Transgender suit on hold: A district judge is delaying consideration of a transgender girl’s lawsuit against the state for banning her participation in women’s high school and college sports until another case is decided in a federal appeals court. The Broward County middle school girl contends the ban against her is unconstitutional and violates the federal Title IX law. But U.S. District Judge Roy Altman ruled last week that the case would be paused until the 11th U.S. Circuit of Appeals makes a decision in a suit brought by Drew Adams, a St. Johns County transgender male who was prevented from using boys bathrooms at Nease High School in 2017. “We share the parties’ (apparent) conclusion that the Eleventh Circuit’s … decision in Adams may materially affect the result in our case,” Altman wrote. Arguments are scheduled Feb. 22 in the St. Johns County case, with the federal government lining up in support of Adams, while the state is backing the school board’s decision. News Service of Florida.
DeSantis on parental rights bill: Gov. Ron DeSantis continued to lobby for the Legislature to pass a bill that would regulate discussions about sexuality and gender in classrooms and give parents the rights to make “critical decisions affecting a student’s mental, emotional, or physical health or well-being.” Included in those rights, DeSantis said, should be the opportunity for parents to sue school districts if they thought those rights were not being recognized. He contends the bill, dubbed by critics as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, is necessary to stop schools from “helping” students decide sexual orientation and gender identity without the involvement of their parents. DeSantis said he didn’t “think it’s happening here in large numbers,” but that “people have reported to me that this has happened in areas where you would not expect it to happen.” Florida Politics. CNN.
Also in the Legislature: All Florida high school students would have to take a class on financial literacy and management in order to graduate under a bill that was unanimously approved at its first committee hearing on Monday. The required class would include instruction on banking practices, money management, credit scores, managing debt, loan applications, insurance policies and local tax assessments. Florida Politics. A proposal to give a higher homestead exemption for teachers, first responders and members of the military was unanimously advanced Monday by a House subcommittee. If the bill gets through the Legislature, it will be put on the 2022 ballot, where it would need to be approved by more than 60 percent of voters to go into effect. Florida Politics. Alachua, Brevard, Broward, Duval, Hillsborough, Indian River, Leon, Miami-Dade, Orange, Palm Beach, Sarasota and Volusia are the 12 school districts that stand to lose a collective $200 million in state funding under the proposed House budget. The cuts would penalize the districts for defying the state’s ban on mask mandates. Capitol News Service. On Monday, House Democrats called for lawmakers to take a more active role in guiding the future of the struggling Jefferson County School District. The district has been trying to regain local control after three years of being guided by a charter school company, but the state Department of Education is resisting. Politico Florida.
Around the state: St. Lucie County School Board members choose deputy superintendent Jon Prince to replace the retiring Wayne Gent as superintendent, the Duval, Lee and Sumter school districts counties struggle with teacher shortages, Collier County loses its 15th preschool since the start of the pandemic because of a shortage of staff, only about 50 percent of Florida’s children are regarded as being ready for kindergarten, Catholic school enrollment is up, and Broward officials are investigating a teacher who won’t stop swearing in class. Here are details about those stories and others from the state’s districts, private schools, and colleges and universities:
Broward: District officials said they are investigating complaints about a Coral Glades High School teacher’s use of profanities in class. Kelly Oddone, a physical education teacher, has reportedly been recorded multiple times swearing, including Monday when she was talking to students about the complaint. “You can try anything you want … Just because I say the ‘f’ word, I’m gonna get in trouble? It didn’t happen,” Oddone said in words captured in an audio recording. “You know why I’m upset? Because I thought that I was talking to almost adults and not children from the elementary school.” WSVN.
Duval: Duval schools have been particularly hard-hit by teachers who are choosing early retirement, even when it means have benefits reduced. Sherman Reed taught math in the district for 28 years, but decided getting away from the daily coronavirus exposure was reason enough to sacrifice $200 a month in retirements benefits to retire early at age 62. The district had its highest vacancy rate in more than five years in the fall, according to school officials, and there are still more than 200 vacancies. Duval’s problems with the shortage of teachers mirrors the nation’s. A recent National Education Association poll said 55 percent of U.S. teachers plan to leave their jobs earlier than they expected. WJCT. WJXT. Posting bathroom videos on social media have landed some Duval students in trouble. At Old Plank Christian Academy, a group of boys have been suspended after posting. And school officials at Darnell-Cookman School of the Medical Arts are asking Instagram to remove photos of students using the bathroom. WTLV. WJXT. A 9-year-old 3rd-grader at River City Science Academy has turned her interest in making doughnuts into a thriving company, Mini Queen’s Donuts. Karlie King’s growth plans include a greater presence at local events, developing new flavors and launching a food truck. Florida Times-Union.
Lee: District leaders brainstormed ways on Monday to retain teachers, who are leaving their jobs steadily in what’s being called the “Great Resignation.” A district survey listed retirement, inadequate pay and working conditions as the three biggest reasons teachers give for leaving. Among the ideas discussed to stop the exodus were pay incentives and more flexible schedules. WFTX. WINK.
Volusia: An 18-year-old student at Father Lopez Catholic School in Daytona Beach was arrested Monday after allegedly making threats on social media to “shoot up” the school. School officials were tipped off through an anonymous e-mail that included two videos of the student making threats. WKMG. WFTV.
Manatee: Construction has begun on the Lakewood Ranch Preparatory Academy charter school, which is expected to open this fall for about 740 K-6 and 9th-grade students. Subsequent expansion will extend education to K-12 for about 1,965 students. Classes and programs focus on wellness, innovation, science and health. Bradenton Herald. District officials have reversed a decision to close the COVID-19 testing site for students and school employees at John H. Marble Park. It will remain open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. WWSB.
Collier: Another child-care center in Naples has been temporarily closed because it can’t find enough workers. Child’s Path-Moorings is the 15th early education center to close since the start of the pandemic in March 2020. The closings have removed 712 spots for children. “We need 10 teachers in keeping with our high quality standards for student-teacher ratios,” said CEO Heather Singleton said. “Our goal is to reopen (the Moorings location) within a few months subject to the availability of new teachers and their training needs.” Naples Daily News.
Marion: The number of coronavirus cases in the school district dropped 41 percent last week, from 875 students the week before and employees to 513. Ocala Star-Banner.
St. Lucie: School board members chose Jon Prince as the district’s next school superintendent in a 4-1 vote on Monday. Prince, who has been deputy superintendent, will replace Wayne Gent, who is retiring June 30. TCPalm.
Leon: Godby High School leads the county in the number of expulsions and suspensions this year, according to school district records. Eight Godby students were expelled between Aug. 11, 2021, and Jan. 24, which is almost 31 percent of the district’s 26 total, and 163 Godby students also have been suspended. Tallahassee Democrat.
Alachua: Construction has begun on a new building on the campus of Oak View Middle School. The 24,000-square-foot building will include 16 classrooms and a collaborative learning center, and is expected to be completed by Nov. 28. Gainesville Sun. Mainstreet Daily News.
Bay: A logo designed by Emma York, a student from Jinks Middle School, has been chosen for Oscar Patterson Academy, which is reopening in the fall after being closed the past three years when it sustained heavy damage during Hurricane Michael in 2018. Panama City News Herald.
Sumter: Only about 50 percent of teacher vacancies on any given day are being filled by substitute teachers, according to district officials. School instructional interventionists are helping fill the gaps. Villages Daily Sun.
Colleges and universities: At least five persons of interest have been identified in the investigation of recent bomb threats against at least 17 historically black colleges and universities in the United States, including Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach. Associated Press. The University of Florida ranks among the 10 worst U.S. colleges for free speech in 2021 by the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education. Mainstreet Daily News.
Kindergarten readiness: About 50 percent of Florida children are ready for kindergarten, according to the Star Early Literacy Assessment, which is used by the state to gauge readiness. A year ago, 57 percent of students passed the assessment. WFLA.
Catholic school enrollment: Enrollment in U.S. Catholic schools is up 3.5 percent this year, according to data from the National Catholic Educational Association. The 1.69 million students represents a gain of about 60,000 over last year, but still lags behind the 1.74 million enrolled during the 2019-2020 school year. Catholic News Agency.
Around the nation: About 49 percent of Americans believe schools should teach students about the past and ongoing effects of slavery and racism in America, while 40 percent want to limit the discussion to the past, according to a poll conducted by the McCourtney Institute for Democracy at Penn State. The other 10 percent believe schools don’t have the responsibility to teach anything about slavery or racism. The 74.
Opinions on schools: American K-12 is a complete bureaucratized and politicized mess with very real victims. What we should do with the time given to us is push forward to reshape American K-12 education with widely shared values: pluralism, liberalism and tolerance. We need more effective and more cost-effective school models and methods of education. Matthew Ladner, reimaginED. We have a national problem with public education. A step in the right direction would be to better compensate teachers. There is a solution to increase teacher pay without an increase in government spending: exempt all public school teachers from federal income taxes. Kyle Johnson, Orlando Sentinel. Elected officials cannot force LGBTQ students or their families back into the closet by banning the discussion of sexual identity or gender identity in public schools. Julie Wilensky, Orlando Sentinel.
