Florida is experiencing a dire shortage of teachers, as perennial low pay and Governor DeSantis' appalling anti-LGBTQ censorship and persecution laws drive teachers out of the classroom. The state has 9,000 empty teaching and support positions that are unfilled ahead of the new school year, and DeSantis has come up with a ridiculous plan to fix it — just hire veterans!
A new law allows veterans to obtain a teacher's certificate and get jobs in public schools even if they don't have a bachelor's degree. It's a characteristically Republican response to a crisis of their own making — a performative display of military worship that will reduce the quality of public school instruction.
Call on the Florida legislature to repeal this absurd law!
It's yet another disgusting show of disrespect to actual teachers, who spend years studying not just the material they use to instruct the children but also how to guide their learning, manage children's relationships with each other and grapple with their emotions in a new, confusing world.
As much as we respect our veterans, replacing these hard-working teachers with people who have spent their lives training to kill and enduring hell on foreign battlefields is not the answer.
Demand Ron DeSantis stop his absurd plan to have veterans teach in school!
