American studies faculty members, administrators and supporters in higher education last week accused the College Board of capitulating to the Florida Department of Education in its efforts to “censor” content of the Advanced Placement African American studies course.

Alternatives considered: But after the College Board issued a harshly-worded letter accusing DeSantis of using the course to advance a politically motivated agenda, the governor made it clear he’s not ready to back down. First, he said last week he is considering cutting ties with the private company that administers Advanced Placement courses and the SAT exam. President Joe Biden then took a swipe at the suggestion that DeSantis would eliminate AP course options for Florida Students.

“Classical” focus gets boost: As the conflict over the Advanced Placement African American studies course continued, state officials met with the founder of an education testing company that wants the state to consider his the Classic Learning Test as an alternative to the SAT.

Supporters of the test, founded in 2015, say it is focused on the “great classical and Christian tradition.” The test is used primarily by private schools and home-schooling families and is rooted in the classical education model, which focuses on the “centrality of the Western tradition.”

Proxy battle over civil rights: Meanwhile, the state’s battle over the future of education is starting to take shape as a war over the future of civil rights in America. Last week, Florida’s Black leaders and national civil rights activists like Al Sharpton joined with hundreds of supporters to march on the Capitol to protest what they say is an assault on Black history.

More than AP course: They also said their protest is about more than the AP course. It’s also a response to the effort by DeSantis and the Republican-led Legislature — with coaching from Christopher Rufo of the conservative Manhattan Institute. Rufo says the goal is to move the nation to a pre-1960s America with “a new conservative counter revolution.” He says he is starting with the remaking of the New College, and, “if we are to be successful, I think that we’re going to create a model for red state governors all over the country.”

Corcoran gets giant raise: The newly remade board of trustees at New College of Florida voted last week to give the Sarasota school’s interim President Richard Corcoran a pay bump of nearly $400,000 over his predecessor. The board decided that Corcoran will receive a base salary of $699,000, plus an annual housing stipend of $84,000, a $12,000 automobile stipend and an annual retirement supplement of $104,850. The salary and perks are comparable with Florida’s largest universities but the school has only 700 students.

Teacher fired: A Duval County substitute teacher was fired last week for posting a video to Twitter last month showing rows of empty bookshelves at a middle school’s library prompting DeSantis to call the removing of books from library shelves “a fake narrative,” the Washington Post reported. The district also pushed back on the video saying, “Yes, those shelves were empty. But they were in a room full of books.”

Will gov control school athletics? A week after Florida’s high school sports association decided against requiring students to report their menstrual cycles, state lawmakers advanced legislation to give the governor control over the board. The bill would put the governor in charge of appointing all the members of the governing board of the Florida High School Athletic Association, a private nonprofit organization that oversees sports for grades 6 through 12 in public schools and other schools that choose to join or participate.

Broward’s interim superintendent: The Broward School Board green-lit a $300,000 salary for Interim Superintendent Earlean Smiley last week, challenging her to stabilize and improve the nation’s sixth-largest school district. Smiley, 71, started her new job immediately after the board’s unanimous vote and will stay on for a year — or until the school district hires a permanent superintendent.

Parkland reminders: It’s been five years since 17 people were killed in Building 12 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. So why is the three-story freshman building still there? It’s a concrete memory of the horror that left its ceilings pocked with bullet holes and floors stained with dried blood. Here’s a look at what has changed — and what is still needed — to make South Florida schools safer.

Scott’s ‘never mind’ moment: Republican U.S. Sen. Rick Scott amended his 12-point Rescue America plan last week to say that his proposal to sunset all federal legislation in five years does not apply to Social Security, Medicare or the U.S. Navy. The about-face came after Scott faced relentless fire from President Joe Biden, Democrats and even fellow Republicans who feared the Florida senator’s strategy to touch the third rail of politics - Social Security and Medicare – had undermined their election efforts.

Rubio joins anti-trans bandwagon: Republican U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio has proposed legislation that would bar transgender people from serving in the military in most cases. The measure seeks to disqualify anyone who identifies as transgender and who seeks or has undertaken gender reassignment surgery. A transgender person without a history or diagnosis of gender dysphoria, Rubio’s draft says, can serve under their sex assigned at birth.

WHAT WE’RE WATCHING

Plan to cancel TikTok: DeSantis announced a proposal to block state and local government devices from being able to access TikTok, the popular social media platform, citing concerns about potential influence or interference from entities tied to the Chinese government. His announcement came as part of a broader news conference where the governor introduced the idea of a “digital bill of rights” to ensure consumer privacy.

Ladapo comes under more fire: After Surgeon General Joe Ladapo issued a “health alert” last week amplifying doubts about the safety of COVID-vaccines, he drew immediate fire, including from peers at the University of Florida, where he is paid as a member of the faculty. “The bulk of scientific evidence to date strongly demonstrates the safety and benefits of COVID-19 vaccination and shows the value of public health measures to mitigate the spread of viruses,” said Gary Mans, a vice president with UF Health, the acclaimed medical network.

Tent city emerges in the Keys: The Florida Division of Emergency Management, which is working with federal authorities in responding to migrant interdiction efforts, has built a base camp in the Village of Islamorada for law enforcement to stay in the Keys. The reason it was needed, local authorities told us, is it’s the height of tourist season and there are no hotel rooms available.

Migrants bill signed: With little fanfare, DeSantis last week signed a controversial bill expected to result in Florida transporting migrants to “sanctuary” areas of the country, similar to the September flights of 49 migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts. The bill, passed last during a special legislative session, creates the “Unauthorized Alien Transport Program” within the state Division of Emergency Management and provides $10 million to transport migrants from Florida and other states to sanctuary areas between now and the end of June.

Suspects arrested in Haiti assassination: U.S. federal agents arrested four suspects in South Florida last week on charges of playing key roles in a plot to kill Haitian President Jovenel Moïse, who was shot to death in his home in the hills above Port-au-Prince, allegedly by a team of Colombian commandos, as his presidential guards stood down. The local arrests of the owner of a Miami-area security firm; his business partner; a Weston financier; and an exporter out of Tampa mark a turning point in a probe that is now focused on the weapons, ballistic vests and financing that authorities say fueled the deadly plot executed on July 7, 2021.

Unregulated and unrelenting: Ygrene, the state’s biggest player in a novel and controversial industry that bankrolls green home improvements like roof, solar and impact window jobs, suddenly vanished from the Florida market last year. The move left contractors unpaid and homeowners scrambling to pay big bills. Now, Ygrene may be poised to re-start business in Florida, its largest and least-regulated market.

Miami Herald Capitol Bureau Chief Mary Ellen Klas curates the Politics and Policy in the Sunshine State newsletter. We appreciate our readers, and if you have any ideas or suggestions, please drop me a note at meklas@miamiherald.com.

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