Governor Ron DeSantis Announces Civics Education Bonus for Teachers

ORLANDO, Fla. (FNN) – Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced the creation of the Florida Seal of Excellence, a new professional credential for educators in civics education, during a press conference at BridgePrep Academy of Orange in Orlando, Florida.

The credential is part of an additional $106 million the state will award for civics education, $65 million of which are dedicated to creating and implementing the seal.

Every teacher who gets the seal will be awarded a $3,000 bonus, DeSantis added.

“I think every single piece of survey data or any time people have ever looked at what is the baseline civic knowledge throughout American society, particularly for younger people, I think 100% of the time the results come back and they’re pretty dismal,” he said.

“It doesn’t matter whether some will go into business, construction, or hospitality, everyone will be called upon to exercise the duties of citizenship,” he added.

The new funds also include $16.5 million for additional training and classroom support for educators seeking to improve civics education and for creating regional civics coaches to help create these programs, $17.5 million to bolster civics curriculum and $6.5 million for career pathway programs in order to develop partnerships between Florida public schools and various public institutions.

Florida State Senator Jason Brodeur (R-District 9), who was with the governor at the press conference, added that “the support we see now is our best chance for everyone’s future, to teach our young people how to disagree without being disagreeable.”

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Juan Carlo Rodriguez is a politics and entertainment writer for Florida National News, part of the FNN News Network. | info@floridanationalnews.com