• Gov. Ron DeSantis on Sunday completed his Education Agenda Tour, stopping in Miami-Dade, Volusia, Sarasota, and Duval counties to showcase his educational ideology
• As part of the appearances, DeSantis took the stage alongside local school board candidates he endorsed 
• DeSantis also touted his legislative action regarding education, including the Parental Rights in Education bill and the civics education curriculum

Gov. Ron DeSantis held the DeSantis Education Agenda Tour on Sunday with stops in Miami-Dade, Sarasota, Volusia, and Duval counties to showcase his educational platform. During the appearances, the governor discussed his endorsements for various local school board candidates.

According to DeSantis’ Political Action Committee, The DeSantis Education Agenda is a “student-first, parent-centered initiative focused on setting Florida’s children up for success, ensuring parental rights in education, and combatting the woke agenda from infiltrating public schools.” 

Governor DeSantis last month announced his full slate of 30 endorsements of local school board candidates who support the DeSantis Education Agenda and appeared with several of these candidates at the events.

“Florida has led with purpose and conviction that our school system is about education, not indoctrination. Our education agenda is focused on protecting parental rights, curriculum transparency, and keeping classrooms free of woke ideology,” said DeSantis during his tour. “Across our state, Floridians are ready for local school boards that promote education, not indoctrination. It was great to be in these counties to share our bold agenda for education ahead of the important election on August 23.”

DeSantis has undertaken various legislative actions to further his educational agenda, including the Parental Rights in Education bill, the Stop ‘WOKE’ Act, and funding to launch the state-sponsored civics education curriculum.

Each of the four stops DeSantis made on Sunday took place in one of the state’s most populous counties, which without coincidence, is home to a sizeable portion of those candidates endorsed by the governor.

Individually, the endorsed candidates have pledged to run for a seat on their local school board on the DeSantis education platform. The campaign delves in keeping Critical Race Theory out of curricula, as well as structuring a greater level of parent involvement in school activity.

School board candidate endorsements have become forms of political ammo in recent months. Both DeSantis and likely gubernatorial challenger Rep. Charlie Crist have endorsed school board candidates. The action marks the first time a pair of democratically-elected lawmakers injected personal opinion or endorsement in non-partisan, local races.

The two candidates are jockeying themselves to represent opposite sides of the educational binary. While DeSantis seeks the eradication of CRT and gender or sexual education from early elementary curricula, Crist advocates for the reinstating of local autonomy within school districts, enabling each district to approve or deny learning plans at their discretion, which may or may not include elements of CRT.