DeSantis signed the bill on International Workers’ Day.

Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed legislation weakening public employee unions as he took aim at Florida’s teacher union.

At a news conference, DeSantis said he was signing SB 1296 to “provide once and for all for the decertification of partisan teacher unions.”

“This is something people have been wanting to see for a long time,” DeSantis said. “You should not have these entities operating if they do not have support from the people they purport to represent.”

Critics accused DeSantis of being anti-worker and not doing enough to support Florida public school teachers.

“Gov. Ron DeSantis and anti-union, anti-worker legislators have focused on chipping away at the constitutionally enshrined rights of thousands of workers in the state,” said the Florida Education Association (FEA), which represents about 120,000 members.

SB 1296 amends the law to require at least 50% of a public employees’ bargaining unit to vote in certification, recertification and decertification elections. If less than 60% of members do not pay dues, the bargaining unit must petition the state to recertification.

The changes don’t apply to public safety unions, like those representing police officers, which DeSantis has supported.

FEA slammed the timing of DeSantis’ bill-signing, which falls on May 1, International Workers’ Day.

“Instead of making life more affordable for nurses, sanitation workers, utility workers, line technicians, certified nursing assistants, doctors and medical residents, city bus drivers, teachers, education staff professionals, higher education faculty and graduate assistants, city and municipal workers, communications workers, and countless other public sector workers who help make Florida safe and prosperous, the Governor and his activist administration are being clear that they do not care about the workers of this state,” the FEA said.

Florida Education Commissioner Anastasios Kamoutsas joining DeSantis at the news conference.

“Public unions hate this democracy and action talking about this bill because they want to force employees to join, coerce dues payments from them, and then provide them with no real option for reconsideration,” Kamoutsas said. “If teachers think their union is worth keeping, a majority can show up for the vote.”

At the Friday news conference, DeSantis also signed HB 1279, which makes several changes in K-12 and higher education. 

It also gives educators teaching advanced course a $50 bonus per student if students reach a minimum score on a Florida Department of Education assessment.

Teachers would also be eligible for a new $500 bonus in a school designated with a grade of “D” or “F” if at least one student gets the minimum score on the state assessment.

Other provisions under the new law will allow a dance class to be counted for a one-credit gym or performing arts requirement as well as the State Board of Education being required to create a statewide uniform weighted grading system for honors classes.

Another change will require School Districts to notify parents in writing within 10 days if their child was not given a service in his or her individual education plan (IEP), which will help make K-12 education more transparent, DeSantis said Friday.

In addition, HB 1279 updated the requirements for universities’ performance-based funding metric. Instead of just calculating the four-year graduating rates, schools will also be judged going forward on the “adjusted cohort graduation rate for engineering programs for first-time-in college students.”

Both SB 1296 and HB 1279 take effect July 1.

“These reforms are really significant,” DeSantis said. “They’re the right things to do.”

Content provided in partnership with Florida Politics.