Florida’s abortion politics, a firestorm over Black studies, and DeSantis’ win-lose over ousting Andrew Warren

It’s Monday, Jan. 23, the start of another jam-packed legislative committee week in Tallahassee. It’s also the fourth annual national news literacy week — devoted to reminding news consumers of the value of credible journalism in a democracy.

We’re glad you’re here! First up:

“Ground zero’ in abortion fight: On the 50th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, Vice President Kamala Harris arrived to Florida’s capital Sunday — and Gov. Ron DeSantis’ home turf —and announced that President Joe Biden had issued a memorandum directing federal agencies to remove barriers to the dispensing of abortion pills and medication abortions. The announcement is aimed at blocking Florida and other states from enforcing claims that state laws make it illegal for retail pharmacies to offer abortion pills in the state.

But the goal of Harris’ visit was not only to push back in a state that abortion advocates say is “ground zero” in the fight over reproductive rights, her visit also exploited an issue that even supporters of Florida’s conservative culture warrior say may be a vulnerability for DeSantis.

DeSantis’ abortion dilemma: As a potential candidate for the GOP nomination for president in 2024, DeSantis’ near silence on his plans for abortion laws in Florida has opened him up to attacks from all sides, creating a bit of a political dilemma for him. The majority of the public doesn’t want stricter laws, but some of his conservative supporters say they are angry and frustrated he hasn’t done more.

WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

Black studies class blocked: The DeSantis administration last week continued its string of education policy changes that have stoked racial divisions. The Department of Education announced it had rejected a new Advanced Placement elective course on African-American studies for high-school students, broadly claiming it violates state law and that it “lacks educational value.”

Delayed explanation: The move attracted national headlines and sharp rebukes from the NAACP, the American Civil Liberties Union and other critics accusing the administration of whitewashing history and a “march backward.” U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-NY, tweeted: “Florida has gone from Don’t Say Gay to Don’t Say Black.”

By late Friday, Education Secretary Manny Diaz posted a chart on Twitter that suggested the course was rejected because it included topics such as the Movement for Black Lives, Black feminism, reparations and authors whose writings touch on critical race theory and Black communism. “We proudly require the teaching of African American history,” he wrote, but not if it’s “woke indoctrination masquerading as education.”

By Saturday, Fox News was airing a pre-recorded interiew with DeSantis who defended the policy saying the state is now rejecting social justice in higher education: “We don’t believe higher education should be for ‘social justice’ or to impose an ideology on the students,’’ he told host Dan Bongino. “And so that’s a different approach than most colleges right now in our country.”

Course explores Black ‘contributions and experiences’: The elective course is being taught as a pilot program in 60 schools across the country, including Florida, this academic year and has been in development for more than a decade. According to the College Board, which administers the Advanced Placement program, the course includes topics ranging from African kingdoms, the slave economy, Reconstruction, the civil rights movement, and contemporary issues, as well as a look at “unequal educational opportunities” faced by Black students.

Harris adds a dig: The outrage from Democrats and especially Black lawmakers was immediate. In a conversation with House Democratic Leader Fentrice Driskell and Senate Democratic Leader Lauren Book on Sunday, the vice president also weighed in. Nodding to DeSantis’ presidential aspirations, Harris said, according the White House pool reporter: “Anyone who bans teaching American history has no right to shape America’s future.”

Former Trump official criticizes DeSantis plan: Even Jerome Adams, the former U.S. surgeon general under Donald Trump questioned the “logic behind” what he called “selective/contradictory/politically motivated picking and choosing of when to apply school ‘choice’ and ‘freedom” arguments.”

Here is a helpful look at what teachers involved in the pilot AP course are doing with it.

Red states echo theme: In Red states, leaders are working to signal solidarity with the GOP “anti-woke” agenda. Newly-elected Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, for example, signed an executive orders on her first day in office “to prohibit indoctrination and critical race theory in schools.”

Here’s a counterintuitive take: Jelani Cobb, dean of the Columbia University School of Journalism, told MSNBC that DeSantis is actually “validating” the same critical race theory that he denounced. CRT holds that “in a society that is as racially riven as this one, people will use anti-discrimination tactics in order to further the cause of actual discrimination,’’ Cobb said.

Some university faculty feel threatened: In Florida, the policy shift is having an impact. Kestrel Ward, a librarian at the University of Florida, told ABC News she is considering leaving her job because of it. “It is becoming increasingly untenable...there’s so much hostility from the government, which is an infringement on our academic freedom, but it’s also an infringement on our First Amendment rights,” Ward said.

WHAT WE’RE WATCHING

DeSantis slammed but Warren loses: In a scathing ruling, U.S. District Judge Robert L. Hinkle last week blasted DeSantis for violating the Florida Constitution and the First Amendment when he suspended Hillsborough State Attorney Andrew Warren based on what Hinkle found were “false” allegations. But, the federal judge said he didn’t have the power to restore Warren to office.

“If the facts matter, the governor can simply rescind the suspension,” Hinkle wrote. “If he does not do so, it will be doubly clear that the alleged non-prosecution policies were not the real motivation for the suspension.”

What’s next? Warren’s next steps are unclear. He could file a lawsuit in state court, take his case to a federal appellate court, or go straight to the Florida Supreme Court.

COVID as campaign fodder: As he positions himself for a run for the 2024 GOP nomination for president, DeSantis continued to keep COVID and Florida’s response to it in the national headlines last week. He announced legislation to make permanent a law to penalize companies that require employees to wear masks or be vaccinated for COVID-19. He also wants to revive a failed proposal from last year’s legislative session that would make it more difficult for a medical licensing board to reprimand or sanction a doctor for views expressed by the medical professional.

DeSantis gets COVID studies wrong: Was DeSantis right when he claimed that “almost every study now has said with these new boosters, you’re more likely to get infected with the bivalent booster?”

PolitiFact checked it out and found it was the governor who got the science wrong. Researchers said one of the studies, which had not yet been peer reviewed, found the bivalent booster was about 30% effective in reducing the likelihood of contracting the virus, not more likely to increase the chances of getting infected, as the governor claimed.

The other study, an unpublished survey of health workers, found that there could be an association between the number of prior vaccine doses and an increased risk of contracting COVID-19 — but the findings did not suggest the bivalent shot could increase the likelihood of infection.

Universal school vouchers planned: All Florida families with school age children would be eligible for a school voucher to attend private school, home school, or a host of other public education alternatives under a sweeping expansion of the state’s voucher program announced last week by House Speaker Paul Renner. Foster children and low income families would continue to get priority for the funding.

Democrats condemned the measure as intended to undermine public schools and cautioned that there is no requirement parents send children to schools with certified teachers or prove they’ve spent the money on approved education services.

Broward superintendent saga continues: On Tuesday, the Broward School Board will likely decide whether to retain Superintendent Vickie Cartwright or fire her again. Daniel Foganholi, the DeSantis-appointed board member and fierce critic of Cartwright who led the effort to dismiss her in November, was sworn in to the board last week.

DeSantis appoints private school staffer to Dade board: DeSantis named Maria Bosque-Blanco, a guidance counselor at the private, all-girls Our Lady of Lourdes Academy to the Miami-Dade School Board last week. She replaces Lubby Navarro, the former vice chairperson, who stepped down to comply with a new law that barred elected officials from lobbying.

Universities ordered to submit trans care info: At the urging of the governor’s budget office, Florida’s public universities are being required to submit detailed information on services they provide to people seeking gender-affirming treatment. The request included no explanation but comes weeks after DeSantis and Renner, the House speaker, issued a similar demand for records on how much each university spends on diversity initiatives and activities related to critical race theory.

Judge denies ‘mental exams’: Judge Robert Hinkle dealt another blow to the DeSantis administration last week when he rejected a request to conduct “mental examinations” on two 12-year-olds who are plaintiffs in a challenge to a state rule prohibiting Medicaid coverage for gender-affirming care for transgender people.

Circumventing regulations: The court filings also include allegations from a state employee that Florida health officials circumvented traditional regulatory channels to draft a report recommending gender-affirming health care be excluded from coverage under Medicaid, the Hill reports.

Legislators with oversight ask no questions: Florida Department of Transportation Secretary Jared Perdue has some questions to answer about his agency’s handling of the covert operation Florida taxpayers financed to relocate migrants from the southern border in Texas. But the Senate committee charged with overseeing his budget ran out of time for questions Wednesday.

The central question involves whether the project violated legislators’ intent when they budgeted $12 million to remove migrants from the state. But there are many more unresolved questions, which we list here.

Scott weighs in on Cuban migrants: U.S. Sen. Rick Scott traveled to the Florida Keys last week and blamed the Biden administration’s immigration policies for the mass maritime migration from Cuba and Haiti that is affecting the island chain.

Scott said it’s too early to say if Biden’s new policy will make a difference. He said the president should pressure the Cuban government to hold “free and fair elections,” release political prisoners, and stop allowing the exodus to the U.S.

Trump ordered to pay $1 million in legal fees: A federal judge in South Florida who last year dismissed Donald Trump’s lawsuit against Hillary Clinton and other Democrats over the 2016 election campaign, slammed the former president’s attorneys with legal fees and costs totaling nearly $1 million last week. U.S. District Judge Donald Middlebrooks ruled that lawyer Alina Habba and her law firm filed a “completely frivolous” complaint.

It is a blistering ruling: “This case should never have been brought. It’s inadequacy as a legal claim was evident from the start. No reasonable lawyer would have filed it. … Thirty-one individuals and entities were needlessly harmed in order to dishonestly advance a political narrative,’’ Middlebrooks wrote.

Court upholds gun law restrictions: In a a blow to 33 cities and counties and dozens of local officials, the Florida Supreme Court last week upheld the constitutionality of a 2011 state law that threatens stiff penalties if local officials pass gun-related regulations. The law was a victory for Republican leaders and Second Amendment advocates such as the NRA but another disappointment to local officials who want stronger gun laws after the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

Surfside candidate indicted for murder: Shannon Gallagher, a political hopeful who ran in Surfside’s 2022 election was arrested in Chicago last week after being indicted on charges of first-degree murder with a firearm for a March 21 killing. Gallagher, 52, a California licensed attorney in good standing, ran for a seat on the Surfside town commission. The election, which she lost, was held days before the alleged killing occurred.

Taddeo seeks Dem party chair: Former state Sen. Annette Taddeo is among the candidates running to become the Florida Democratic Party’s chairperson following ex-Miami Mayor Manny Diaz’s resignation earlier this month. Taddeo, who made a short run for governor last year before losing a congressional race, announced her candidacy in a TikTok video.

Revising the student-athlete pay law: After a series of conflicts relating to the uneven application of “name, image and likeness” laws for student athletes, Florida legislators last week advanced a measure to remove a ban on schools and booster organizations from getting involved in athletes securing deals.

New head of state guard named: DeSantis on Tuesday appointed Luis Soler, a captain in the United States Navy Reserve, to be the new director of the Florida State Guard last week after the previous director died last year. Soler will take over leading the newly reactivated force that DeSantis said will provide additional support during state emergencies beyond the Florida National Guard.

Finally, here’s our recommended good read: Is DeSantis working harder on his perceived weakness as a retail politician? That’s the premise Jonathan Martin of Politico makes in his latest piece. Now, take a look at how the governor worked the crowd at the Jacksonville Jaguars game in Kansas City on Saturday. His young son was holding one hand as the governor shook hands with fans while navigating the perimeter of the field, his security detail in tow.

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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