the case was later taken over by the state after Uthmeier intervened last year<\/a>. In its complaint, Florida alleged that the publishers submitted thousands of claims for payment that failed to comply with the state\u2019s pricing requirements.<\/p>\nThe case represented the latest chapter in Florida\u2019s increasingly combative relationship with the K-12 publishing industry. DeSantis and state education officials have repeatedly clashed with publishers over textbook content and curriculum materials, rejecting dozens of math and social studies submissions in recent years and accusing publishers of attempting to inject political ideology into classroom instruction.<\/p>\n
At a press conference announcing the lawsuit against McGraw Hill and Savvas, DeSantis alleged there were at least 5,900 instances of overcharges. The lawsuit, he said, could expose the two companies to civil penalties between $37.5 million and $60.5 million.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are on the prowl to recoup this money,\u201d DeSantis said. \u201cWe want our school districts to be made whole.\u201d<\/p>\n
Uthmeier, at the same press conference, called it a \u201ctextbook case of corporate greed,\u201d saying the two companies tried to profit at the expense of students by cutting deals with some districts and charging others more.<\/p>\n
Among the examples cited in the lawsuit: McGraw Hill allegedly sold a Grade 3 reading product to Miami-Dade County Public Schools at an average price of about $129 per unit while the Jackson County School District later paid roughly $155 for the same material. The complaint also alleged that Savvas provided certain science materials to Volusia County Schools at no cost in 2018 while other districts paid the full listed price of $64.47 per unit.<\/p>\n
State officials alleged those types of transactions violated Florida\u2019s most-favored-nation pricing requirements.<\/p>\n
For their part, McGraw Hill and Savvas argued that Florida\u2019s law was intended to ensure that districts were not charged more than customers outside the state, not to require identical pricing among Florida school districts.<\/p>\n
Second Circuit Judge Jonathan Sjostrom ultimately agreed, rejecting the state\u2019s interpretation of the law and preserving publishers\u2019 ability to negotiate district-specific pricing arrangements in Florida.<\/p>\n
Pricing Flexibility Remains, MFN Expansion Up to Lawmakers<\/p>\n
Under the ruling, publishers can continue to tailor offers to individual districts based on factors such as district size, adoption timing, competitive dynamics, and implementation needs. Large districts, for example, may be able to negotiate discounts that smaller districts do not receive, while publishers may be more willing to offer free materials or pilot programs without worrying that those arrangements will automatically trigger statewide pricing obligations.<\/p>\n
In dismissing the case, Sjostrom pointed to language in Florida\u2019s most-favored-nation pricing law referring to prices offered \u201celsewhere in the United States\u201d and concluded that it governs interstate sales rather than district-to-district transactions within the state.<\/p>\n
The judge also highlighted that Florida lawmakers previously considered \u2014 but never enacted \u2014 legislation that would have explicitly extended the pricing requirements to deals offered to other Florida school districts. By pointing to that, the court concluded that Florida\u2019s existing law does not impose a statewide most-favored-nation requirement \u2014 and that any effort to create one must come from lawmakers.<\/p>\n
Get Exclusive Intel at the 2026 EdWeek Market Brief Virtual Forum<\/p>\n
How can education companies break through the new walls surrounding school districts, built by higher prices, smaller budgets, and growing uncertainty? And how can they deliver the right support to remain on the inside? Join us to hear from school district decision-makers and experts and get exclusive data and intel on the trends shaping the K-12 market\u2014all without leaving your office.<\/p>\n
June 11, 2026 | 11 a.m. \u2013 5 p.m. ET<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"McGraw Hill and Savvas Learning Company secured a significant legal win against the state of Florida after a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":295780,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[28,30,29],"class_list":["post-295779","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/295779","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=295779"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/295779\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/295780"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=295779"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=295779"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=295779"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}