April 4, 2025 • 11 mins
Florida's Commissioner of Education, Manny Diaz, weighed-in.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
City Foxes who Gosman America's listening to Fox News.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
The Morning Show with Preston Scott.
Speaker 3 (00:08):
Does mother no you wear eth herdrepes.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
On News Radio one hundred point SEVENUFLA.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
Thirty six minutes past Morning Show with Preston Scott. You
heard me ask the question of congress Woman Kat Camick.
I think one of the big stories in the press box.
I understand Trump loves to just pick and tease with
the media. I just think you have to pick and
(00:44):
choose your battles. When the media does something falsely, that's
when I think you're combative with the media. You point
out the falsehood and you drop the hammer on him.
But you can't you can't have it both ways. You
can't toy with the media and throw out something like
(01:06):
a third term, which is absurd, and not expect the
media to jump all over it and turn it into
an issue. And that I think distracts. I think to
talk about Greenland, imagine you're the people of Greenland. For
a second, You're I mean, it's almost as if you're
(01:32):
being talked about like you're part of a lego set.
And I think it's remarkably distracting to the overall goal
of what you're trying to accomplish. All right, thirty seven
minutes past the hour, haven't had this gentleman with us
in as they like to say, in a minute joining
(01:56):
us Commissioner of Education for the State of Florida. He's
manny is manny?
Speaker 2 (02:00):
How are you?
Speaker 1 (02:02):
Good morning? Doing great to be with you. How are
you doing?
Speaker 2 (02:06):
I'm doing well.
Speaker 3 (02:07):
I'm curious to get your take on the effort to
dismantle the Department of Education. For those who aren't in
your world, you know, this is what you do for
a living. You're in the midst of it all, explain
what difference would be made by the ending of the
Department of Education.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
Really just a huge benefit to the states. I mean
a lot of people they hear Department of Education and
think that the Department of Education has actually been involved
in improving the education and dealing with kids in our country.
But they haven't. It's really just a large bureaucracy who's
been used, especially by the Biden administration and other Democratic administrations,
(02:51):
to really impose the will of the federal government on states.
And we all know that education is a responsibility that
belongs to this and how do they do it. They
use the per strings. They put strings attached to those
dollars that are appropriated by Congress, and they try to
get states to do things like allow you know, men
(03:12):
to play in women's sports, which is what the Biden
administration's you know, final push was before they kind of
get out of office there. So it's really not something
that has an actual effect. The dollars are still appropriated
by Congress. They are coming to the states. We will
have a lot more flexibility on how to use those
dollars appropriately within the state. And so that's really the
(03:35):
big difference. It's a net positive.
Speaker 3 (03:38):
And I mean it would be fair to say that
not just that there's more money. If X amount of
dollars is allocated to education in America through the federal government,
we don't have a bleed off of any of that
money to run a bureaucracy.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
That's correct. And I mean, look, if you really kind
of a dose theory, if you really wanted to take
a deep dive into those dollars and how they've been
used going back to the Carter administration when this was created,
you're going to be very disappointed. So I think people
have the misunderstanding that these dollars have all flowed down
(04:14):
into the classroom, have been used to educate our kids.
And so, you know, you hear those same folks saying
what we need is more money. No, we spend more
than almost any country in the world on education, but
we're not getting great results. Part of that is because
of this bureaucracy. Again. You know, you take someone something
(04:34):
like Title one funding, which is supposed to come from
the federal government down to help schools and students that
are of low income improve performance. Well, when you're siphoning
off a good portion of those dollars to have to
build a bureaucracy at the district level just to respond
to the needs of what the federal government is asking for,
(04:57):
kind of defeats the purpose doesn't appress me. It's not
really getting into that classroom to help those students. And
so we hope and we're starting to see notifications from
the United States Department of Education now under Trump and
Linda of mcmmon that is giving us more flexibility. We're
inquiring us to push that flexibility so that we can
(05:18):
get those dollars into the classroom and helping our students
here in Florida.
Speaker 3 (05:23):
Commissioner, Many Diaz Commissioner stand by. He'll be back with
us one more segment here in the morning show with
Preston Scott for plumbing emergencies.
Speaker 4 (05:35):
Still seeing a couple of accidents. One on Centerville Road
at Centerville Place. Also on it in eastbound after Mayhan
over on the right shoulder at mil mark er two ten.
And from nine am until noon there's going to be
a temporary lane closure on Centerville Road just west of
Blairstone Road. And from nine am until four there's going
to be a temporary lane closure on Sixth Avenue between
Terrace and Mitchell Street. From the traffic Center. I'm shay tab.
Speaker 5 (05:56):
Needed rainfall yesterday, now a drier stretch of weathers starting
today through the rest of the week. Lots of clouds
this morning and a sprinkler two possible will turn out
partly cloudy, warmer eighty four eighty six tomorrow. I've used
radio one hundred point seven WFLA s Terry Smith in
the Weather Channel forecast Center.
Speaker 6 (06:15):
Because some people like the truth. Use radio one hundred
point seven WFLA.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
Come Alive with the forest.
Speaker 3 (06:24):
Visit Discovertheforest dot org to find a forest near you
brought to you by the US Forest Service and the
ad Council.
Speaker 6 (06:31):
Dizzy from the spin, don't know what to believe? Clear
the fog. The Morning Show with Preston Scott on NewsRadio
one hundred point seven WFLA.
Speaker 3 (06:45):
Taking time away from a very busy schedule. Commissioner of
Education for the State of Florida, Manny Diez, Commissioner, what
are the priorities for you in the legislative session?
Speaker 1 (06:57):
But we don't have a huge bills this year in
the legislative session. There's been a lot of big things
done in Florida the last few years. There are a
few bills moving through there that provide some tweaks for
the scholarship program, just the logistics of it and how
we get it rolled out as is now five hundred
and twenty thousand students participating in that. We also like
(07:21):
to see some streamlining when it comes to teacher certification
and some of the other things that we just do
and day in and day out, just to try to
make it better for our districts to be able to
recruit teachers and make it easier and make more sense
for our teachers when they get in the classroom to
have the right training and right certification. So we're really
(07:41):
just looking overall at how we continue to improve our
choice landscape, how we continue to improve teacher recruitment. Obviously,
the governor has come out again with the budget proposal
that includes increasing teacher salaries and investing in teacher salaries,
so we know that's important. We also know it's very
important that we maintain our options for families and students
(08:06):
and continue to thrive with our choice landscape here in Florida.
So I think it's a good balance and that's kind
of what we're looking at.
Speaker 3 (08:14):
One of the proposals I discussed in the last few
days was one that would change that the graduation standards,
removing a couple of the standardized barriers, namely, I think
the biggest one, problematically to me, is the one of
regarding algebra one. I just I think they're roughly half
the students just are not mathematically inclined, and I think
(08:35):
it's a kind of a silly requirement, especially when you
apply it in GED settings. What are your thoughts on that, Well, Look, I.
Speaker 1 (08:45):
Think we have to have a requirement for math. We
have to have a measurement right by which we're saying,
we're giving us students of Florida high school diploma and
we're expecting that they are going to be able to
read in tenth grade level, which is what we're telling
our folks when they graduate. I think there has to
be requisite in math. And you know, some people will argue,
is that algebra is a geometry? What is it? And
(09:08):
some folks will tell you, well, you you know, do
you use algebra the rest of your life? The truth
is you do. It's the logic that you learn. You know,
it's the process of logic. You may not be doing equations,
but I guarantee you that throughout your day there are
there are equations you go through in your head using
logic to to get answers to things, even if it
(09:28):
doesn't look like an algebraic equation. So I think there's
there's a you need to have a minimum math requirement
when you're when you're saying you're going to give a
student a graduation, a diploma from the State of Florida
high school diploma, and so you also a lot of
these students are going into the world has changed, as
you know, and a lot of students are opting not
(09:49):
to go to the traditional four year route universities. They're
they're opting to go into the state college system and
look into credentials to stack credentials to go into things
like well electricity and all those things. Right, And I
think it's important that students have a base when they
do that. But they're all, you know, students have multiple
ways that they can master that, including some alternative examinations.
(10:12):
And so I think, look, if you look at our
graduation rate, Preston, it's the highest it's ever been non COVID,
you know, right we had during COVID the tests were suspended.
We're almost at ninety percent graduation, which is the highest
it's eighty nine point seven highest the state has had.
So this is you know, students are graduating. It's not
stopping them from graduating. They're just having some students are
(10:33):
having to go through a process of remediation and getting there.
So I think it's important that we don't if we're
not getting students to the bar, that we don't think
we just remove the bar just because students can't get there.
Don't underestimate students. We're able to get them there.
Speaker 3 (10:48):
Manny, Thanks for the time today. Look forward to having
you back sometime soon. Appreciate the work you're doing.
Speaker 1 (10:54):
Thank you great, great for having me on.
Speaker 3 (10:56):
Thank you Missioner Many Diaz this morning Florida Department of
Education and our guest on the Morning Show with Preston
Scott
City Foxes who Gosman America's listening to Fox News.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
The Morning Show with Preston Scott.
Speaker 3 (00:08):
Does mother no you wear eth herdrepes.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
On News Radio one hundred point SEVENUFLA.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
Thirty six minutes past Morning Show with Preston Scott. You
heard me ask the question of congress Woman Kat Camick.
I think one of the big stories in the press box.
I understand Trump loves to just pick and tease with
the media. I just think you have to pick and
(00:44):
choose your battles. When the media does something falsely, that's
when I think you're combative with the media. You point
out the falsehood and you drop the hammer on him.
But you can't you can't have it both ways. You
can't toy with the media and throw out something like
(01:06):
a third term, which is absurd, and not expect the
media to jump all over it and turn it into
an issue. And that I think distracts. I think to
talk about Greenland, imagine you're the people of Greenland. For
a second, You're I mean, it's almost as if you're
(01:32):
being talked about like you're part of a lego set.
And I think it's remarkably distracting to the overall goal
of what you're trying to accomplish. All right, thirty seven
minutes past the hour, haven't had this gentleman with us
in as they like to say, in a minute joining
(01:56):
us Commissioner of Education for the State of Florida. He's
manny is manny?
Speaker 2 (02:00):
How are you?
Speaker 1 (02:02):
Good morning? Doing great to be with you. How are
you doing?
Speaker 2 (02:06):
I'm doing well.
Speaker 3 (02:07):
I'm curious to get your take on the effort to
dismantle the Department of Education. For those who aren't in
your world, you know, this is what you do for
a living. You're in the midst of it all, explain
what difference would be made by the ending of the
Department of Education.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
Really just a huge benefit to the states. I mean
a lot of people they hear Department of Education and
think that the Department of Education has actually been involved
in improving the education and dealing with kids in our country.
But they haven't. It's really just a large bureaucracy who's
been used, especially by the Biden administration and other Democratic administrations,
(02:51):
to really impose the will of the federal government on states.
And we all know that education is a responsibility that
belongs to this and how do they do it. They
use the per strings. They put strings attached to those
dollars that are appropriated by Congress, and they try to
get states to do things like allow you know, men
(03:12):
to play in women's sports, which is what the Biden
administration's you know, final push was before they kind of
get out of office there. So it's really not something
that has an actual effect. The dollars are still appropriated
by Congress. They are coming to the states. We will
have a lot more flexibility on how to use those
dollars appropriately within the state. And so that's really the
(03:35):
big difference. It's a net positive.
Speaker 3 (03:38):
And I mean it would be fair to say that
not just that there's more money. If X amount of
dollars is allocated to education in America through the federal government,
we don't have a bleed off of any of that
money to run a bureaucracy.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
That's correct. And I mean, look, if you really kind
of a dose theory, if you really wanted to take
a deep dive into those dollars and how they've been
used going back to the Carter administration when this was created,
you're going to be very disappointed. So I think people
have the misunderstanding that these dollars have all flowed down
(04:14):
into the classroom, have been used to educate our kids.
And so, you know, you hear those same folks saying
what we need is more money. No, we spend more
than almost any country in the world on education, but
we're not getting great results. Part of that is because
of this bureaucracy. Again. You know, you take someone something
(04:34):
like Title one funding, which is supposed to come from
the federal government down to help schools and students that
are of low income improve performance. Well, when you're siphoning
off a good portion of those dollars to have to
build a bureaucracy at the district level just to respond
to the needs of what the federal government is asking for,
(04:57):
kind of defeats the purpose doesn't appress me. It's not
really getting into that classroom to help those students. And
so we hope and we're starting to see notifications from
the United States Department of Education now under Trump and
Linda of mcmmon that is giving us more flexibility. We're
inquiring us to push that flexibility so that we can
(05:18):
get those dollars into the classroom and helping our students
here in Florida.
Speaker 3 (05:23):
Commissioner, Many Diaz Commissioner stand by. He'll be back with
us one more segment here in the morning show with
Preston Scott for plumbing emergencies.
Speaker 4 (05:35):
Still seeing a couple of accidents. One on Centerville Road
at Centerville Place. Also on it in eastbound after Mayhan
over on the right shoulder at mil mark er two ten.
And from nine am until noon there's going to be
a temporary lane closure on Centerville Road just west of
Blairstone Road. And from nine am until four there's going
to be a temporary lane closure on Sixth Avenue between
Terrace and Mitchell Street. From the traffic Center. I'm shay tab.
Speaker 5 (05:56):
Needed rainfall yesterday, now a drier stretch of weathers starting
today through the rest of the week. Lots of clouds
this morning and a sprinkler two possible will turn out
partly cloudy, warmer eighty four eighty six tomorrow. I've used
radio one hundred point seven WFLA s Terry Smith in
the Weather Channel forecast Center.
Speaker 6 (06:15):
Because some people like the truth. Use radio one hundred
point seven WFLA.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
Come Alive with the forest.
Speaker 3 (06:24):
Visit Discovertheforest dot org to find a forest near you
brought to you by the US Forest Service and the
ad Council.
Speaker 6 (06:31):
Dizzy from the spin, don't know what to believe? Clear
the fog. The Morning Show with Preston Scott on NewsRadio
one hundred point seven WFLA.
Speaker 3 (06:45):
Taking time away from a very busy schedule. Commissioner of
Education for the State of Florida, Manny Diez, Commissioner, what
are the priorities for you in the legislative session?
Speaker 1 (06:57):
But we don't have a huge bills this year in
the legislative session. There's been a lot of big things
done in Florida the last few years. There are a
few bills moving through there that provide some tweaks for
the scholarship program, just the logistics of it and how
we get it rolled out as is now five hundred
and twenty thousand students participating in that. We also like
(07:21):
to see some streamlining when it comes to teacher certification
and some of the other things that we just do
and day in and day out, just to try to
make it better for our districts to be able to
recruit teachers and make it easier and make more sense
for our teachers when they get in the classroom to
have the right training and right certification. So we're really
(07:41):
just looking overall at how we continue to improve our
choice landscape, how we continue to improve teacher recruitment. Obviously,
the governor has come out again with the budget proposal
that includes increasing teacher salaries and investing in teacher salaries,
so we know that's important. We also know it's very
important that we maintain our options for families and students
(08:06):
and continue to thrive with our choice landscape here in Florida.
So I think it's a good balance and that's kind
of what we're looking at.
Speaker 3 (08:14):
One of the proposals I discussed in the last few
days was one that would change that the graduation standards,
removing a couple of the standardized barriers, namely, I think
the biggest one, problematically to me, is the one of
regarding algebra one. I just I think they're roughly half
the students just are not mathematically inclined, and I think
(08:35):
it's a kind of a silly requirement, especially when you
apply it in GED settings. What are your thoughts on that, Well, Look, I.
Speaker 1 (08:45):
Think we have to have a requirement for math. We
have to have a measurement right by which we're saying,
we're giving us students of Florida high school diploma and
we're expecting that they are going to be able to
read in tenth grade level, which is what we're telling
our folks when they graduate. I think there has to
be requisite in math. And you know, some people will argue,
is that algebra is a geometry? What is it? And
(09:08):
some folks will tell you, well, you you know, do
you use algebra the rest of your life? The truth
is you do. It's the logic that you learn. You know,
it's the process of logic. You may not be doing equations,
but I guarantee you that throughout your day there are
there are equations you go through in your head using
logic to to get answers to things, even if it
(09:28):
doesn't look like an algebraic equation. So I think there's
there's a you need to have a minimum math requirement
when you're when you're saying you're going to give a
student a graduation, a diploma from the State of Florida
high school diploma, and so you also a lot of
these students are going into the world has changed, as
you know, and a lot of students are opting not
(09:49):
to go to the traditional four year route universities. They're
they're opting to go into the state college system and
look into credentials to stack credentials to go into things
like well electricity and all those things. Right, And I
think it's important that students have a base when they
do that. But they're all, you know, students have multiple
ways that they can master that, including some alternative examinations.
(10:12):
And so I think, look, if you look at our
graduation rate, Preston, it's the highest it's ever been non COVID,
you know, right we had during COVID the tests were suspended.
We're almost at ninety percent graduation, which is the highest
it's eighty nine point seven highest the state has had.
So this is you know, students are graduating. It's not
stopping them from graduating. They're just having some students are
(10:33):
having to go through a process of remediation and getting there.
So I think it's important that we don't if we're
not getting students to the bar, that we don't think
we just remove the bar just because students can't get there.
Don't underestimate students. We're able to get them there.
Speaker 3 (10:48):
Manny, Thanks for the time today. Look forward to having
you back sometime soon. Appreciate the work you're doing.
Speaker 1 (10:54):
Thank you great, great for having me on.
Speaker 3 (10:56):
Thank you Missioner Many Diaz this morning Florida Department of
Education and our guest on the Morning Show with Preston
Scott
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