TALLAHASSEE — Florida Education Association (FEA) President Andrew Spar released a statement today regarding the Senate Governmental Oversight and Accountability Committee’s decision to advance Senate Bill 256, an attack on the freedoms and rights of educators to join together as a union to advocate for Florida’s students and our profession:
“Heading into this legislative session, it is no secret that teachers, staff and professors are going to be the target of Gov. DeSantis’ attacks. We’ve challenged the governor to not just provide lip service on educator pay, but to make the investment necessary to raise Florida’s average teacher salary from 48th in the nation to the top ten. We’ve demanded students have the freedom to learn, and teachers have the freedom to teach. In doing the right thing for Florida’s children, parents and educators, we’ve placed a target on our backs.
“It is disappointing to see so many legislators go along with these attacks. One of the worst-kept secrets in Tallahassee is that many legislators secretly don’t support Gov. DeSantis’ agenda but are too timid to stand up to his authoritarian ways.
“For the sake of our state, we must hope all senators assert their independence from Gov. DeSantis and protect the freedoms and rights of teachers, staff, professors, students and parents.”
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CONTACT: Joni Branch, joni.branch@floridaea.org, (850) 201-3223
The Florida Education Association is the state’s largest association of professional employees, with 150,000 members. FEA represents PreK-12 teachers, higher education faculty, educational staff professionals, students at our colleges and universities preparing to become teachers and retired education employees.
