Sarah Huckabee Sanders picks Florida official to ‘transform’ Arkansas education

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Arkansas Gov.-elect Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Thursday chose one of Florida’s top education officials — Senior Chancellor Jacob Oliva — to lead schooling efforts in her state.

By nominating Oliva, Sanders is attempting to bring in a Florida leader who in recent years played a key role in carrying out the education agenda of GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Sanders, in announcing the move, touted that experience under Florida’s Republican governor, which spanned fighting against schools implementing Covid-19 restrictions and carrying out conservative legislation like the parental rights law, labeled “Don’t Say Gay” by opponents, that restricts lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity.

“He is a leader who has proven himself in the fight to empower parents and implement bold education reforms under Governor [DeSantis] and we are ready to transform Arkansas education,” Sanders wrote in a tweet Thursday.

Oliva carries years of education experience at both the state and local level.

Since 2017, Oliva has been senior chancellor at Florida’s Department of Education, a position in charge of public schools, school safety, early learning and school choice. He remained in this role throughout the governorship of DeSantis and major events such as the 2018 Parkland school shooting, the effects of which are still lingering in Florida schools.

Oliva recently has helped Florida carry out some controversial laws like “Don’t Say Gay” as state education leaders press schools over possible LGBTQ policies they say could infringe on the rights of parents. He also earlier this year applied to become the superintendent of schools in Miami-Dade County.

Before his tenure at the Florida Department of Education, Oliva began his career teaching elementary school and rose through the leadership ranks to principal at two schools in Flagler County. Oliva later went on to lead Flager County’s schools as superintendent for four years until joining the state education agency.

State lawmakers in Arkansas on Thursday endorsed Sander’s push to hire Oliva, with some calling it a “home run” and a move that will “place Educational Freedom back at the forefront.”

Officials with the Florida Department of Education on Thursday thanked Oliva for his service.

“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,” the agency said in a statement.