69传媒

States

DeSantis vs. Newsom: How K-12 69传媒 Fared in the 鈥楻ed vs. Blue State Debate鈥

By Libby Stanford 鈥 December 01, 2023 5 min read
Left: California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks at a press conference in Beijing on Oct. 25, 2023. Right: Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis speaks at a Town Hall event at Tempesta's in Keene, N.H., on Nov. 21, 2023.
  • Save to favorites
  • Print
Email Copy URL

Book bans, learning loss, and school closures featured prominently in a fiery debate between Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, confirming that schools are as entrenched in the blue state-red state divide as ever.

The was a rare instance in which a Republican presidential candidate, DeSantis, squared off with a rival politician not running for office, Newsom, a Democrat seen as a future White House contender. While the debate touched on a number of topics, it was an opportunity for two governors on opposite ends of the political spectrum who lead two of the nation鈥檚 most populous states to litigate the divisive politics that have made the nation鈥檚 schools a culture war battleground.

DeSantis and Newsom have both made education policies a cornerstone of their tenures in office; both are serving their second terms as governor.

See Also

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis answers questions from the media in the Florida Cabinet following his State of the State address during a joint session of the Senate and House of Representatives Tuesday, March 7, 2023, at the Capitol in Tallahassee, Fla.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis answers questions from the media after his State of the State address March 7, 2023, at the Capitol in Tallahassee, Fla.
Phil Sears/AP

In Florida, DeSantis enacted the Parental Rights in Education Act, which critics call the 鈥淒on鈥檛 Say Gay鈥 law, prohibiting instruction about sexuality and gender identity for students in kindergarten through 3rd grade. The Florida Department of Education has since approved a rule that expands the prohibition through the 12th grade, and the policy has inspired similar laws in other Republican-led states.

In California, Newsom has aggressively resisted some of the parents鈥 rights policies DeSantis and other conservatives have championed, especially as some California school boards have approved such policies locally. Earlier this year, the governor threatened to fine the Temecula Valley Unified School District $1.5 million for rejecting an updated state curriculum because it included lesson plans that mentioned Harvey Milk, the late San Francisco supervisor who was the state鈥檚 first openly gay elected official and a gay rights activist. Earlier this fall, Newsom outlawing bans on curriculum materials and school library books on those grounds.

A battle in the culture war

In the approximately 5-minute segment of the 90-minute debate that was dedicated to schools, DeSantis accused Newsom of allowing schools to groom and indoctrinate students while Newsom chastised the Florida governor for passing policies that harm LGBTQ+ youth and students of color.

鈥淲hat you鈥檙e doing is using education as a sword for your cultural purge,鈥 Newsom said, repeatedly mentioning that Florida has seen some of the largest numbers in the country of books removed from school libraries.

Newsom accused DeSantis of banning acclaimed works by writers including Toni Morrison, a Nobel Prize winner, and Amanda Gorman, who read her poem 鈥淭he Hill We Climb鈥 at President Joe Biden鈥檚 inauguration in 2021. Both women鈥檚 writings address the experience of Black Americans.

A Miami-Dade County school, for example, restricted access to 鈥淭he Hill We Climb鈥 last summer, Morrison鈥檚 鈥淭he Bluest Eye鈥 was removed from high school libraries in Pinellas County, Fla., in January. The school board allowed the book to return to libraries in April,

Book removals have been local, not state, decisions. But many have happened as districts try to comply with new Florida laws restricting lessons about race and racism, gender and sexual identity, and requiring school librarians to review books and remove inappropriate content. State guidance on implementing those policies has sometimes lacked detail or kept changing.

See Also

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during a news conference to sign several bills related to public education and increases in teacher pay, in Miami, on May 9, 2023.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during a news conference to sign several bills related to public education and increases in teacher pay, in Miami, on May 9, 2023.
Rebecca Blackwell/AP

DeSantis denied that his policies have led those books to be banned and instead used his time to talk about the graphic novel, 鈥淕ender Queer,鈥 which has become one of the most commonly removed books from school libraries for its depictions of characters involved in sex acts.

鈥淭his should not be in schools,鈥 DeSantis said, holding up a page of the book. 鈥淧eople on the left say that somehow you鈥檙e banning books by removing this from a young kid鈥檚 classroom. No, this is not age-appropriate.鈥

DeSantis went on to accuse Newsom of allowing young students to read books like 鈥淕ender Queer,鈥 which Newsom denied.

鈥淲e have sex education in middle schools and high schools where it鈥檚 appropriate,鈥 Newsom said. 鈥淭his is a ginned-up, made-up issue to divide this country.鈥

DeSantis went on to say that his policies are about promoting parents鈥 rights to object to classroom materials and lessons that don鈥檛 align with their values. The presidential candidate vowed to pass a nationwide parental bill of rights if he鈥檚 elected.

Republicans in the U.S. House have passed such a bill, but the Senate, controlled by Democrats, hasn鈥檛 taken it up. The legislation codifies five rights for parents鈥攊ncluding to be heard by school leaders, see school budgets, and know what their children are being taught鈥攖hat parents typically already have.

See Also

An overflow crowd attends a Temecula Valley Unified School District board meeting July 18, 2023, at which a proposed social studies curriculum was again debated and rejected.
An overflow crowd attends a Temecula Valley Unified School District board meeting July 18, 2023, at which the board again debated and rejected a proposed social studies curriculum.
Will Lester/Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG via TNS

Newsom argued that DeSantis鈥檚 policies don鈥檛 actually boost parents鈥 rights, and highlighted a that requires schools to solicit parent input before adopting curriculum. DeSantis rejected that assessment.

鈥淗e says California respects parents鈥 rights. This is rich,鈥 DeSantis said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 been telling a lot of whoppers tonight. This may be the biggest.鈥

Pandemic continues to play a role

The governors went back and forth over how each state handled school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic and those closures鈥 impact on student learning.

Neither Florida nor California saw a statistically significant change in 4th-grade reading performance on the between 2019 and 2022. Meanwhile, Florida鈥檚 8th graders performed worse on the reading exam in 2022 than in 2019, while California鈥檚 8th graders鈥 performance was unchanged. Both states performed worse on

Despite their states鈥 similar performance on NAEP, which places both states above the majority of the rest of the country, the two governors accused each other of overseeing some of the worst learning loss in the country.

DeSantis argued that Newsom鈥檚 decision to keep a majority of schools in the state closed to in-person instruction through the end of the 2020-21 school year鈥攈is executive order didn鈥檛 allow schools in high-risk counties to reopen until those counties had met certain infection and hospital capacity benchmarks鈥攚as to blame. 69传媒 in California fully reopened in the 2021-22 school year while Florida schools resumed in-person instruction in the 2020-21 school year.

鈥淸Newsom] kept the schools closed for a long time and that had devastating impacts,鈥 DeSantis said. 鈥淲hat Gavin Newsom does in California is kowtow to the teachers鈥 union, whatever they tell him to do, he does 鈥 that鈥檚 why the schools were closed for so long.鈥

Events

School & District Management Webinar Crafting Outcomes-Based Contracts That Work for Everyone
Discover the power of outcomes-based contracts and how they can drive student achievement.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
School & District Management Webinar
Harnessing AI to Address Chronic Absenteeism in 69传媒
Learn how AI can help your district improve student attendance and boost academic outcomes.
Content provided by 
School & District Management Webinar EdMarketer Quick Hit: What鈥檚 Trending among K-12 Leaders?
What issues are keeping K-12 leaders up at night? Join us for EdMarketer Quick Hit: What鈥檚 Trending among K-12 Leaders?

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide 鈥 elementary, middle, high school and more.
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.

Read Next

States Oklahoma Superintendent Prays for Trump in Video He's Requiring for 69传媒
Two of the state's largest districts say they won't show the video, in which Superintendent Ryan Walters prays for the president-elect.
2 min read
Ryan Walters, Republican state superintendent candidate, speaks, June 28, 2022, in Oklahoma City.
Ryan Walters, Republican state superintendent candidate, speaks, June 28, 2022, in Oklahoma City.
Sue Ogrocki/AP
States In Deep-Red Florida, Voters Reject Partisan School Board Races
Florida voters rejected a constitutional amendment to make school board races partisan.
2 min read
Image of a board room.
Collage by Laura Baker/Education Week (Images: DigitalVision Vectors; E+; iStock/Getty)
States Democrat Defeats a State 69传媒 Chief Candidate Who Called for Public Executions
A candidate's past calls for Democrats' executions thrust one of this year's four state superintendent races into the national spotlight.
3 min read
N.C. State Superintendent democratic candidate Mo Green speaks during a debate with fellow candidate Michele Morrow at the Heart Institute at East Carolina University in Greenville, N.C., on Sept. 24, 2024.
Mo Green, the Democratic candidate for schools chief in North Carolina, speaks during a debate with GOP candidate Michele Morrow at the Heart Institute at East Carolina University in Greenville on Sept. 24. Green defeated Morrow.
Scott Davis/The Daily Reflector via AP
States The Number of States That Require 69传媒 to Teach Cursive Is Growing
Here are the states that require schools to teach cursive handwriting.
1 min read
Photo of child practicing cursive writing.
iStock / Getty Images Plus