Sarah Sanders taps DeSantis aide for top Arkansas education job
Jeremiah Poff
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Arkansas Gov.-elect Sarah Sanders has nominated a Florida Department of Education official for secretary of education as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s influence in conservative education policy grows.
Sanders, who served as White House press secretary for then-President Donald Trump and was elected governor of Arkansas in November, has tapped Florida Department of Education Chancellor Jacob Oliva as Arkansas’s next secretary of education.
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“I am proud to announce that Jacob Oliva will be my nominee for Secretary of Education,” Sanders, the daughter of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, wrote in a tweet Thursday. “He is a leader who has proven himself in the fight to empower parents and implement bold education reforms under Governor Ron DeSantis and we are ready to transform Arkansas education.”
https://twitter.com/SarahHuckabee/status/1608514569756106752?s=20&t=7aSOj93qAyiUfwlhHMEm8Q
Sanders’s nomination of Oliva is the latest example of DeSantis’s influence on education policy in Republican politics. Over the past year, the Florida governor has spearheaded a series of legislative and executive initiatives, including restricting critical race theory in public schools, prohibiting classroom discussion on sexual orientation and gender identity through third grade, and enacting a sweeping parental rights act.
Oliva’s resume includes stints as an elementary school teacher and later as superintendent in Flagler County, Florida. He had served as chancellor since 2017.
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In a statement reported by Politico, the Florida Department of Education praised Oliva, saying, “For the last five years, Senior Chancellor Oliva has been a dedicated member of the Florida Department of Education’s leadership team, including serving as interim education commissioner, and his work has helped launch Florida as the Education State.”