History of Common Core in Florida, what parents and educators have to say

ORLANDO, Fla. — Gov. DeSantis announced Thursday that he intends to end Common Core in the state, but Florida has done this all before.

In 2013, then Gov. Rick Scott ordered the state to withdraw from Common Core, a full six years before DeSantis ordered the state to get rid of Common Core again.

If Florida got out of Common Core in 2013, then what is going on now?

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After Scott ordered the state out of Common Core, what actually happened was a bit of rebranding and time passing.

"A lot of people want to say: Is it 'yes' or 'no' to Common Core? And that's not the right way of looking at it,” said Scott in 2013. “It's 'yes' to higher standards."

Also in 2013, Florida’s then Education Commissioner Pam Stewart said, “This is a clear way for Florida to make sure there is not an overreach by the federal government.”

Scott issued the order stating, among other things, that Florida would not adopt Common Core. It was even in a campaign ad for Scott.

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So, what happened?

It turns out Common Core never left, and we were told this in 2013, as well.

In 2013, K.T. Caldwell, with the Seminole County Education Association, said, “It's not gone. It will be used for Common Core.”

And that's what happened -- a rebranding and little else.

The Florida Standards that emerged after 2013 are in many ways the same as Common Core.

Most Common Core benchmarks are still in place, and while Florida did make changes to things such as calculus and cursive writing, the basic standards of Common Core are still there.

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Which begs the question: What exactly is Florida doing now? And is it that different?

Common Core is a way of teaching, but it's also a set of standards. And no matter what you call those standards, Florida will still need to have basic benchmarks for education to progress from grade to grade.

The story of Common Core in Florida is really the story of three Florida governors -- Jeb Bush, who championed the standards and benchmarks; Scott, who relabeled Common Core as the Florida Standards; and now, DeSantis, with an executive order that, in theory, ends Common Core.

“The executive order will require the commissioner to provide a road map so that we have authentic Florida-based standards," DeSantis said.

But the devil is in the details.

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That road map, to be drawn up by the commissioner of education, will still need standards and benchmarks.

It will also need testing, and with education advocates point out that Florida schools will always have some core standards.

"There will always be standards and to say he is going to strip out Common Core from what is a Common Core document is laughable," said Kathleen Oropeza, with Fund Education Now.

Oropeza said that while a deliberate review of tests and standards is beneficial, questions remain.

What will it cost to rewrite a curriculum and what will it cost for schools to implement these changes?”

"I think we really need to shift our attention to that and what that will really look like," Oropeza said.

What do educators and parents think of all this?

We're asking how the governor's plans to overhaul academic standards and eliminate Common Core would affect students and teachers right here in Central Florida.

Seminole County’s superintendent said he views this as an opportunity.

That's because Seminole County has advocated for big changes to the state's testing system, including fewer tests, but it's still a little early to know whether any of that will become a reality.

The governor told parents he heard their complaints when he announced plans to review academic standards in Florida schools and eliminate Common Core.

“I don't think the Common Core is doing the kids any good,” said parent Terry O’Neil. “But you're always gonna be concerned about what comes next.”

Dr. Walt Griffin, with Seminole County Public Schools, said, “It's a lot more than just textbooks. It's about us planning day to day for our courses.”

With new standards, Griffin said, the district would likely have to rewrite some instructional plans and retrain teachers.

“Teacher training and learning is an ongoing process,” Griffin said. “So, as part of our training, we'll just implement the new standards and develop our instructional plans and our professional development to meet the standards.”

He's hopeful the process will provide another look at student testing, something the governor promised to streamline, but not eliminate.

Florida's Standards are similar to Common Core, which has its share of critics.

“I think the most positive part of it is that it has really forced everybody to up the rigor in our instruction, however, I think new standards can do that also,” Griffin said.

But so far, no one knows exactly how those new standards will look.

The Seminole County superintendent said the change would likely come with costs to the local districts, including new textbooks and teaching training.

Parents and teachers constantly share their frustrations with Common Core with us. We heard you! We issued an Executive Order to end Common Core in Florida, because our children deserve better. https://t.co/PckIhmWFVU
— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantisFL) February 1, 2019