Jeb Bush made his mark as Florida’s governor by overhauling the state’s schools. As he ponders a potential run for president, his education policies — a likely cornerstone of a White House campaign — are drawing fire from critics who argue they place too much emphasis on testing.
While the landmark education programs retain the strong support of Florida’s GOP-led legislature, many superintendents and school boards here are calling on the state to suspend its school grading system, the centerpiece of Bush’s overhaul. The state teachers union, among others, also wants to overturn a private school voucher program that lawmakers voted this year to expand.
Bush has also been one of the country’s most vocal supporters of academic standards known as Common Core, which have been adopted by a majority of states. That puts him at odds with the conservative activists any GOP presidential hopeful would need to win the party’s nomination.
