Byron Donalds pushes Florida education plan centered on building student career pathways starting in 6th grade

BRANDON, Fla. - Rep. Byron Donalds, the leading Republican contender to be the next governor of Florida, unveiled his education plan Friday in Brandon.

Byron Donalds Florida education plan

The backstory:

Donalds’ plan calls for every public school student in the state to build a unique, personalized roadmap starting in sixth grade. The individual curriculums would be customized to compile relevant classroom credits and real-world working experience based on a child's specific career goals.

In Republican politics, there was seldom an applause line as big as saying you wanted to get rid of common core.

"Common core, very bad, you have got to educate your children locally," President Donald Trump said during his 2016 campaign.

Byron Donalds’ wife, Erika, built the early part of her political career on ending common core in Florida.

Now that Donalds is running for governor, he says his education plan is the opposite of the now-despised educational relic.

"Parents are the ones who are at the head of the table in Florida," Donalds said.

Personalized student roadmaps

What we know:

Donalds wants individualized plans for each child once they hit sixth grade. They would map their progress towards a potential career.

Curriculums would be cultivated in a way that would help compile relevant credits or real-world experience.

Under the framework, these individualized roadmaps are flexible and can be modified over time as a student's personal interests change. 

"What this is, is a bottom-up approach," Donalds said. "You're having parents working with the schools to figure out what's the pathway to success for their child. Whatever that means for that child, we all know there's multiple ways to be successful in life."

GOP primary race and political stakes

Dig deeper:

Among others, Donalds is battling Lt. Gov. Jay Collins and former House Speaker Paul Renner in the Aug. 18 Republican primary.

Thanks in part to a Trump endorsement, Donalds has held commanding leads in recent polls.  

"We've always known that between June and the middle of July is where this race really gets decided," Donalds said.

Education funding questions and property tax debate

On the ways education is funded, Donalds was asked about Gov. Ron DeSantis’ push to cut property taxes.

Cities and counties across the state have warned that essential public services would be severely threatened by the resulting revenue drops.

"What's about to happen in Tallahassee [is] the legislature working with the governor’s office is going to work through the very details that you're talking about," Donalds said. "We want to obviously make sure that schools and school choice is going to be completely funded in the state of Florida because it's what our parents have demanded."

What's next:

If 60% of Florida voters pass the plan in November, Donalds would be in charge if he gets elected as the plan gets implemented.

Hillsborough County alone would see $725 million disappear by the second year of the plan.

"The question is what is the pathway for that revenue to hit local governments, to hit state government, so that we're providing the resources that Floridians have come to rely on?" Donalds said.

FloridaPoliticsEducation