The vote was unexpectedly close, but the Florida Senate has passed legislation that would give local school districts control over the textbooks they use. The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Alan Hays, R-Umatilla, said he was moved to act after hearing from local school board officials, who want more control over setting curriculum.
“School board members say to me we did not have choice … that’s what Tallahassee gave us,” explained Hays. “Frankly, they’re tired of being dictated to when it comes to curriculum. They’re tired, candidly, of being ignored when they say they want more Old Testament and less Charles Darwin.”