Florida State Education Commissioner Anastasios Kamoutsas also said that he’s “committed to holding publishers accountable,” emphasizing that some of the textbooks have contained information on topics such as critical race theory, intersectionality, and white privilege.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is suing two high-profile textbook publishers, claiming that they overcharge school districts and often include “egregious” content.
The lawsuit was filed earlier this week by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, naming McGraw Hill and the Savvas Learning Co. as defendants.
Aside from taking issue with McGraw Hill and Savvas Learning Co.’s pricing practices, DeSantis said that his office has received reports of textbook materials not being properly “aligned with our standards.”
“To see some of the stuff they are trying to pull, it’s not going to fly here,” DeSantis said.
Uthmeier noted that both McGraw Hill and Savvas have brokered more favorable deals with in other states.
“These two companies, McGraw Hill and Savvas, they got discounts as they cut deals in other places, and they saved money,” Uthmeier said in a statement. “Unfortunately for them, Florida law requires the lowest price to be given to our school systems. They did not do that so we have sued them and we will hold them accountable.”
Florida State Education Commissioner Anastasios Kamoutsas also said that he’s “committed to holding publishers accountable,” emphasizing that some of the textbooks have contained information on topics such as critical race theory, intersectionality, and white privilege.
“[It] has no business here,” he said.
“Every taxpayer dollar matters, and we will not allow publishers to exploit these taxpayer dollars. I, in conjunction with the attorney general and the governor, will hold every one of these publishers accountable on both content and cost,” Kamoutsas said. “If you want to provide these textbooks in Florida, you’re going to follow our laws, you’re going to respect our parents, you’re going to treat every school district equally.”
“If publishers choose to add that content in their textbooks, they will not be approved, and they will be not be sold in Florida schools,” Kamoutsas said.
Tyler Reed, a spokesperson for McGraw Hill, said that the company plans to defend itself “vigorously.”
“We plan to defend our position vigorously,” Reed said. “We continually invest in our content in order to fully align with Florida standards, support Florida schools and education Florida students with maximum efficacy.”
In a separate statement, a spokesperson for the Savvas Learning Co. said that, while it will not comment on pending litigation, the company doesn’t plan to acquiesce.
“We will not publicly comment any further on this litigation and will defend our company vigorously against the allegations made by the Florida attorney general,” the statement read.
Sources
Gov. DeSantis says Florida suing textbook giants over high prices, slams ‘woke’ content
Florida files suit against textbook publishers, alleging unfair pricing
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