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Ron DeSantis appointed a co-founder of Moms for Liberty, a “parental rights” group that has sought to take over school boards in multiple states, to the Florida Commission on Ethics on Wednesday. Tina Descovich was named to the nine-member, Tallahassee-based commission, which investigates alleged breaches of public trust by elected and appointed officials, as well as state employees. Moms for Liberty started with Descovich and two other Florida women fighting COVID-19 restrictions in 2021. Along with Descovich, DeSantis also appointed South Florida attorney Luis Fuste to the commission. Another vacancy on the ethics commission was created in June, when former member Jim Waldman's term ended.

Persons: Ron DeSantis, Tina Descovich, Descovich, ”, DeSantis, Luis Fuste, Glen Gilzean, Gilzean, Jim Waldman's Organizations: — Republican Gov, Liberty, School Board, Florida Coalition of School, Heritage Foundation, Republican, Southern Poverty Law Center, South, Florida Senate, Central, Walt Disney, Disney Locations: TALLAHASSEE, Fla, Florida, Tallahassee, Brevard County, Tampa, Philadelphia, South Florida, Central Florida

☆ Ron DeSantis just put the co-founder of a book ban advocacy group on Florida's state ethics commission
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Grace Eliza Goodwin | John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

DeSantis appointed the co-founder of right-wing parental rights group to the state's ethics committee. The group, Moms for Liberty, says its mission is to "stoke the fires of liberty." The group has proposed book bans and fought against mask mandates and teachings about racism and gender issues. The group, however, has rejected the idea that they are seeking to ban books. Moms for Liberty certainly isn't," Moms for Liberty co-founder Tiffany Justice told NewsNation earlier this year.

Persons: DeSantis, Ron DeSantis, Tina Descovich, Descovich, Tiffany Justice, NewsNation Organizations: Florida Gov, Liberty, stoke, Service, Gov, Tallahassee Democrat, Southern Poverty Law Locations: Florida, Wall, Silicon, state's, Leon County , Florida, Tallahassee

☆ Moms for Liberty emerge as a force in the 2024 race
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( James Oliphant | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

The Republican candidates' courting of the group's members signifies its arrival as a major conservative player in national politics. Volunteers sporting shirts with the group’s logo could be seen working recently at DeSantis’ presidential campaign events in Iowa. COURTING MOMSOther Republican candidates also are cozying up to Moms for Liberty, which now claims 120,000 members in 44 states. Advocacy groups such as People For the American Way, ACT UP, Defense of Democracy and a Facebook-based effort called STOP Moms for Liberty organized protests in Philadelphia ahead of the Moms for Liberty conference. She said Moms for Liberty remains largely concerned with learning loss connected to school closures from the pandemic and that its opposition is driven by politics.

Persons: Robin Steenman, Judith, Brett Craig, Read, Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, “, ”, Tina Descovich, Tim Scott, Mike Pence, Nikki Haley, Descovich, DeSantis, Jazmyn Henderson, ” Bryan Griffin, Griffin, Nathan Layne, Colleen Jenkins, Alistair Bell Organizations: Liberty, Republican, Heritage Foundation, Leadership Institute, Trump, Iowa, Former South Carolina, Southern Poverty Law Center, Reuters, Way, ACT UP, Defense of Democracy, Twitter, Thomson Locations: Philadelphia, Florida, Iowa, U.S, South Carolina

☆ SPLC Puts Moms on Its ‘Hate Map’
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Tiffany Justice | Tina Descovich | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

As protests erupted outside a Glendale, Calif., school board meeting discussing LGBTQ+ issues in the classroom on June 6, 2023, opponents highlighted their concerns about teachers discussing sexual orientation and gender identity with children. Images: The Orange County Register via AP/Zuma Press Composite: Mark KellyWe started Moms for Liberty in 2021 because we served as school board members and we saw parental rights were under attack. Kids were locked out of schools and later subjected to mask and vaccine mandates. For every vocal parent it seems there were a hundred who would say: “Thanks for fighting. I’d lose my job if I spoke up, but I am so glad you are.”

Persons: Mark Kelly, I’d, ” Organizations: AP, Zuma, Liberty Locations: Glendale, Calif, Orange

☆ Moms for Liberty: ‘We Do Not Co-Parent With the Government’
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Tunku Varadarajan | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/articles/we-do-not-co-parent-with-the-government-justice-descovich-education-rights-d9609fc6

Persons: Dow Jones

☆ Trump wades into education culture war as he eyes race with DeSantis
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( James Oliphant | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Trump hasn't been waging the same kind of cultural warfare over education that DeSantis and other Republicans have since the coronavirus pandemic. DeSantis was in Iowa on Friday, speaking at a pair of political events that appeared to be laying groundwork for a presidential bid. His education agenda in Florida was a recurring theme in his remarks, and DeSantis credited it as a reason that he convincingly won re-election last year. DeSantis has asked the Florida legislature to expand a ban on teaching gender-identity concepts to eighth grade from third grade currently. Some of Trump’s education ideas include rewarding teachers who teach “patriotic values” and requiring direct election of school principals by parents, although how he would bring that about is unclear.

☆ Trump looks to play catch-up to DeSantis on education in 2024 race
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( James Oliphant | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The coronavirus pandemic gave rise to a host of hot-button issues surrounding education that have mobilized the Republican base in the years since Trump left the White House. DeSantis was in Iowa on Friday, speaking at a pair of political events that appear to be laying groundwork for a presidential bid. DeSantis has asked the Florida legislature to expand a ban on teaching gender-identity concepts to eighth grade from third grade currently. That could leave an opening for Trump, who made school choice a priority in his administration but lacks the track record on state-level education issues that DeSantis and other governors have. Terry Schilling, president of the American Principles Project, another conservative parents' rights group, said DeSantis getting out ahead of Trump on the issue should not hurt the former president.

A Florida sheriff stunned many of his constituents this week by appearing to endorse spanking students, his comments coming during a press conference in which county officials announced plans to tighten discipline in Brevard County schools. Sheriff Wayne Ivey spins the "Wheel of Fugitive" board at the Brevard County Sheriffs Office in 2017. And he is a Brevard County political powerbroker who helped get two Republicans, Megan Wright and Gene Trent, elected to the county school board. Shortly after they were sworn in Nov. 22, Wright and Trent teamed up with school board chair Matt Susin to oust longtime superintendent Mark Mullins. There was agreement among the Brevard County school officials interviewed that disruptive students are a problem in the system.

The Florida Democratic Party noted it has had a Municipal Victory Program since 2016 that includes efforts to fundraise and help school board candidates. Historically, it hasn’t taken a lot of cash to influence school board races, which are generally nonpartisan and often draw low voter turnout. In a 2018 survey, just 9 percent of school board officials reported spending more than $5,000. “What Ron DeSantis is doing in Florida — supporting a bunch of these school board candidates — is really smart, because the No. Some of the liberal efforts to push back against conservatives in school board races are well established.

They strategized on what they want to do next: elect their own candidates to school boards, pass state legislation and diminish the influence of teachers unions. “It’s been said we’re some political powerhouse,” said Tiffany Justice, who co-founded Moms for Liberty in January 2021 with Tina Descovich. Moms for Liberty founders Tiffany Justice, left, and Tina Descovich present the Liberty Sword to Gov. “When I’m going up there by myself, the school board overlooks you,” said Ken Davenport, a father from a chapter in Orange County, Florida, who is running for state representative. Ron DeSantis, is joined by her 5-year-old daughter, Madison, after a question and answer session at the Moms for Liberty Summit.

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