Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has directed the state’s Department of Education to suspend availability of school choice scholarships to 4 schools with CCP ties.
Gov. Ron DeSantis has directed the Florida Department of Education (FDOE) to suspend the availability of school choice scholarships to four schools found to have direct ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
The decision, made public on Friday, comes after a thorough investigation conducted by FDOE, which revealed that Lower and Upper Sagemont Preparatory Schools in Weston, Parke House Academy in Winter Park, and Park Maitland School in Winter Park maintain direct connections with the CCP.
The governor’s office said in a statement that these schools’ connections with the CCP “constitute an imminent threat to the health, safety, and welfare of these school’s students and the public.”
“[FDOE] has found four schools that have direct ties to the CCP,” Mr. DeSantis wrote on X. “We are suspending them from Florida’s school choice scholarship programs, effective immediately. We will not allow Florida’s tax dollars to go to schools with connections to adversarial foreign nations.”
.@EducationFL has found four schools that have direct ties to the CCP. We are suspending them from Florida’s school choice scholarship programs, effective immediately.
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) September 22, 2023
We will not allow Florida’s tax dollars to go to schools with connections to adversarial foreign nations.
In May, Mr. DeSantis signed three laws, including SB 846, Agreements of Educational Entities with Foreign Entities, which prohibits any school affiliated with a foreign country of concern, such as the communist regime of China, from participating in Florida’s school choice scholarship programs.
The directive to suspend these four schools from the program is part of the state’s ongoing efforts to distance itself from any influences associated with the CCP.
“The Chinese Communist Party is not welcome in the state of Florida,” Mr. DeSantis said in a statement. “We will not put up with any attempt to influence students with a communist ideology or allow Floridians’ tax dollars to go to schools that are connected to our foreign adversaries.”
Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. echoed this sentiment.
“The Chinese Communist Party has no place in our schools,” Mr. Diaz said in the statement. “I am grateful for Governor DeSantis and the Florida Legislature for their work to keep students and our communities safe from foreign countries of concern.”
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