The Florida Department of Education has made the decision to pursue action against the professional educator certificate of Leon County School Superintendent Rocky Hanna.
Education Commissioner Manny Diaz, Jr. – in a letter to Superintendent Rocky Hanna on April 4 – stated that there is probable cause to “justify sanctions against your Florida educator certificate.”
The Florida DOE complaint alleges – in part – that Hanna violated professional conduct for educators, failed to separate his personal views from those of Leon County Schools, made intentional statements that distorted facts and used “coercive means or promised special treatment to influence professional judgements of colleagues.”
Also included in the complaint is a reference to the email sent from Hanna in August of last year to LCS teachers which referenced the statement “You do You!”
Hanna wrote, “let me be clear about one thing– I will always have your back! I realize this is improper grammar but, “You do You”! Continue to teach the standards just as you have always done and do not worry for one minute about naysayers political and others who are trying to mislead people and control what you can and cannot say in your classroom. If someone wants to come after you they will have to go through us and our attorneys.”
The complaint states that Hanna’s declaration to a teacher that ‘You Do You!’ opens the door to teachers imposing their own individual political and religious views on students and teachers failing to teach with fidelity the Florida standards.
Hanna informed school officials – via a letter – that “the Florida Department of Education has made the decision to pursue action against my professional educator certificate.”
The full letter is provided below.
LETTER FROM HANNA TO LCS OFFICIALS
Dear Colleagues,
I wanted to tell you personally that the Florida Department of Education has made the decision to pursue action against my professional educator certificate. Never in a million years would I have imagined something like this happening to me. When I started as a classroom teacher thirty-five years ago, all i ever wanted to do was help young people succeed in life. To this day, I am still focused and committed to that mission and I am angered and disheartened that this situation has gotten this far.
I am certain this news will spread quickly and, out of respect, I wanted you to have heard it from me first. I will not allow this to become a distraction. I will continue to work hard every day to provide support to you and your schools, keeping my focus on the students as we head towards the end of a great school year and high school graduation ceremonies.
If you have any questions, please feel free to give me a call.
Sincerely,
Rocky Hanna
Florida DOE Pursuing Action Against Superintendent Rocky Hanna added by Steve Stewart on
View all posts by Steve Stewart →
Why would Rocky need a teaching certificate to be a Superintendent in Florida…?
He not an an educator. He’s an effing phys Ed teacher and a political opportunist. I was at Leon when Rocky started his career as a hall monitor along with a group of other washed up ex Leon high school football players. Rocky served the kids along with the likes of Deputy Gladden, a now convicted felon. Rocky, a PE teacher, just like Jackie Pons, and, equally, a dim witted loser that couldn’t be further from an educator. He a complete fraud and an xxxxx on top of that. The only kids he wants to help are those he can get catch a ride to their backs to his next political persuasion. He’s a horrible representative for higher education, just horrible.
Well, I understand AB is looking for a new Marketing Director for Bud Light. Maybe Rocky can apply…
TR needs to publicly disclose their policy on censoring comments and make that policy easily accessible before we comment. Not only was my comment on Hanna censored, I know for a fact that the April 16th article, “Tallahassee People on the Move & Milestones” comments regarding LCSO Chief Grady Jordan were overwhelmingly censored. Note how the only comment remaining refers to someone else’s deleted comment on that article.
Own it TR and publicly disclose it. I recognize it is your site and you can do what you want but at least let readers clearly know and understand your censorship policies. Otherwise, you are no better than the drive by media you claim to be against.
Perhaps the Department of Education should hire the Superintendents and hold them to a higher standard of actually meeting a percentage of how many students in his or her District can read and write. If it falls below 99.9%, they are dismissed.
TR is terrible, and some of these posts are horrible. Rocky is a wonderful human being and the bestest superintendent ever. He always follows the law… unless he doesn’t feel like it. Oh, and please excuse him from class on Monday.
Signed,
Rocky’s Mother
It’s reported in The Florida Standard, that the Education Commissioner is also saying “there were 37 incidents when LCS schools did not have a School Safety Officer present as Florida law requires.”
Having attended several school board meetings over which Rocky Hanna presided, I can tell you that the level of disrespect he had for concerned parents who attended the meetings with sincere questions about their children’s education was truly astonishing. It was about his agenda at all times, and he gave no consideration to the concerns of the parents who came to meetings with sincere questions about Covid policies, boys in the girls bathrooms and the lack of their children, being educated in math science and reading. This is LONG OVERDUE. The percent of public school children in Leon county who cannot read is upwards of 51%. Why should anyone with this track record be allowed keep their job?
Now you know how Jackie felt… what goes around comes around Rocky. It doesn’t matter if the DOE is right or wrong, what matters is that you are getting EXACTLY what is coming to you.
Rocky Hannah should be canned for no other reason than only 49% of Leon County school students are able to read at grade level. For those of you who went to Leon County public schools, 49% is < half of the students. Rocky is worried about his teaching certificate, not the 51% that aren't reading at grade level. That is unconscionable and a disgrace.
And this inquiry stems from a letter sent to DOE by Brandi Andrews, that ends with “Let’s go Brandon.” Ideology? That is some right wing wokeness. Witch hunting on the part of the republican governor. How many of these people criticizing Rocky Hanna are active members of PTO? When I would go to parents’ open houses at Leon County Schools, there were a lot of parents missing. But now they want to control curriculum. Let teachers teach–that is what Hanna was saying. Florida has a teacher shortage and if you think any teacher is going to relocate to Florida to be subjected to this sort of harassment, you are wrong.
Rocky broke the law and now we are all paying for it!! If he could have just kept his mouth shut he might not be in this situation. He has let his ego get the best of him! He got on the woke bandwagon and now he is getting a front row seat to the big show and it is not as fun in the front as he might have thought!
TR keep up the great work!!
“Never in a million years would I have imagined something like this (being investigated) would happen to me!” I believe him. Dem social justice professionals like Hanna have been using their ideological influence and enforcing their subsequent mandates with impunity for a very long time. He knows it’s usually the Christian right wingers that get the ban hammer axe treatment.
It’s always something lord fix it for him in Jesus name Amen. Lord continue to bless him so he can continue bless our children
Mr.Hanna has always cared and still does this need to stop and let him do him job.
So Rocky speaks his mind and gets raked over the coals, Cheato Trump spouts off non stop lies and garbage and is your hero. Everyone needs to be held accountable.
This is major state overreach. We will regret not pushing back on this when Biden starts to do the same. God bless Trump for nipping this in bud
@CanonPhoto
That’s the best you’ve got? Hanna’s whining and moaning and your only retort is “but, but, but a Republican said something”?????
Looks like Hanna has given the orders for some staffers to descend upon TR and do some homework… errr… I mean spinwork. Shouldn’t you all be in class teaching reading, writing, and arithmetic? I’m sure you’ll find it somewhere in your curriculum, or is it ALL about grooming children.
Jane
“Wokeism is weaponized personal grievances masquerading as a genuine social concern. It’s defined by its fraudulent nature, as being distinct from legitimate social grievances. Wokeism only knows outrage — it knows not empathy for victims.”
Please enlighten yourself.
Good post @Snidely!
@A Skeptic. That’s not as horrendous as what Ron DeSantis said to a reporter for Florida VOICE,
“You know, I don’t know, I mean, I know Elon and basically, what I would tell him is like, ok, if you’re going to move Twitter to Florida…”
Now that’s shameful!
Mr. Stewart’s piece raises the subject of the DOE’s investigation into Rocky Hannah without researching or sharing the context or the number of politically motivated investigations into local school board officials across the state. The politically appointed leadership of the DOE has investigated and removed local government officials (appointed and elected officials) from all across Florida based upon whether or not the officials bent to DeSantis political agenda not upon whether or not they have done their jobs or supported their staffs. This has been shown in the court decisions regarding these state actions. To leave that out of this article makes me question the value of the article.
Hmmm … Sounds like Rocky is in trouble for telling teachers to “just teach”. Really, he’s in trouble because someone (read Ron’s water carriers) doesn’t like him saying that some state positions might be wrong.
So sick of hearing about the “WOKE” agenda from people who have no idea what they are talking about. We should all be woke.
(adj.) A state of awareness achieved by intellectually sensitive individuals who have empathy for the plight of others, especially those suffering injustice and oppression.
As elections have borne out, the majority of voters and parents in this district fully support your efforts to protect our schools and children from the consequences of politically motivated censorship, misinformation, and fear tactics. We are proud of you, Rocky, for standing up to the bullies who put their political ambitions ahead of education (and pretend otherwise).
Please forget HAH, HAH I, HAH II, HAH III out of an obscure Las Vegas address that may or may not be associated with our beloved Rocky that made contributions to local candidates.
No biggie.
Hanna’s letter reads like the Anheuser Busch failed attempt at a backtrack.
FLDOE used to be apolitical. So sad that they now cater to the vengeance of any vendetta this governor holds against our superintendent.
I am so tired of our out of state governor placing his political agenda ahead of the welfare of our children. This is all about our local officials not bending the knee to a pretend king who authored a COVID policy that resulted in the highest death rates of the larger states in the nation because his political agenda forced him to act as if there were no germ theory of disease.
When Rocky Raccoon won his election by filing false allegations with the state against his opponent he should have lost his license then. If he had his way Leon County would still be all virtual.
Mr. Hanna and his predecessor, Mr. Pons, should get together and commiserate on how unfair it is when…
Oh yeah, never mind.
Major stuff like this does not just happen inside an agency on its own. So I would like to just take a moment of thanks. Leon/Tallahassee has suffered for so long under the oppression of radical Democratic rule. This is truly a bit of great news. Thank you President Desantis.
Whoops did I just say President Desantis? I think I did just say President Desantis once or twice!!! Oh heck lets just see it in print One More Time – President Desantis!!!
I am sure many of us are angered and disheartened that YOU made it where it HAD to go this far.
Rocky brought this on himself. He picked fights with the Governor; he’s covered up horrific school incidents; he’s allowed, encouraged and supported teachers that push back on parents, and he forced unscientific mandates on children in an effort to wield power. This comes down to mess around and find out – and looks like he’s about to find out.
So Rocky carrying the flag promoting the Democratic Party Woke ideology that includes vulgarity – made a huge misstep – as parents will not tolerate this nonsense to inundate and interfere with their children’s education. Rocky uses the political partisan excuse of being targeted, but he actually stepped in his own nonsense. Let’s go Brandon!
Maybe, Rocky shouldn’t have pushed the Gender Pretender agenda so hard. In hind sight, he should have stuck to reading, writing and arithmetic. And then the grooming without parental notification issue. That was a bad decision, too.
“I wanted to tell you personally” but will send a letter instead.
“The Florida Department of Education has made the decision to pursue action against my professional educator certificate” is better stated as “The Florida Department of Education pursuing action against my professional educator certificate”,
“I will not allow this to become a distraction” but obviously it already is.
I hope that our children are coming out of the public school system with a better idea of how to read, write, and communicate.