Beginning his tenure as Florida鈥檚 Commissioner of Education, Anastasios Kamoutsas emphasized policies and guidelines aligned with so-called "parental rights and protections" in a memorandum to education leaders.
The letter sent to superintendents and charter school leaders outline state laws aimed at parents鈥� rights, including requiring that parents have access to review all instructional materials used in the classroom.
, Kamoutsas directs school chiefs to make sure employees know the laws regarding parental rights. He also directs superintendents to distribute the letter to parents to ensure they 鈥渞emain informed and engaged in the education of their children.鈥�
Along with the letter, Kamoutsas superintendents, principals and administrators of the 2023 state legislation Teachers鈥� Bill of Rights, which grants teachers the and the consequences for not following them.
"School principals are reminded that these are not optional practices. They are requirements under the law..." Kamoutsas wrote. "As Commissioner, I will exercise my full authority to ensure school principals uphold teachers鈥� rights and that superintendents and charter school leaders prioritize this within their districts."
READ MORE: DeSantis pick named Commissioner of Education 鈥� again
Today, I sent memos to Florida鈥檚 teachers, parents and school leadership to ensure that Parental Rights are at the forefront of education decisions and to let our teachers know that they have my full support in the classroom to create productive learning environments for our鈥�
— Anastasios Kamoutsas (@StasiKamoutsas)
Another DeSantis pick for Commissioner of Education
Kamoutsas, who helped champion and carry out a massive expansion of school-choice programs, is Gov. Ron DeSantis' third appointee to lead the Department of Education.
Kamoutsas served as general counsel and chief of staff at the Florida Department of Education before becoming deputy chief of staff to DeSantis.
He was appointed as the commissioner of education in June after previous Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. was appointed to be the Interim President of the University of West Florida.
