Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R)/Image @GovRonDeSantis/X
Florida Governor DeSantis (R) is incentivizing Sunshine State teachers to master key components of Western Civilization.
DeSantis announced the ‘Civics Seal of Excellence’ endorsement in 2023 and, on Presidents Day, shared that, so far, 21,000 teachers in the state have taken the 55-hour course.
Per the Florida Department of Education:
The Florida Department of Education developed the content of this course to provide you with a strong foundational content knowledge that is rooted in a factual account of American history and the guiding principles that influenced the Founders as they debated and adopted the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States. As you study primary source documents, you will reflect upon the philosophical underpinnings of the American Republic and the root foundation of American exceptionalism. After you complete the course, you will be better equipped to prepare students to properly engage in our great republic with the necessary rights and responsibilities of a virtuous citizenry.
When the course was first announced, Gov. DeSantis said, “The US has had a civics education crisis for many years, so Florida has stepped up for our students.“
“Boosting civics education and engaging our students is the best way to preserve the constitutional foundations that our country was built upon. These $3,000 bonuses provide a strong incentive for Florida teachers to put in the time necessary to take our civics course and earn the Civics Seal of Excellence.”
In his remarks on Presidents Day, DeSantis shared, “Universities now, the building blocks of Western civilization, are a lost art. They focus on a lot of ideological studies, things that, quite frankly, have no application beyond.”
“I really believe true liberal arts, the classics, all that, that really helps you in any endeavor that you do. You learn critical thinking, you learn, you get a solid philosophical foundation, and you can take that, and you’d be better off if you go into law, medicine, whatever.”
“Some of the ideological stuff, these are fads. This is not stuff that has lasting impact, and it’s not going to stand the test of time.”
“Somebody posted the course catalog for the Humanities from Harvard in 1950 or 1940 or something like that. And you look at that, and it’s like all of it is the building blocks of Western civilization, ancient Greece, ancient Rome, the Scottish Enlightenment, ….., a history of English literature, this, that. All these things that have really helped produce this Republic and still are very influential today.”
“Now, when you go to school, it’s much harder. Now, in Florida, we’ve leaned into that, too. We have the Hamilton Center, at University of Florida, Adam Smith Center for Economic Freedom at Florida International. We’ve done all that, and we’re doing more. I think that that’s really important.”
But you can go to most of these schools, want to be a high school civics teacher, you are not going to learn really what you need to learn to be able to be as strong as possible.”
“So we launched a Civics Seal of Excellence program for teachers. And it’s a training course that you do. It’s 50 hours. You take it online. We’ve got great scholars from around the country that are teaching different subjects on this.”
“We’ve had 21,000 teachers participate and earn the Civics Seal of Excellence. And when they do, they get a $3,000 bonus. And so look, maybe some of them would have taken it without the bonus offered, but that was an enticement. So we’ve got a lot of teachers that are doing it.”
“So now, and 90-some % of the teachers that go through the program say it’s been very, very positive. So we’ve been able… That $21,000, that’s like $60 million in bonuses to teachers who are now able to really be strong in the classroom on these key things.
“And the 50 hours of instruction, honestly, as a regular citizen, if you listen to these lectures, you would learn something. Very, very well done, and I’m proud to have led that.”
Watch:
Governor DeSantis instituted a Civics Course for teachers where they are taught Western civilization, ancient Greece, ancient Rome, the Scottish enlightenment, and history of English literature.
Teachers get a $3000 bonus to take the course.
So far 21,000 have taken it. pic.twitter.com/FwYvseidHE
— Chris Nelson (@ReOpenChris) February 16, 2026
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