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The Week: local event selections

DeSantis signs bills promoting anti-communist lessons for K-12 schools, ‘intellectual freedom’ at colleges

Saying he wants Florida to be the “No. 1 state for civic literacy,” Gov. Ron DeSantis last week signed bills aimed at boosting civics education in public schools and gauging “intellectual freedom” on college campuses.

During a bill-signing event at a Fort Myers middle-school library, DeSantis recapped some of his priorities from the legislative session that ended April 30 — emphasizing patriotism in civics instruction and fighting what he describes as “indoctrination” in education.

“Ultimately, these kids will probably all do different pathways in life,” DeSantis said, flanked by students and Republican bill sponsors. “All of those people are going to be citizens. They’re all going to be part of making sure that our country is able to preserve the freedoms that we possess.”

Of the three education measures DeSantis signed last week, the most controversial was a bill (HB 233) geared toward gauging “intellectual freedom and viewpoint diversity” at colleges and universities.

The measure will require the state university system’s Board of Governors and the State Board of Education to create an “objective, nonpartisan and statistically valid survey.” The survey will be given to students, faculty and staff at the schools, and the resulting data will be published.

“It used to be thought that a university campus was a place where you’d be exposed to a lot of different ideas. Unfortunately, now the norm is really, these are intellectually repressive environments,” DeSantis said, adding that “students should not be shielded from ideas.”

But the progressive organization Florida Watch criticized DeSantis’ signing of the measure, saying the governor is “focusing on nonexistent issues rather than confronting the real problems” facing Floridians.

“Instead, Gov. DeSantis and Republicans in the Legislature spent this session targeting our public universities with partisan attacks,” the group’s executive director, Josh Weierbach, said in a statement.

DeSantis, however, contended that the bills collectively seek to teach concepts that are “foundational” to a complete civics education.

“Understanding the Bill of Rights, understanding other key amendments to the Constitution, understanding the differences between federal and state Constitution,” DeSantis said. “There’s all these different things that I think are fundamental.” — Ryan Dailey, NSF

Checkup: Health care laws poised to take effect this week

The longest day of the year has passed and July 4 is just around the corner, which means at least one thing: There’s a bevy of new health-care laws that will take effect July 1.

Chief among them is a new law pushed by the nursing home industry that allows nursing homes to employ lay people as “personal care assistants” and — for four consecutive months — count their on-the-job training toward minimum, state-mandated staffing requirements.

Prior to working with residents, personal-care attendants must complete a 16-hour education course developed by the state Agency for Health Care Administration. The industry hopes on-the job training will serve as a glide path to certified nurse assistant careers.

The new law essentially makes permanent a “personal care assistant” program that former AHCA Secretary Mary Mayhew authorized in a March 2020 emergency order. Mayhew, however, only required personal care attendants to take an eight-hour education class before caring for residents.

The nursing home industry, which faced staffing shortages prior to the pandemic, has touted the program as a win-win for Florida and for nursing home residents.

“We thank Gov. DeSantis for signing this important legislation, which will not only provide more career opportunities for Floridians but also addresses the workforce shortage that our long-term care facilities have been dealing with throughout the state,” Florida Health Care Association CEO Emmett Reed said in a prepared statement.

AARP Florida flagged concerns about the bill during the legislative session, but the organization came up short against the powerful nursing home industry. Last Friday, AARP Florida state director Jeff Johnson blasted Republican leaders for embracing the proposal.

“The global pandemic merely exposed the ongoing failures of Florida nursing homes, and instead of looking for ways to fix a broken system, state policymakers have given the nursing home industry another opportunity to cut corners,” Johnson said in a statement. Johnson said the law will “decrease the quality of care provided in Florida nursing homes at a time when COVID-19 has made it clear that the opposite needs to occur.”

Some other bills signed into law that become effective last Thursday include:

HB 183: Requires the Office of Minority Health and Health Equity to develop and to promote statewide implementation of policies, programs and practices that increase health equity for racial and ethnic minority populations in Florida.

SB 716: Clarifies a 2020 law on consent for pelvic exams by revising the term “pelvic examination” and makes clear that certain health care practitioners and students need only obtain written consent for the initial pelvic examination for certain patients under certain circumstances.

HB 905: Authorizes AHCA, in consultation with the Department of Elderly Affairs, to approve the new program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly.

HB 1189: Requires county health departments to participate in sexual assault response teams coordinated by certified rape crisis centers.

HB 1381: Requires the Department of Health to establish telehealth minority maternity-care pilot programs in Duval and Orange counties and provides for funding of pilot programs.

SB 1786: Makes sweeping changes to the Florida Birth-Related Neurological Injury Compensation program, including increasing the maximum amount that may be awarded to parents or legal guardians from $100,000 to $250,000.

SB 1934: Requires DOH to suspend health care practitioners’ licenses if they enter a criminal plea to, or are convicted or found guilty of, a felony relating to homicide or are arrested for possessing child pornography or soliciting prostitution, among other things. — Christine Sexton, NSF