Florida to spend up to $15 million on school material review technology for DeSantis laws
To support some of Gov. Ron DeSantis' most prominent and controversial K-12 education laws, Florida has agreed to spend millions of dollars on a service it says is a tool for transparency.
But free expression advocates warn it could be a vehicle for censorship.
In a contract signed this September, the Florida Department of Education agreed to pay up to $15.6 million over four years to Maryland-based education technology company Trinity Education Group.
The company has been tapped to develop a “statewide, centralized, easily accessible” system for people to review and even object to instructional materials and library books in Florida school districts.
The state has already paid more than $3 million, according to a Monday payment listed in the state’s online contract database.
"The Department firmly believes that parents have the fundamental right to know what materials their child is accessing at school," said Sydney Booker, the department’s communications director, in a statement.
Book access advocates say those costs weren't made clear when the laws were being pushed. Citing what’s already being done in school districts, they accuse it of being a waste of money in a state that ranks second worst in the nation for average teacher pay, according to National Education Association data.
And some worry this tool could ramp up the already widespread targeting of materials in Florida’s public schools.
"With book bans running amuck in Florida, this partnership seems to open the door wider to facilitate greater suppression of library materials and classroom content," said Katie Blankenship, director of free expression group PEN America's Florida office, in a statement.
"More often, these systems are meant not to serve actual parents interested in what their own children are learning but to provide a way for ideologically motivated actors, including those with no connection to the school, to comb through this data to hunt for material to which to object," she continued.
Company says service would provide 'unprecedented transparency'
In a late October press release about the contract, the Trinity Education Group said their tool would offer “unprecedented transparency and access while reducing the administrative burden on school districts.”
The platform “is designed to empower parents, students, and educators by providing transparent access to educational resources, ensuring that every stakeholder can be actively involved in the educational process," said Hugh Norwood, the firm's founder and CEO, in that announcement.
Booker said the contract marked an effort to provide "a single resource" for parents to review school materials and to help school districts comply with state law.
In its online contract description, the department says centralizing the information will make sure the public has access to the same information, since "districts are currently making the materials accessible in various formats and platforms."
Booker also stressed that the contract is a one year contract — with nearly $5 million to be given in that time frame — with the option to renew for three following years: "Please note that the total contract amount you are seeing in (the state database) could be amended to a lower amount as the project moves forward," she wrote in an email.
The company specifically says its mission is to maintain compliance with the Parental Rights in Education Act (HB 1557), known for restricting classroom instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation in public schools. Critics refer to the measure as “Don’t Say Gay.”