Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier is suing textbook publishers McGraw Hill and Savvas Learning after they allegedly overcharged state school districts millions of dollars for instructional materials. Uthmeier announced the lawsuit alongside Gov. Ron DeSantis during a press conference in Osceola County on Tuesday.
“Our lawsuit exposes a textbook case of corporate greed—companies charging Florida schools more than the law allows, pocketing the difference, and sticking taxpayers with the bill,” Uthmeier said in a release. "Florida will not be a playground for deceitful profiteers who think they can cheat our students and teachers. We will make sure they pay back every dime and face the full consequences under the law.”
Stemming from a whistleblower complaint, Uthmeier's lawsuit alleges both McGraw Hill and Savvas Learning failed to follow Florida’s statutory pricing requirements for instructional materials adopted for statewide use.
The allegation goes against state law, which mandates publishers give every school district the best price available anywhere in the country. Publishers are also required to automatically extend any price cuts offered elsewhere, as well as provide free materials to Florida schools whenever they are supplied free to others.
McGraw Hill and Saavas Learning would violate the Florida False Claims Act if found guilty of the complaint.
"That was not being done by these two textbook companies," DeSantis said at the press conference. "The complaint filed by the attorney general states that there have been at least 5,900 instances of overcharges by these textbook publishers."
The governor detailed one example in Osceola County schools resulting in overcharges of $279,000. The alleged instances could result in civil penalties of $37.5 million to $60.5 million between the two publishers, DeSantis noted.
"Those resources should be going to the school districts, the teachers, and doing ways that are going to be productive, not to pad the profits of textbook companies who are not following the letter of the law," DeSantis said.
