Book review process: The school board in Brevard spent nearly two weeks debating their public comment policy, prompted by concerns that parents may disregard the book review process to fast-track getting a book off school library shelves through a loophole created by a new law. No changes were made to the policy at Tuesday's meeting, but board members discovered that some challenged books had been banned due to the loophole. House Bill 1069, which dictates what can and cannot be taught in schools, says that parents must be allowed to read from challenged books. If a school board member stops them because the content is sexually explicit, the book must come out of all schools within five days. Florida Today. In Volusia, A total of 89 books were challenged in Volusia County Schools in the 2022-2023 school year, according to data released by the Florida Department of Education. Palm Coast Observer.
Unpaid school vouchers: Florida families are saying school vouchers have been unpaid. The first disbursements in the newly-expanded program were due on Sept. 1. Lawmakers lifted the eligibility requirements for the system, which led to a doubling of participation this fall to more than 400,000 children. The disruption appears to have affected thousands of students, leaving parents and school officials unable to get answers from those in charge of the voucher system.“This year it’s been the worst,” said Maria Preston, who runs Fort Lauderdale's Diverse Abilities Center. Tampa Bay Times.
Palm Beach: School Superintendent Mike Burke spoke about issues the school district is facing and priorities for the year in front of the League of Women Voters. Palm Beach County mother Monica Baber says knowing what’s going on with her children’s education is a big priority. That’s why she came to Mounts Botanical Garden to hear Burke talk Wednesday. “I want to know that they are getting taught to tackle further challenges that will come along in higher education, and I want to make sure they're going to be well rounded," said Baber. WPEC.
Brevard: The county school board moved toward a settlement in a lawsuit over a student with Down syndrome who came home with a mask tied to her face during a school mask mandate two years ago. The board prevailed earlier this year in a $100 million federal lawsuit filed by the family of then 7-year-old Sofia Bezerra, a special needs student at Ocean Breeze Elementary in Indian Harbour Beach. Florida Today.
Seminole: Moms for Liberty, the conservative group founded in Florida, aimed to get books pulled from Seminole County Public Schools libraries by reading aloud at a school board meeting this week passages they said amounted to pornography. The Seminole County School Board on Tuesday night listened without interruption as Moms for Liberty members and supporters read short book excerpts, in almost all cases without naming the book or the author. Orlando Sentinel.
Alachua: The school board here acknowledged at its meeting earlier this week that it is investigating a student club at Gainesville High School that limits participation to Black male students. Superintendent Shane Andrew disclosed that a parent of one of the students who attended the club submitted a complaint to the school district's human resources department. The parent's issue was with the information presented to students. WUFT. Gainesville Sun.
Veterans program: Over a year after the Florida Department of Education amended its teaching requirements to give military vets an easier pathway to become certified teachers, state figures show veteran participation hasn't been stellar. “It seems like there was a lot of fanfare around this program being a huge solution to a problem. Clearly, that's not the case,” said Andrew Spar, head of the Florida Education Association (FEA), the state’s largest teacher’s union. At the start of the school year, the FEA issued a press release saying the number of teacher vacancies in the state reached nearly 7,000, "the worst in state history." ABC Action News.
Advocacy for students: A small group of parents, students and residents voiced support for LBGTQ+ students earlier this week at a Hillsborough County School Board meeting. The message: Marginalized groups deserve respect and protection. A new program launched this year by Equality Florida called "Fall into Action" helped them share the message. Spokesperson Carlos Guillermo Smith said the initiative's goal is to give people the tools needed to sign up and speak out at local school board meetings in every district in the state. WUSF.
University and college news: Florida State University College of Medicine's Orlando regional campus is celebrating its 20th graduating class. WESH. Florida Atlantic University faculty want their interim president to become permanent amid a stalled search for president as the state investigates what it called "anomalies" in the search process. The hope is that interim President Dr. Stacy Volnick, who has been serving in the role since late last year, become's the university's permanent leader. WPTV. Ben Sasse, the new president at University of Florida, talked about ideas for changing campus culture and a possible tuition hike as he made the rounds on campus recently. Tampa Bay Times. Student and dads from Florida State University schools are participating in the Walking School Bus. WXTL.
Around the state: A teacher in Hillsborough who fought for her life after a medical diagnosis won an Educator of the Year award, the Florida Department of Education told school districts to produce detailed information about the programs and materials they use to address subjects that have been hotly debated, students decorated crosswalks at a school in Lee to make them safer and brighter, and leaders at New College of Florida are wondering where funds will come from for the interim president's salary. Here are details about those stories and other developments from the state's districts, private schools, colleges and universities:
Broward: Amanda Hoy is a senior at Cooper City High School and is the first student in her school's National Honor Society with a cognitive disability. “Anyone can look up to someone like Amanda, and you can look up to anyone, it’s really amazing to see the change that one person can bring,” said Kayla Spennato, one of Amanda’s cheerleading teammates. NBC Miami.
Hillsborough: Superintendent Addison Davis on Friday put the finishing touches on a fresh proposal to change attendance boundaries before a key school board vote on Tuesday. Under the new plan, 282 students would be sent from Bloomingdale High to Brandon High, and it would cut in half the number moving from Farnell Middle in Westchase to Smith Middle in Citrus Park. Unlike the Feb. 13 workshop, Tuesday's meeting is a business meeting where members of the public can speak. Tampa Bay Times.
Sarasota: The four Republicans representing Sarasota County in the Florida House voted for a state budget that cuts $12 million from Sarasota schools because the district approved a mask mandate. The Sarasota County School Board repealed the mask mandate in October as COVID-19 cases declined. Longboat Key News.
Marion: Students here wrote about Valentine's Day, and talked about who their special valentines were. Ocala Star-Banner.
Leon: A Knight Creative Communities Institute project to make school crosswalks brighter and safer moved to north Tallahassee's DeSoto Trail Elementary School on Saturday. The colors and patterns are designed to grab a driver's attention and slow down traffic. A recently study by Florida State University showed that brightly colored crosswalks promote traffic safety in school zones. "School safety is our number 1 priority. We want our students to be safe coming and going to school, so this project enhances that," said Principal Michele Keltner. WFSU. Meanwhile, the Tallahassee Collegiate Academy will open in August. The new charter high school is geared toward students who want to pursue degrees in STEM-related fields — science, technology, engineering and math. The school is housed on the campus of Tallahassee Community College, which received a grant from the Florida Department of Education to be the first college charter school authorizer. WFSU.
Alachua: The Education Foundation in this county held their 12th annual education gala. The foundation put up art for auction from students in Bucholz, Gainesville, Loften and Eastside high schools. All proceeds raised at the event go toward funding the Alachua County Public Schools arts department. WCJB.
Escambia: The Pensacola Omega Lamplighters, a youth civic organization, are preparing to host a fundraiser at Pensacola High. The goal of their March 11 event is to empower youth with the knowledge they will need to develop social and leadership skills to become responsible, productive citizens. WEAR.
Teacher beats the odds: A teacher at Cambridge Christian School was recently named Educator of the Year by the National Society of High School Scholars. Ms. Phinney was also bedridden and fighting for her life after being diagnosed with endometriosis, which robbed her of the ability to walk and confined her to a bed for almost a year. "It's one thing to be recognized by colleagues or your academics, but by far, to me, if the students are believing this, that means the most," said Ms. Phinney. ABC Action News.
Black History Month: Two Southwest Florida students were winners in a statewide essay competition that was part of Black History Month student contests made possible through a collaboration between the Florida Department of Education, Volunteer Florida, the Florida Lottery and the Florida Prepaid College Foundation. Students in fourth through twelfth grade were asked to submit an essay based on this year's theme. Winners receive a two-year Florida College Plan scholarship and a $100 gift card for school supplies. WGCU.
School board members targeted: Gov. Ron DeSantis is taking aim at three Treasure Coast school board members, saying they should be ousted next year for not shielding students from particular ideologies and for failing to protect the rights of parents. Indian River county's Peggy Jones and Brian Barefoot, and St. Lucie county's Jack Kelly made a list of 14 school board members statewide that the governor wants to unseat in 2024. TC Palm.
State request: The Florida Department of Education told school districts to produce detailed information about the programs and materials they use to address subjects that have been hotly debated. The department asked superintendents to fill out a 34-question survey identifying titles of books and programs they have relating to subjects such as sex education, diversity, equity and inclusion, among other topics. The ask included specifics for students courses and employee training. Miami Herald. Bradenton Herald.
University and college news: When New College of Florida's board of trustees approved a contract for Richard Corcoran to serve as interim president, some said his salary seemed high. Now, some leaders at the school in Sarasota are questioning where the funds will come from. Under state law, only $200,000 in taxpayer money can be used to pay a university official's salary, so private donations must cover the rest. Tampa Bay Times. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Rollins College faculty and students officially opened the Winter Park campus' latest addition: A new $8 million building devoted to theater and dance. “We now have the facility that matches our reputation and academic quality,” said Rollins president Grant H. Cornwell. Orlando Sentinel. About 150 students gathered in Ace Plaza on the New College of Florida campus as part of a statewide walkout to protest the state's higher education policies. The college, whose student enrollment is about 700, has been the focus of Gov. Ron DeSantis' efforts to create a more conservative education model at universities in Florida. New College students, alumni and supporters have voiced concerns since the start of what they call an overreach and takeover of their educational freedoms. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Florida A&M's Marching 100 is projected to cost the university about $450,000 in travel funds for the highly acclaimed band during the 2023-34 school year. The cost, which is part of the university's operating budget, was presented last week. Tallahassee Democrat.
Opinions on schools: Substitute teachers deserve more respect. Alanah Nichole Davis, Ed Week.
Florida reform duel. At Jay P. Greene’s Blog, researcher Matthew Ladner responds to a recent critique of Florida’s reforms from Matt Di Carlo at the Shanker Institute. If you want a serious discussion of what’s working or not in Florida, including the impact or not of school choice, these guys are among the ones to read. Ladner’s conclusion: “The problem for Florida reform skeptics, in short, is that there simply isn’t any other plausible explanation for Florida’s gains outside of the reforms. … With large aggregate gains and plenty of positive research, the reasonable course is not to avoid doing any of the Florida reforms, but rather to do all of them.”
School security. Superintendents discuss the issue with the Senate Education Committee, reports the Tampa Bay Times. More from SchoolZone. Committee chair John Legg says he’s not hot on the idea of arming teachers, reporters News Service of Florida. Pinellas Sheriff Bob Gaultier says he's not hot on the idea of armed officers in every elementary school, reports the Tampa Bay Times. Broward school board members worry about the cost of extra school resource officers, reports the South Florida Sun Sentinel. Cape Coral charter schools hire one, reports the Cape Coral Daily Breeze. The Hillsborough school board shoots down Superintendent MaryEllen Elia’s plan for armed guards in every elementary school, with some calling it overboard and too expensive, reports the Tampa Tribune. More from the Tampa Bay Times.
Charter school growth. Florida adds 67 charter schools this year, helping the national number top 6,000, according to new numbers from the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, reports SchoolZone. More from StateImpact Florida.
Better Burger vs. Bigger Burger. School boards have too big a conflict in interest in approving charter schools. EdFly Blog.
Sushi. Culinary students at Coral Gables High learn how to make it. Miami Herald.
Teacher evaluations. The Pinellas school board tweaks its state-mandated system, but still doesn’t like it. Tampa Bay Times.
Teacher pay. More on the merit pay court challenge. Tallahassee Democrat.
Teacher input. Get more of it. Tampa Bay Times.
Teacher turnover. Too much of it. Fort Myers News Press. (more…)
