On Tuesday, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed several bills that affect schools in Florida. One of these bills gives teachers the power to limit social media use in the classroom and protects teachers who report their managers for breaking state rules.
The new rules are part of a big, multi-year effort by DeSantis and other Florida Republicans to change the way schools work. This effort has also banned “woke activism” and “critical race theory.”
At a signing event on Tuesday, DeSantis said, “It gives teachers the power to set rules about cell phone and device use in the classroom.” He added that teachers could still let kids check their phones before class.
Laws from the past make it illegal for teachers in all grades to talk about sexual orientation and gender identity in the classroom.
They also make it illegal for schools to have certain sexual books in their libraries and force students and teachers to use certain names. DeSantis also signed a law that makes it illegal for state schools to have classes about diversity, equality, and inclusion.
During the signing event on Tuesday, DeSantis said that letting teachers set rules and limits for how kids use social media could help kids avoid being distracted and influenced by it.
“There’s no way you’re going to learn what you need to learn if you’re on your cell phone.” Things like social media can be put off. “In all honesty, it’s not that important,” DeSantis said, adding that time spent learning in the classroom is more important. “That makes sense to us,” we said.
Later, DeSantis wrote on Twitter that kids should spend their time learning and not on social media.
He went on: “We don’t want kids to be on the phone the whole time while the teachers are trying to teach.”
“I just think about our kids and how important it is for them to be normal kids like kids used to be before social media,” the governor said.
“Social media causes more problems than it fixes, and I think it does more harm than good. So, let’s make as much of our school system as we can about standard education.”
The new rule might make it possible for teachers to ask students to give up their phones at the start of class. It also says that students can’t use TikTok on school Wi-Fi and networks. With a few exceptions, students can’t use school internet to get on social media sites.
One bill also lets teachers leave school groups for any reason.
DeSantis said that the bills would give teachers more freedom, but some critics say that they are aimed at unions that fought against his ban on mask requirements during the COVID-19 outbreak.
During his speech, the Republican governor talked about the unions.
“What did some school districts and groups of schools do? They went against the law. We ended up having to go to court over this because there were a few “rogue districts” that thought they knew more than the elected officials and parents of this state, DeSantis said.
“There’s no doubt about it. If you look at COVID, which kept kids out of school, the unions were not only for it, but they also helped make it happen,” he said.
The Florida Education Association said that the governor’s moves were a punishment for not agreeing with his policies.
In a news statement, FEA President Andrew Spar said, “The governor may have let his desire to beat up on people he thought were against him get the best of him.”
“This new rule goes way too far in trying to shut down teachers, staff, professors, and most other people who work for the government. We won’t go quietly, because our kids and jobs are too important.
In Florida’s new budget, teacher pay is also going up for the fourth year in a row.
DeSantis is likely to say soon that he wants to run for president in 2024.
