Florida Officials Defend Proposed Science Standards

Florida's proposed science standards would be implemented beginning in the 2028-29 school year, following adoption, updates to instructional materials, and professional development for teachers. The State Board of Education is scheduled to consider the standards in December.

Education Commissioner Henry Mack addressed criticism of the draft at a public listening session Tuesday held at Lake Buena Vista High School in Orange County. The event marked the final stop of a public listening tour. The proposed changes represent the state's first comprehensive update to science and health standards since 2008.

Mack stated that the concepts remain in the draft even when familiar scientific terms do not appear explicitly in individual benchmarks. He said it is his commitment that students will not walk away with anything other than a grounded understanding of scientific truth that includes climate science, climate change, and evolution.

Joshua Garrett, a teacher with Orange County Public Schools, reviewed the proposed middle school standards and said the current standards explicitly refer to the scientific theory of evolution. The new draft describes how organisms and Earth have changed over time without consistently naming evolution. Garrett also noted the removal of language addressing how scientific theories are developed and how researchers distinguish theories from hypotheses.

Mack said the state is working to make evolutionary biology more explicit in its proposed science standards while avoiding treating evolution through random mutation and natural selection as settled science. He added that the term is not defined in the new high school life sciences standards.

Stephana Ferrell, the parent of an incoming Orange County Public Schools freshman, raised concerns regarding human-caused climate change. She referenced a social media post counting 47 instances of the word climate in grades 9 through 12. Ferrell stated that counting a word is not the same as teaching a subject.

Teri O’Connor, an elementary science teacher for OCPS who has taught for almost two decades, asked how teachers could cover more than 100 kindergarten standards in a 180-day school year. Senior Chancellor Paul Burns, who attended the session with Mack, said the department develops more standards than are expected to be taught in any one course to provide flexibility to schools and districts.

Kathleen Murray, the state education director for Citizens Defending Freedom, supported the standards update. She said students should be encouraged to question scientific theories and examine the limits of scientific models. Dania Victores, who came from Polk County, said the proposed changes are setting the foundation for students in science.

During the session, Mack addressed criticism regarding a reference to the Book of Creation in a Florida Department of Education Facebook post. He stated that the phrase was intended as a metaphor and said he stands by what he said. Burns explained that the department began reviewing the standards in 2024 with educators, school administrators, instructional coaches, and higher education faculty. The department reported receiving nearly 1,800 public comments and said it had made revisions in response to feedback.