Case in judge’s hands: Final arguments were made Thursday in the lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ executive order intended to prevent local school boards from requiring students to wear face masks. After hearing both sides make their final pitches, Leon Circuit Judge John Cooper said, “I’m still wrestling with pretty much all the issues.” A ruling is expected today. DeSantis said Thursday that the state would appeal if the state loses. Parents who brought the suit allege that the executive order violates the law requiring the state to provide a “uniform, efficient, safe, secure and high quality system” of public schools. “Our parents are being forced to choose between their child’s right to an education and their child’s right to be safe,” said Craig Whisenhunt, attorney for the parents. Attorney for the state argued that the state’s decisions should not be subject to “second-guessing by the judiciary,” nor should the court “wade into the political thicket” over the mask debate. “The state Legislature and governor trust parents, like all the moms who testified in this case, to make the best decision for their own kids,” said Mike Abel, an attorney for the state. News Service of Florida. Associated Press. Politico Florida. Florida Politics. Florida Phoenix. Capitol News Service. Florida officials at the federal level, such as Republican U.S. senators Marco Rubio and Rick Scott, aren’t offering DeSantis support in his fight against mask mandates. Rubio called mask debates “a waste of time,” and Scott said, “I don’t believe the government should be mandating things.” Miami Herald. Ten Florida school districts are defying the state’s rule prohibiting them from imposing face mask mandates on students without a parental opt-out, but there are subtle differences in their approaches. Florida Phoenix.
Around the state: A teacher in Santa Rosa County and another in Indian River County have died of complications from the coronavirus, Alachua County’s superintendent tells the education commissioner that she won’t be filing daily reports on students being disciplined for violating the district’s face mask mandate, a school in Vero Beach is closing because of an outbreak of the virus, a charter school system in Cape Coral reports that more than half its students and staff have been quarantined, Manatee County schools have now had more cases of coronavirus among students and employees this year than in all of last year, and about 2,300 of the Okeechobee County School District’s 6,000 students are in quarantine. Here are details about those stories and others from the state’s districts, private schools, and colleges and universities:
Miami-Dade: School Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said since schools opened Monday, the district has received 10 complaints from parents about the face mask mandate. The district has 350,000 students. WFOR. A school security monitor at Horace Mann Middle School in El Portal has been arrested after he was seen shoving a 7th-grader, then punching him in the shoulder at the school Thursday. A video of the incident shows Antwan Ruffin, who is 6-4 and weighs 220 pounds, in a verbal altercation with the student that escalated. Ruffin is charged with child abuse with no great bodily harm and battery. District officials said they will take disciplinary action that could include firing the monitor. WSVN.
Broward: State prosecutors questioned the school district’s chief communications officer, Kathleen Koch, in late July over her involvement in organizing a rally in support of then-Superintendent Robert Runcie after his indictment for perjury. Transcripts of the testimony were filed this week as part of the perjury case against Runcie. Koch’s actions are not thought to be illegal, but school board members have called them inappropriate. Miami Herald. A 17-year-old student at Miramar High School was arrested Thursday and accused of having a loaded gun on school property. School resource officers were tipped off and stopped the boy shortly after he arrived at school. Officers said they found a Glock 26 handgun in his backpack, loaded, and another 39 rounds of ammunition. Records showed the gun had been stolen in Miami-Dade County in November 2015. Sun Sentinel. WPLG.
Duval: District officials have released their new face mask policy, including the steps of discipline for students who refuse to wear masks and step-by-step instructions on what parents need to do to apply for a medical exemption. WJAX. WJXT. WTLV.
Lee: More than half the students and staff at the four Oasis Charter Schools in Cape Coral are in quarantine because of exposure to someone with COVID-19. About 100 students have tested positive, sending 1,800 of the 3,500 students and staff home to quarantine. School officials are meeting today to review their safety protocols. WINK.
Manatee, Sarasota: There have already been more coronavirus cases this year in Manatee County schools than there were during the entire 2020-2021 academic year, according to the district. By Thursday, 1,156 positive cases were reported among students and 200 among staff. Last year, there were 1,119 total cases among students and staff. In Sarasota County, school officials said there have been 1,668 cases in 13 days of school, and 1,436 of them were students. There were 2,266 cases last year, students and employees combined. At the current rate of infection, Sarasota will surpass last year’s number of cases in the next few days. Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
Collier: In the first 10 days of school, district officials said they have had 547 cases of the coronavirus reported. Students infections totaled 486, and employees 61. During the last school year, Collier didn’t record its 500th case until December. Naples Daily News.
St. Johns: School board members recently responded to the rising number of coronavirus cases by requiring all employees to wear masks in schools. Masks are optional for students, and Superintendent Tim Forson said that is not expected to change. Still, the decision isn’t finding many fans. Mask advocates say the policy isn’t strong enough, and opponents say it illegally takes the decision out of the hands of individuals. St. Augustine Record.
Okaloosa: Field trips have been postponed for all district schools because of the spike in coronavirus cases. “We will continue to review available data and hope to reinstate field trips at some point this fall, as they can be an important supplement to school-based curriculum,” said deputy superintendent Steve Horton. Field trips have now been on hold for more than a year, and the museums and attractions that students go to say the pause is hurting them financially. “The bottom line is field trips are what are the revenue generators, what makes the mortgage payments and pays the utilities.” said Diane Fraser, director of the Emerald Coast Science Center. “Across the board, every museum is terrified. This is a big deal.” Northwest Florida Daily News.
Alachua: Earlier this week, Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran sent a letter to the school district demanding that it document every time students are sent home, isolated, suspended or bullied because they didn’t follow the district’s policy requiring masks at all times unless they have a medical exemption. Corcoran has called that policy “unlawful.” Thursday night, Superintendent Carlee Simon responded by saying, “Given that the School Board of Alachua County does not have an unlawful face covering mandate policy, we do not have anything to report.” Alachua is one of 10 state districts that has adopted policies that doesn’t allow parents to opt their children out for any reason. Orlando Sentinel. Florida Politics. Gainesville Sun. WCJB. New District 2 school board member Mildred Russell was sworn in Thursday. In her first vote, Russell opposed a proposal to consider legal action against the state over the mask order. “The rules were made with parents in mind giving them the choice to opt out, and I don’t want to challenge that,” she said. “I think the parents should have the choice.” Russell was appointed by Gov. DeSantis to replace Diyonne McGraw, who was removed because she lived in a different district than the one she was elected to represent. Gainesville Sun. WCJB. WGFL. A 9th-grader at Gainesville High School said he has been told not to return to school after refusing to wear a face mask this week. Alachua Chronicle.
Santa Rosa: Travis Barnes, a special education teacher at Avalon Middle School in Milton, died Wednesday of complications from the coronavirus after a six-week battle. His death is the 35th among school employees since July, and the 19th among teachers, according to statistics kept by the Florida Education Association, a statewide teachers union. WEAR. WKRG.
Bay: Sixty-seven of the 75 students enrolled in Bay High School’s Advanced International Certificate of Education earned a diploma last year. The 89 percent pass rate was the best the school has done in the nearly 20 years of the program. The AICE is a set of challenging college-level classes from Cambridge University for high school students. Panama City News Herald.
Hernando: The battle over the teaching of critical race theories has taken hold in the 23,000-student Hernando County School District. District officials and teachers are adamant that CRT is not being taught in the district’s schools, but that hasn’t stopped members of the community from saying it is and pushing back loudly and often. The opponents claim a teacher training session called “Equity in Education” is a form of indoctrination, and they want it stopped. Tampa Bay Times.
Indian River: Tabitha Blair, a 4th-grade teacher at Treasure Coast Elementary in Sebastian, died Aug. 19 of complications from the coronavirus. She was 42. TCPalm. Beachland Elementary School in Vero Beach has been closed until Sept. 7 by the spread of COVID cases at the school. Twelve students and 12 employees have tested positive since school opened Aug. 10. The school has about 500 students, who will learn from home through the district’s Canvas online platform. TCPalm. WPTV. WPEC.
Nassau: School board members recently approved a face mask mandate for all employees unless they have a medical exemption. Students will also be required to wear masks, though their parents can opt them out for any reason. District officials said they’re looking at options to provide school-by-school breakdowns on cases for school board members, but staffing is a consideration. So far this school year, 52 students and four employees have tested positive for the coronavirus and almost 400 students have been quarantined. WJXT.
Okeechobee: About 2,300 of the school district’s 6,000 students are in quarantine because they’ve been exposed to someone with COVID-19, according to school officials. Almost 200 students have tested positive for the virus. “We know that’s a large number,” said Superintendent Ken Kenworthy. “It is challenging.” He said the district would try to create more space between students in classrooms, but will not make face mask-wearing mandatory. WPEC.
Colleges and universities: A former accounting manager for a company that provides staffing and support for the University of South Florida’s health operations has pleaded guilty to embezzling $12.8 million from that company. Ralph Puglisi, 59, used the money for home renovations, chartered yachts, rent and transactions on an adult entertainment website. He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. Tampa Bay Times.
Charter CEO loses appeal: The former CEO of a charter school company who was convicted of racketeering and fraud in 2018 has lost an appeal. Marcus May ran Newpoint Education Partners, which had 15 schools in six counties. He was accused of using one of his companies to sell school equipment “at exorbitant markups” to schools managed by Newpoint and getting a kickback from a friend who sold the items. News Service of Florida.
Around the nation: The U.S. Department of Education announced Thursday that it is offering student loan forgiveness for about 115,000 students who attended ITT Technical Institute but left without graduating. About $1.1 billion in federal loans incurred in the eight-year period before the for-profit closed in 2016 will be forgiven. Associated Press. WPTV.
