TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida Commissioner of Education Richard Corcoran will step down at the end of April, his office announced Thursday.
Corcoran, the conservative former speaker of the Florida House, was appointed in December 2018 after being recommended by Gov. Ron DeSantis — whom he'd advised during the gubernatorial transition.
"During his public service, Commissioner Corcoran has overseen historic education reforms in Florida that expanded school choice, eliminated common core, and invested record funding in students and teachers," the Florida Department of Education wrote in a statement. "Following his departure from the Department, Commissioner Corcoran will return to private life and looks forward to spending more time with his wife Anne and their six children."
In a statement of his own, DeSantis described Corcoran as a "champion for students and families."
“He is driven by his principles and has never shied away from making the difficult decisions needed to improve the quality of education in Florida," the governor wrote. "During his tenure, both in the House and at the Department, our state has become an education juggernaut and national leader for innovation. We wish him well and thank him for his service.”
Under Corcoran, the state has expanded school choice policies, raised teacher pay and eradicated the Common Core. He was at the helm as Florida reopened schools five days a week after pandemic closures. He made headlines as Florida dealt with lawsuits over its school reopening plans and the legal battle over a law impacting transgender athletes.
Through it all, he and the governor remained in lockstep.
“Like the rest of the nation, Florida’s school districts have had to weather some of the greatest difficulties they have ever experienced over the past two years, and I couldn’t think of a better governor to serve,” Corcoran wrote in a statement. “Governor DeSantis has been the governor Florida deserves — he has unquestionably been the right leader, at the right time, in the greatest state in the nation, and I thank him and the members of the State Board of Education from the bottom of my heart for the faith they have put in me. Florida’s students will unquestionably continue to thrive under Governor DeSantis’ leadership.”
