Supreme Copout, School Censorship & The Disassembled DeSantis Administration - Top 3 Takeaways – May 28th, 2025 - Driven By Braman Motorcars
Takeaway #1: Supreme Copout
The High Court has been supremely disappointing with two recent decisions, or should I say, indecisions, it has made. First there was last week’s ruling in the Oklahoma Catholic Charter School case. In this case, Oklahoma’s Charter School Board executed a contract with a Catholic Virtual School to operate a religious charter school in the state. The state attorney general sued, arguing that the contract violated state prohibitions on religion in public schools or the so-called, but non-existent, separation of church and state. The case made its way to the Supreme Court – where Justice Amy Coney Barrett, without a reason given, recused herself from the case. The end result was no result. The Court was deadlocked 4-4 meaning Barrett’s recusal likely lost the case for the charter school. Because no decision was made by the Supreme Court, their indecision didn’t set precedent – meaning the lower court ruling remained in effect and only applied to the specific Oklahoma charter school in question (having no impact in Florida, for example, where we have universal school choice). But still, not only did the Supremes' indecision put an end to the first-of-its-kind charter school at a time when children no doubt could use more God in their lives, it was a missed opportunity for a ruling that would have led to the creation of similar charter schools across the country. It was a huge miss and a lost opportunity to allow parents across the country an opportunity to use their tax dollars for faith-based education for their children. Then there was Tuesday’s Supreme indecision. On Tuesday the Supreme Court declined to take up the case of Massachusetts student Liam Morrison who was banned from his school for wearing a shirt saying: “There are only two genders”. The school said the shirt made other students feel “unsafe”. The decision to not take up the case leaves a lower court ruling in place essentially stating that...
Takeaway #2: Public schools can censor messaging
As subjectively as they see fit (and banish students who don’t agree with censorship along the way). In fact, in the federal court ruling went a step further to say that the message was demeaning for transgender students. The student in question is in seventh grade. Seventh grade! Any 12- or 13-year-old student who is “transgendered” should have a doctor who is spending the rest of their life behind bars for child mutilation and parents who’re evaluated for child abuse. Also, it’s an ironclad guarantee that anyone who can’t handle a shirt that says there are only two genders is guaranteed to get their butt kicked by life in a very big way. But anyway – that's what the Supreme Court let stand. As an aside, I’ve always believed, and still do, that all schools – not just select private schools – should have school uniforms. Not only would uniforms make situations like this one moot – but also reduce bullying too. Studies have shown bullying is reduced by an average of 70% with the implementation of school uniforms. But the bottom line is that the Supreme Court’s indecision allows selective censorship of clothing to continue by the education establishment. An establishment that’s clearly cool with supporting 12-year-old tyrannies. This was another Supreme copout. Two Supreme decisions on two cases involving schools and the net effect of the changes is that there’s less religious education available and more censorship taking place. Those aren’t exactly great things for children or our society.
Takeaway #3: The disassembling of the DeSantis administration
Things have changed quickly in Florida’s political scene this year. From the leadership in the state legislature that has been borderline dysfunctional as they’ve yet to arrive at a budget for the year that starts July 1st (the only job they’re mandated to do during a given year)...to the governor’s entire cabinet this side of Wilton Simpson things are different in Tallahassee, D.C. and throughout our state too. First there was Maro Rubio’s assentation to Secretary of State and AG Ashley Moody making the move to fill Rubio’s senate seat – which was filled by DeSantis’s chief of staff James Uthmeier. Then there was Lt. Governor Jeanette Nunez’s decision to take the reins as president of her alma mater FIU. Next there was CFO Jimmy Patronis’s move to Congress to fill the seat previously held by Matt Gaetz. Now it’s arguably Florida’s most consequential Education Commissioner ever, Manny Diaz Jr., who’s on the move. On Tuesday Diaz was voted in as the University of West Florida’s interim president – a role he’ll take over starting July 14th. In the state legislature, Diaz sponsored many of the transformational policies that he later implemented as the Education Commissioner. These included Florida’s universal school choice program and Florida’s parental rights in education laws, among others. That’s a big void at an important post in Tallahassee. And speaking of voids, DeSantis has yet to name a CFO or Lt. Governor – something he indicated he would do at the end of the state legislative session – which was thrown a wrench because it still hasn’t ended because of the aforementioned issues pertaining to passing a state budget. It’s a vast amount of political change in a state that’s become the epicenter of Republican politics. And it’s a vast amount of change with people who’d been highly successful in their previous roles. Hopefully DeSantis’s three looming appointments will be highly successful too. He needs them to be, and for that matter, so do we.