LAND O’ LAKES, Fla. — A hearing officer recently released his recommendation regarding a petition brought on by parents against the use of Dave Ramsey materials in Pasco County School’s financial literacy course.
Under Florida’s Parental Bill of Rights Act, parents can petition any books or instructional materials if they find them to not align with state standards, which is how the Dave Ramsey material came into question.
After a hearing on Oct. 10,, the hearing officer found the Dave Ramsey material to be in line with current state standards, recommending the district continue using it, which has some parents really upset.
“Today we are here for the hearing of the adoption of a Dave Ramsey textbook for the new graduation required financial literacy course,” Jessica Wright said as she walked into the petition hearing earlier this month.
Wright, a former teacher who is also a parent, said she feels it violates state standards because of quotes from the Bible related to debt, and other terms used in the material.
The hearing operates a lot like a legal trial. The school board designates a hearing officer, and the petitioners, which in this case included a handful of parents, present their evidence.
“They will be required to use this material, which violates the First Amendment, which puts our school board in major liability, and our teachers in liability,” she said.
The school district then presented its evidence in support of the material, followed by closing arguments. The hearing officer had 14 days to prepare a recommendation for the school board, and this time, he said the material meets standards.
“There isn’t much there. It’s almost like they just filled out a standard form and basically said we followed x, y, z, and the Board did what they were supposed to, and they’re in compliance because they said so,” Wright said.
While she isn’t happy with his findings, Wright said she’s not giving up just yet. The school board still has to vote on the recommendation at its next meeting, and she’ll be speaking out once again.
“It’s been a very interesting process to go through all of this, and it definitely feels like political theater, instead of doing what’s best for kids and teachers,” Wright said.
At the petition hearing, there weren’t any parents there who spoke in favor of the book, only the handful of parents speaking out against it. The Pasco County School District said the board will take the findings into consideration at their next board meeting on Nov. 7.
