Richard Corcoran

Richard Corcoran, a Republican former Florida House speaker and former education commissioner, was named as president after new conservative trustees were appointed.

Corcoran is a former Republican House speaker and led high-profile initiatives for DeSantis while serving as education commissioner.

Former Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran won't have to testify in a challenge to a 2021 law that requires surveys of “intellectual freedom and viewpoint diversity” on college and university campuses.

Gov. Ron DeSantis has tapped former state education commissioner Richard Corcoran to serve on the state university system’s Board of Governors. The board oversees Florida’s state universities and is tasked with such responsibilities as adopting regulations designed to carry out state laws related to higher education.

Florida Education Richard Corcoran announced Wednesday he will step down from his position at the end of April, and a powerful South Florida Republican lawmaker with charter school ties is being floated as his successor.

The federal government recently announced it would investigate threats against local school board members. The announcement comes amid growing acrimony between parental groups and public school leaders over issues like face masks and critical race theory. Yet, where some see a threat—others see an exercise of free speech.

How Florida assesses K-12 students' academic progress may be changing. Gov. Ron DeSantis wants to eliminate most of the state's standardized tests, called Florida Standards Assessments (FSA). Instead, the state would rely on progress monitoring.

Florida school districts with mandatory face mask policies can keep their policies for a while longer. A Leon County judge has lifted a stay on his ruling that initially blocked the state from punishing districts that defy Gov. Ron DeSantis' effort to block such policies.

The Leon County School district is lawyering up to defend its school mask mandate. The district has hired the same firm that is also representing Miami Dade Schools in the ongoing fight over requiring students to wear face coverings.

Florida’s largest school district is joining Alachua and Broward in requiring students to wear face coverings. The moves go against an executive order by Gov. Ron DeSantis requiring such policies to be voluntary.