Storm closes schools: All schools in Monroe County are closed today as the Keys are evacuated for Hurricane Irma. Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Lee, Collier, Hernando, St. Lucie, Martin and Indian River counties are closing schools Thursday and Friday, and other districts around the state are monitoring the storm. Miami Herald. Miami Herald. WPEC. WPLG. Keynoter. Key West Citizen. Palm Beach Post. Sun-Sentinel. Orlando Sentinel. Fort Myers News-Press. Naples Daily News. TCPalm. Bay News 9. Gradebook. Florida Today. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Flagler Live. Citrus County Chronicle. WUSF. WFLA. WFTV. WLRN. WKRG. WPTV.
Undocumented immigrants: As expected, President Trump is ending the program that protects the children of undocumented immigrants. The program, called the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, affects about 800,000 young people. Trump will delay implementing the end of the program for six months, and is challenging Congress to pass a “responsible immigration reform package” that includes protection for the so-called "dreamers" and border control. Associated Press. New York Times. Washington Post. Education Week. Chalkbeat. Florida school officials and students react to the decision. Palm Beach Post. Miami Herald. Orlando Sentinel. Sun-Sentinel. Naples Daily News. Fort Myers News-Press. Florida Education Association. Pensacola News Journal. Lakeland Ledger. Tallahassee Democrat.
Schools of hope: Fifty-seven of the 93 failing Florida schools are eligible for an additional $2,000 per student under the "schools of hope" provision of the new education law, H.B. 7069. Legislators decided a maximum of 25 of those schools will get the money, for a total outlay of $51.5 million of the $140 millions allotted in the law. The rest will go into a program to attract charter school companies into areas with persistently low-performing schools. Miami Herald.
Sales tax promoted: Hillsborough County school officials now say they may have no choice but to ask voters to approve a sales tax increase to pay for urgent infrastructure repairs. Years of deferred maintenance due to a financial crunch have resulted in broken air conditioners, leaking roofs and other problems at dozens of schools. "It's hard to build confidence when you send your kid to school and there's no AC in the school. It's hard to build confidence in your employees when they don't have AC in the classroom." says Chris Farkas, the district's chief operating officer. Tampa Bay Times.
