S.B. 86 advances: The controversial bill that would tie student financial aid, including Bright Futures Scholarships, to college majors was narrowly approved Tuesday by the Senate Education Committee. All five Republicans on the committee voted to advance S.B. 86, while the four Democrats voted against it. Criticism of the proposal was heavy after it was introduced, leading Sen. Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala, to withdraw it to make revisions. Tuesday, he offered an amendment that would reduce, instead of eliminate, Bright Futures funding for students who choose majors that would be on a list of degrees judged by a board of university educators that “DO NOT lead to jobs.” The bill would also change Bright Futures funding from a fixed percentage of tuition and fees to an amount the Legislature would appropriate every year. Critics argue that legislators shouldn’t decide what students study or what majors don’t deserve funding. Baxley said, “We’re redesigning the program to have efficacy between the world of work and the world of education.” News Service of Florida. Miami Herald and Tampa Bay Times. Orlando Sentinel. Politico Florida. Capitol News Service. Florida Politics. WPTV. WWSB. WESH. Florida Phoenix.
Stimulus spending: Gov. Ron DeSantis is asking legislative leaders to spend $4.1 billion of the $10 billion it will receive from the latest coronavirus stimulus bill on $1,000 bonus checks for all first responders, an emergency fund for hurricanes, an upgrade for the unemployment website, workforce training programs, education and employment training programs, aid for the state’s ports, and to develop a behavioral health data management system and a resiliency fund for environmental projects. News Service of Florida. Associated Press. Orlando Sentinel. Florida Politics. USA Today Network. Politico Florida. Florida Phoenix. WKMG.
Around the state: Duval’s school superintendent says renaming nine Duval County schools would cost about $2 million, the president of Bethune-Cookman University abruptly resigns, the son of a Broward teacher’s aide died when a small plane crashed into the SUV they were in, Brevard school officials say they could lose $20.7 million in funding because of enrollment losses, a St. Petersburg private school with an intensive face-to-face learning model has come through the pandemic with students maintaining their GPAs and improving test scores, and several groups are protesting the way the Baker Act is used in schools and the state’s K-12 scholarship programs. Here are details about those stories and other developments from the state’s districts, private schools, and colleges and universities:
Broward: Lower enrollment, the unknown effect of a proposed legislative bill that would start education savings accounts students could use to attend private schools, and the requirement that public school districts share federal funding with charter schools has left Broward Superintendent Robert Runcie worrying about the district’s budget for the 2021-2022 school year. The district’s enrollment is down 11,000, which could mean a loss of millions of dollars in state funding. WPLG. The 4-year-old son of a teacher’s aide at Hollywood Hills Elementary School was killed Monday when a plane crashed into the SUV they were in. Taylor Bishop died at a hospital a few hours after the plane nose-dived into the car as Megan Bishop was driving down a residential street in Pembroke Pines. She was treated at a hospital and released. Both the pilot and passenger in the small plane died. Miami Herald. WSVN. Sun Sentinel.
Hillsborough: The 17-year-old Tampa student who hacked into Twitter last summer and took control of the accounts of Joe Biden, former President Barack Obama, Elon Musk, Kanye West, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos and others to solicit more than $100,000 in Bitcoin has agreed to plead guilty to state charges in exchange for a three-year prison sentence. Graham Ivan Clark, now 18, was a student at Gaither High School at the time of the attack. Tampa Bay Times.
Duval: Giving nine schools new names will cost the district about $2 million, Superintendent Diana Greene told the school board Tuesday. She said revenue from the recently voter-approved sales tax hike would not be used for the project. Instead, the district will tap general funding, private donations, capital funding and internal accounts. The schools carry the names of Confederate figures and historical figures who allegedly perpetrated violence against native Americans. The proposal has sparked opposition from alumni of the nine schools and others who claim the district is trying to erase history. Florida Times-Union. WTLV. A 17-year-old boy’s body has been pulled from a retention pond on the campus of the University of North Florida in Jacksonville. Officials said he is not a UNF student, and foul play is not suspected. WJAX. WJXT.
Pinellas: The shift from intensive in-person instruction – 10 or 11 hours a day, six days a week, 11 months a year – to remote learning was especially jarring for the Academy Prep Center of St. Petersburg, a middle school of about 140 low-income, minority children. With the help of donors, the school distributed Chromebooks and wi-fi hotspots so students could learn from home, and on average they maintained their grade point averages and improved their standardized test scores. Now most students are returning to classrooms. St. Pete Catalyst.
Brevard: The school district could lose $20.7 million in funding from the state in the 2021-2022 school year because of declining enrollment, according to district chief financial officer Cindy Lesinski. About 14,000 fewer students than projected showed up in schools last fall, though that number has since declined to about 3,800. Legislative leaders have warned school districts that they will lose funding if enrollment doesn’t rebounds to expected levels. Florida Today. Two new principals have been named for Brevard schools in the Diocese of Orlando. Claudia Stokes, who is now the principal at St. Joseph Catholic School in Palm Bay, will move to Ascension Catholic School in Melbourne. Edward Henry, the athletic director at Melbourne Central Catholic High School, will replace Stokes at St. Joseph. Orlando Diocese.
Collier: A Miami-Dade County School District official has been hired as the deputy superintendent for the Collier district. Jose L. Dotres, 58, has been the chief human capital officer in Miami-Dade. He fills a role that has been empty since the 2017 retirement of David Stump. Naples Daily News.
Lake: A vaccination event set up for the Montverde Academy drew just 210 people, leaving 790 vaccines not being used. Noelda Lopez, a spokeswoman for the county health department, said the event was intended to be a “closed pod,” and that the unused doses weren’t open or wasted. Lake County School District officials said they were not notified the event was being held. Orlando Sentinel.
St. Johns: High school graduations will be held in-person this year. Most will be at TIAA Bank Field, the home of the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars, but twowill be at First Coast Technical College’s conference center. Dates range from May 27 through June 5. Each student will receive 10 tickets for guests, and coronavirus safety protocols will be followed. St. Augustine Record. WJXT.
Leon: Racist, anti-Semitic and homophobic messages were posted on the home page of the school district’s website by hackers on Tuesday. The page was taken offline and school security officers are trying to track the source of the attack. Officials said hackers may have learned an administrative password for the website. Tallahassee Democrat. WTXL. WCTV.
Colleges and universities: Bethune-Cookman University president E. LeBrent Chrite surprised the board of trustees Tuesday by submitting his resignation. Chrite gave no reason for leaving the job he has held since 2019. No interim president was named. Daytona Beach News-Journal. WKMG. Many U.S. colleges canceled spring break this year because of the coronavirus, but thousands of students are traveling to beaches in Florida and elsewhere for a vacation anyway. NPR. University of Florida officials announced Tuesday the McCarty Woods, a 2.9-acre forest in the middle of the campus, won’t be considered for development for at least the next 10 years. Gainesville Sun.
Protesting Baker Act, vouchers: More than 30,000 Florida children have been involuntarily committed under the Baker Act in every year since 2013, according to a report issued this week by the Southern Poverty Law Center. The SPLC, Florida PTA, League of Women Voters of Florida and other groups said the act has been used inappropriately in schools and disproportionately affects minority children and those with disabilities. The groups are also calling for changes in the state’s school scholarship programs, claiming that they divert public funds that are badly needed for public schools. Orlando Sentinel. Capitol News Service. WJXT.
Grad Nites resume: The Busch Gardens and Sea World theme parks will both hold two Grad Nites for Florida high school seniors in April. It will be the first time in five years the celebration will be held at Busch Gardens in Tampa. Tickets are $69.99, and must be purchased through schools. Tampa Bay Times.
Private school growth: Almost half of the 160 private schools in 15 states and the District of Columbia that responded to a survey by the Mid-South Independent Business Officers said they had higher enrollment in the 2020-2021 enrollment than they did during the year before. Most of the schools responding are in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia, and are offering full-time, in-person learning. redefinED.
Around the nation: Several states have relaxed social distancing requirements in schools from 6 feet to 3 feet after a study showed it was safe as long as face masks are still required and other safety protocols are followed. Several other states also are considering the change. Associated Press.
Opinions on schools: Florida’s policy-makers are proud of the state’s public K-12, state college and state university systems. The “excellence tax” proposed in Senate Bill 86 would clash with the state’s stated educational values and should be deleted from the bill. Paul Cottle, Bridge to Tomorrow. If we’re reading things correctly, there is now a Volusia County School Board majority in favor of enhancing protections for LGBGTQ+ students and those who are not sure of their sexual identity – not just a proclamation, but an active and inclusionary effort to ensure that Volusia County schools are supportive of all students and their families. Daytona Beach News-Journal.
