Florida Gov. DeSantis signs bill targeting teachers' unions, classroom social media ban

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday signed into law an anti-union bill, implementing strict new requirements on public-sector unions, including those that represent health care workers and teachers.

Senate Bill 256 was one of several education-related bills that DeSantis approved during a news conference Tuesday. Along with the union restrictions, the legislation signed by DeSantis included term limits for school board members, raises and training programs for teachers, a Teachers' Bill of Rights aimed at helping teachers govern their classrooms and discipline disruptive students, and a social media and TikTok ban on internet access provided by the school.

It marked a "very productive day for education," DeSantis said.

Florida Education Association organizer Frank Peterman gave a different assessment of the legislative session, highlighting the wide gap between Floridians who feel targeted by the Republican-controlled state government and the conservative base legislative leaders are appealing to ahead of the governor's widely expected run for president.

"It's been a very rough session for public education and for those who work in public education," Peterman said Tuesday morning during an unrelated call with reporters.

DESANTIS BANS FOREIGN LAND OWNERSHIP: DeSantis signs crackdown on foreign ownership, despite Chinese discrimination concerns

FLORIDA DEATH PENALTY: DeSantis signs law allowing death penalty for child rape, defying US Supreme Court ruling

'Paycheck protection' or 'attack ... on working-class families'?

Peterman criticized the union bill, calling it "a direct attack on unions and working-class families." While DeSantis touted the measure as "paycheck protection" for teachers who don't want to pay union dues.

Opponents say it creates a range of obstacles intended to undermine some public employee labor organizations. The measure has partisan undertones.

Unions that ally with Democrats, including those representing teachers and health care workers, face strict new requirements under the measure.

Public sector unions which usually endorse, contribute and work in the campaigns of Florida Republicans — correctional officers, law enforcement, firefighters, and other first responders — are exempt from the new requirements.

The legislation prohibits the use of paycheck deductions for most public-sector union dues and increases to 60% required employee membership, potentially decertifying a union that can’t meet that threshold.

A union’s current annual financial report also would have to be audited by an independent certified public accountant, a provision that even some Republican lawmakers acknowledged could prove a threatening cost for some low-budget organizations.

It’s among a host of strategies that could diminish union strength that has been introduced across many Republican-led states and in Congress.

The American Legislative Exchange Council, a source for many GOP-backed bills across the nation, has laid out a template for such legislation. It’s backed by the Koch family-founded Americans for Prosperity and conservative organizations including the Freedom Foundation and the James Madison Institute.

State Democrats slammed the law Tuesday.

"By nearly every measure, unions spur economic growth. But this law seeks to put a stop to those gains and will lead to mass decertification of Florida’s unions," said Florida state Sen. Lori Berman. "DeSantis may garner campaign donations and favor from big corporations and wealthy elites by signing SB 256, but he’ll never regain the trust of working Floridians."

Term limits, TikTok and Teachers' Bill of Rights

Under other legislation signed Tuesday by DeSantis, school board members will be limited to a maximum of two four-year terms, for a total of eight years.

It marks another measure exerting state control over local school boards. Ahead of last year's elections, DeSantis took the unprecedented step of endorsing a number of right-leaning candidates in school board elections, which are nonpartisan. Many of them went on to win, flipping board majorities from liberal to conservative.

The governor also approved $1 billion in teacher pay, a $252 million increase from last year.

The Teachers' Bill of Rights gives educators wide-ranging authority to govern their classrooms and provides protections to teachers whose school or school district asks them to break the law. The legislation also created several apprenticeship and training programs, including a Dual Enrollment Educator Scholarship Program that creates a pathway for high school teachers to earn credentials to teach college-level courses.

The ban on TikTok and classroom social media comes a day after DeSantis signed into law a crackdown on land ownership by United States-adversarial countries along with a measure expanding a government device ban on TikTok and other foreign country of concern-created, maintained or owned apps.

While Tuesday's announcement covered K-12 education policy, the governor signaled that higher-education bills are next. Among them will likely be a ban on funding for college and university diversity, equity and inclusion programs that lawmakers approved last week.

"We've got more coming down the pike with a lot of the stuff we're doing with higher education," he said.

DESANTIS CAMPAIGN: Ron DeSantis' donors know he's struggling. They still want him to be president in 2024.

'Don't Say Gay' measure missing from announcement

Missing from the K-12 education policy announcement was an expansion of last year's Parental Rights in Education law, coined "Don't Say Gay" by opponents.

The measure bans teachers from referring to a student by pronouns that don't align with their sex assigned at birth. It was criticized as a cruel attack on transgender students and teachers that's part of a slate of more than a dozen bills targeting trans people.

The Florida Board of Education already expanded the "Don't Say Gay" law through an administrative rulemaking process, but officials have not said how that will impact this year's legislation, which was approved by lawmakers last week.

Contributing: John Kennedy and Douglas Soule, USA TODAY Network - Florida; The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY NETWORK: Ron DeSantis signs public union restrictions law, social media ban