On Oct. 1, 2020, James B. Herzog assumed the role of FAANS Director of Legislative Services. In this capacity, he brings a wealth of experience in the public policy arena.

James had previously served 15 years in shaping education proposals for the Florida Catholic Conference (FCC). He started his tenure at the FCC as Accreditation Program Manager for Florida’s largest system of nonpublic schools. The Florida Catholic Conference Accreditation Program (FCCAP) was heralded as one of the “best-kept secrets” of the organization. This led to the program’s use as a model in other states such as Ohio, Oklahoma and Texas. From 2005-2008, James assisted Catholic elementary schools in maintaining a multiple-year cycle for continuous improvement via meeting quality control standards for mission and beliefs, academics, fiscal management and other key areas.

From 2009 to 2020, James served as the FCC’s Associate Director for Education. He closely collaborated with Catholic school superintendents and other education stakeholders to formulate policies and initiatives regarding parental empowerment in education, state scholarship programs, norm-referenced assessments and federal education programs. In April 2015, James received the Leonard F. DeFiore Parental Choice Advocate Award from the National Catholic Educational Association in recognition of his work. From 2009-2020, he served as a FAANS Legislative Committee Member. From 2019-2020, he served as FAANS President.

James is the product of both a nonpublic and public education. He thus takes pride in advising legislators about creating policies to benefit the best interests of all of Florida’s schoolchildren.

Overview for the Role of Director of Legislative Services

As the FAANS Director of Legislative Services, James Herzog provides Tallahassee-based representation with State legislators and other interested parties regarding nonpublic school legislative issues during annual legislative committee weeks and sessions. He closely monitors amendments and bills of significance to independent and faith-based schools and reports developments to the FAANS members. Other duties include but are not limited to the following:

• Acting as liaison to key stakeholders for independent and faith-based schools including FAANS members, scholarship funding organizations, school choice foundations and other technical experts supporting nonpublic pre-kindergarten to 12^th grade education.
• Collaborating with Florida Department of Education officials and other state agency contact persons regarding programs and issues of significance to nonpublic schools.
• Serving as a registered lobbyist available to testify regarding formal positions of FAANS.
• Lobbying on priority issues approved by the Association.