NCAI Issues Statement on New Florida Educational Standards

The newly endorsed standards on race by the Florida Board of Education, intended for teaching in the state’s public schools, have attracted critiques from educators and civil rights organizations, such as the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI).

Florida’s Governor, Ron DeSantis’s, so-called “anti-woke” rhetoric is being held accountable for these new standards, approved by the state board of education last Wednesday. Under DeSantis’s administration, the Florida legislature enacted a law that prevents public schools from teaching any content that insinuates the notion of privilege or oppression based on race or skin color.

A Wednesday standard that discusses “how slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit” has drawn criticism across the nation.

The NCAI issued a statement on Friday criticizing the new guidelines, which was written by Shannon Hosley, the organization’s treasurer and president of the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Indians. The declaration reads:

“Native people are far too familiar with the devastating consequences caused by education systems that have at various times ignored, fabricated, and misrepresented the often painful histories of our people. And as the state of Florida threatens to dangerously alter the history of enslaved people and teach it to generations of future leaders, the National Congress of American Indians stands united with our diverse partners, both Native and non-Native, in shaping a promising future. We firmly believe that it is our responsibility to preserve our unique histories and not allow outsiders to rewrite them on our behalf. Together, we will champion our own history and ensure its accuracy and authenticity.”

Only passing mentions of how Native American history should be taught are made in the new standards. The social studies standards that are specified for each school level (K–12) make mention of Native Americans. The first mention of Native Americans comes in second grade.

It reads: “Recognize that Native Americans were the first inhabitants in North America.”

The Florida Education Association, the state’s teacher’s union, called the new standards “a big step backward for a state.” 

“How can our students ever be equipped for the future if they don’t have a full, honest picture of where we’ve come from? Florida’s students deserve a world-class education that equips them to be successful adults who can help heal our nation’s divisions rather than deepen them,” Andrew Spar, the association’s president, said in a statement.

“Gov. DeSantis is pursuing a political agenda guaranteed to set good people against one another, and in the process he’s cheating our kids. They deserve the full truth of American history, the good and the bad,” Spar added.