Florida Becomes First State in the Nation to Adopt Education Freedom Declaration

November 18, 2025

Florida become the first state in the nation to adopt an important new education freedom declaration pledging parental choice, transparency and academic excellence in schools.

On November 13, the Florida State Board of Education unanimously voted to ratify and adopt The Phoenix Declaration: An American Vision for Education as “the guiding principles for education in Florida.”

Unveiled by The Heritage Foundation on February 17, 2025, the Phoenix Declaration received the support of over 50 scholars and education policy experts, and 10 education and public interest groups.

The declaration states, “Education is the cornerstone of individual opportunity, family flourishing, and national prosperity.”

It adds,

Every child should have access to a high-quality, content-rich education that fosters the pursuit of the good, the true, and the beautiful, so that they may achieve their full, God-given potential.

America’s schools must work alongside parents to prepare children for the responsibilities of adulthood, including their familial and civic responsibilities, by cultivating excellence in mind and heart.

The Phoenix Declaration comes at a crucial time when our nation’s schools are struggling to educate – or worse, succeeding at indoctrinating – our nation’s youngest and brightest minds.

According to the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress, just 31% of eighth-graders are proficient in science; 22% of twelfth-graders are proficient in mathematics; and 35% of twelfth-graders are proficient in reading.

“These results are sobering,” said Matthew Soldner, Acting Commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics, about the results. “The drop in overall scores coincides with significant declines in achievement among our lowest-performing students, continuing a downward trend that began even before the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Clearly, there’s much about the American education system that needs fixing. The Phoenix Declaration is aiming to do just that by promoting parental choice, pro-American education curricula, students’ character formation, academic excellence and citizenship.

“Throughout Governor Ron DeSantis’ tenure, education in Florida has been guided by many of the principles embodied in the Phoenix Declaration,” Commissioner of Education Anastasios Kamoutsas said in a statement.

“By formally adopting this Declaration, we are reaffirming our commitment to an education system that pursues truth and virtue, empowers parents, and always prioritizes our students.”

The declaration envisions an education system dedicated to:

Parental Choice & Responsibility: Parents are the primary educators of their children. Public education funds should always follow the child.
Transparency & Accountability: Schools must be fully transparent with parents about curricula, policies and student well-being.
Truth & Goodness: Students deserve an education grounded in objective truth, free from ideological fads, and oriented toward the pursuit of the good.
Cultural Transmission: Students should learn about America’s founding principles and roots in the broader Western and Judeo-Christian traditions.
Character Formation: Schools must prepare children for the challenges and responsibilities of adulthood by cultivating virtue, personal responsibility, and self-discipline.
Academic Excellence: Schools should prioritize proven teaching methods and a content rich curriculum rooted in foundational subjects over fads or experimental teaching methods.
Citizenship: Schools should teach students the civic virtues and knowledge necessary for self-government, including the value of civil disagreement. Students should learn the whole truth about America – its merits and failings – without obscuring that America is a great source of good in the world.

“As one of the original public officials who signed on to the Phoenix Declaration, I knew how important it was for the State Board of Education to adopt it to serve as the unifying foundation for education in Florida.” said Ryan Petty, Chair of the State Board of Education in a statement.

“The Phoenix Declaration will challenge us, as leaders, to resist complacency and ensure that Florida remains a national model for academic freedom, parental partnership and educational excellence.”

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