ORLANDO, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that an initiative aimed at making Florida the national leader in civics education will go into effect this upcoming school year.
The governor broke down the $106 million undertaking Tuesday at a charter school in Orlando.
Originally proposed back in March, DeSantis said the program would teach students the "foundational principles" of our country and our society without "politicized academic fads."
The funding will give educators the resources and support in order to encourage a stronger civics curriculum, according to the governor. These resources include training courses, both in-person and online, that teachers can take to earn a Florida civics seal of excellence, which can earn them a $3,000 bonus, DeSantis added.
The governor said he hopes the state can start awarding those bonuses as early as this upcoming school year.
DeSantis said the initiative also includes a career pathway program to give students more opportunities for hands-on learning in an effort to inspire the next generation of public servants.
While he did not mention critical race theory during Tuesday's press conference, the governor said back in March that it would not be included in the new civics courses, describing it as an "unsanctioned narrative."
This sentiment drew criticism from those who believe that teaching critical race theory can benefit Florida's education system.
"Critical race theory is teaching every aspect of every part of race. Teaching it and nothing's left out, so you're giving the whole part of history. Every person or every race, you know, they played a part in it. So it's giving that theory so everybody can understand it," Yvette Lewis, the President of the Hillsborough NAACP said in March.
"It's really important because every race plays an important part of our everyday lives. Whether we recognize it or not. For DeSantis to say this, yeah, it's bothersome," Lewis added.
Watch the full press conference below.
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