Florida Department of Education Launches B.E.S.T. Science Standards Listening Tour

September 25, 2026

FDOE Press Office
850-245-0413
[email protected]

Florida Department of Education Launches B.E.S.T. Science Standards Listening Tour

Commissioner Mack: Students Will Learn Real Science-Knowledge, Evidence, Inquiry, Reason, and Virtue-Not Ideology

Tallahassee, Fla., September 25, 2026 - Today, the Florida Department of Education announced a statewide B.E.S.T. Science Standards Listening Tour so parents, teachers, scientists, professors, and employers can help Florida do what too many states will not: write K-12 science standards that are content-rich, coherent, and grounded in facts and evidence.

Florida is undertaking a comprehensive rewrite of its K-12 B.E.S.T. Science Standards-the first in nearly two decades. This is not merely a cosmetic update. It is a chance to restore science as the discipline of knowledge: observe, question, investigate, weigh evidence, test ideas, and change your mind when the facts require it. The rewrite will also include updates to health and nutrition.

"Science is not a slogan and it is not a sermon," said Commissioner Henry Mack. "It is the hard-won body of knowledge about nature, human nature, and the rational order of which we are discoverers and stewards. Florida students should leave school able to explain how the world works, grow in virtue, and find themselves with the tools to ferret out the truth of things as things are in themselves."

This review of the B.E.S.T. Science Standards gives Floridians an opportunity to help shape the future of science and health education in Florida and establish a strong foundation built on knowledge, observation, inquiry, experimentation, evidence, and reason. The review will emphasize both what students know and how they will use or apply that knowledge.

The Science Standards Listening Tour will include the following opportunities for public input:

September 29, 2026: Hillsborough County

5:00 - 7:00 p.m. ET, with preregistration starting at 4:30 p.m.

Armwood High School
12000 E. US Highway 92
Seffner, FL 33584

September 30, 2026: Virtual Option

Additional information on how to participate virtually will be available through the Department's Standards Review website.

Join us virtually: Teams Meeting

October 5, 2026: Walton County

5:00 - 7:00 p.m. CT, with preregistration starting at 4:30 p.m.

Walton High School
449 Walton Road
DeFuniak Springs, FL 32433

The Department's goal is to develop B.E.S.T. Science Standards that encourage students to ask questions, gather and evaluate evidence, understand scientific concepts, and develop the ability to revise their thinking when the evidence requires it. The Department seeks to establish science and health standards that:

• Build a sequential, grade-by-grade body of scientific knowledge-not a scatter of disconnected topics or trendy themes.
• Treat scientific inquiry as something students do: observation, measurement, hypothesis, experiment, evidence, and revision.
• Distinguish established scientific and nutrition knowledge from speculation, advocacy, and political fashion.
• Prepare students for college-level science and Registered Apprenticeships, industry credentials, and technical careers that require scientific competence.
• Respect parents as first educators and keep classrooms focused on the natural world and human nature, the dignity of life, and the cultivation of virtue, not on adult ideological contests.