Jacksonville, FL – Earlier today, Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) spoke about a variety of issues from a possible Presidential run to College Board’s Advanced Placement (AP) Program to potentially inappropriate books in schools at a press conference in the northeastern part of the state.
In his initial statements to the audience, Gov. DeSantis spoke on legal reform and mentioned a proposal that looks to end taxes on “baby items” such as diapers, wipes, cribs, and strollers. However, the main fireworks came when members of the press asked their questions during the Q&A portion of the conference.
When asked about the AP situation, DeSantis stated that “they’re (AP) not the only one that can provide that particular service. So, we really believe in Florida high school students should be able to earn college credits."
"We’ve championed dual enrollment where you can actually take a course in high school from one of our professors at a state college…the question is: AP – with The College Board – who elected them? Are there other people that provide services? It turns out there are IB courses, they’re actually more rigorous than AP and the colleges accept it. You also have the Cambridge, which is also more rigorous with those," said Gov. DeSantis.
DeSantis went on to mention, “So, Florida students are going to have that ability, that is not going to be diminished, in fact, we’re going to continue to expand it. But it’s not clear to me that this particular operator is the one that is going to need to be used in the future.”
When asked about Nikki Haley’s run for President and whether he planned to “follow suit,” DeSantis replied, “Wouldn’t you like to know,” which garnered a laugh from the audience.
Moreover, DeSantis was asked about the video of bookshelves being empty in Clark County due to the Department of Education’s crack down on inappropriate material in schools.
DeSantis immediately pounced on the question, quoting, “actually, you know, that video, that was a fake narrative, that was not true…this is trying to create some narrative as if that they hadn’t even put the books out to begin with…Now, there is long standing Florida law that prohibits an adult from giving a school child pornography, but don’t we think that’s inappropriate to do? But that’s been the law for a long time…I think they’re trying to do things to virtue signal, I think it’s all politically motivated.”
For the press conference in its entirety, look below:
Gov. DeSantis Speaks on Legal Reform in Jacksonville https://t.co/QksFWQrp0D
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) February 14, 2023
