Florida Board of Education chair outlines principles to create ‘informed, virtuous citizenry’

Education shouldn’t just transmit knowledge – it should form character and cultivate “civic virtues essential to freedom,” argued the Florida State Board of Education chair in a recent address.

“We must never forget that America’s system of self-government is predicated upon an informed and virtuous citizenry,” said Ryan Petty in an Aug. 20 meeting with his fellow board members. “Our schools must do more than prepare students for careers – they must prepare them for citizenship.”

Petty proposed the board use a framework drawn from the Phoenix Declaration, published by The Heritage Foundation. The document lists Petty as one of eight public officials who are signatories.

“Education is the cornerstone of individual opportunity, family flourishing, and national prosperity,” Petty said. “Every child should have access to a quality, content-rich education that fosters the pursuit of the good, the true, and the beautiful, so that they may achieve their full, God-given potential.”

Ensuring ‘the survival of liberty’

Such lofty goals require “profound responsibility” on the part of board members, according to Petty.

“Our nation’s founders understood with remarkable clarity that education is not simply about individual advancement, but about the survival of liberty itself,” he argued.

“Thomas Jefferson warned us that ‘If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be.’ This wasn’t hyperbole – it was a stark recognition that self-government demands citizens capable of governing themselves.”

As a result, board members should view themselves “not merely as stewards of an education system, but as guardians of the very foundation upon which our Constitutional republic rests,” Petty noted.

Records from U.S. Founders – including Constitutional writer James Madison – emphasize the need for self-government if a republican government were to thrive, according to Petty.

“Madison understood that without an informed and virtuous citizenry, the delicate balance of our constitutional system would collapse under the weight of faction and ignorance.”

Fundamental principles

The Phoenix Declaration outlines seven principles to guide schools, policymakers and families in raising the next generation – including character formation, parental authority and choice, and truth and moral foundation.

Ultimately, all educational policies must recognize the “sacred relationship” of parents as the primary educators of their children, Petty declared.

“When we honor parental rights, we strengthen both families and our democratic institutions. … Schools must work with parents, not in place of them.”

Additionally, children should discover “objective truth, free from ideological manipulation” in their educational journey, according to Petty.

“They must learn that good and evil exist, and that human beings have both the capacity and duty to choose good.”

Cultural transmission – another principle championed by the declaration – must be upheld if the nation is to survive, Petty argued.

“The American experiment that began with the bold assertion that ‘all men are created equal’ and ‘endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights’ depends on each generation understanding and cherishing these truths,” he said.

“If we fail in our educational mission, we risk losing not just academic achievement, but the very principles that make America a beacon of hope to the world.”

James Shuls, head of Florida State University’s Education Liberty Branch of the Institute for Governance and Civics, praised Petty’s speech as “a model for the nation.”

“The Phoenix Declaration was never meant to sit on a shelf — it was meant to guide individuals and decisionmakers,” he wrote on X. “Hats off to #FL Board of #Education Chair @rpetty for proposing the 7 Phoenix Principles as a framework for the state’s board of education.”