Across the state: Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a financial literacy bill, the school board in Escambia is meeting about weapons policies, reading level disparities in Alachua and funding woes in Leon. Here are details about those stories and other developments from the state’s districts, private schools, and colleges and universities:
Brevard: The Brevard chapter of Moms for Liberty sent Brevard Public Schools a second list of books that the group deemed pornographic. The chapter has been reading books from high school and middle school libraries to find materials that members think violate pornography laws. Florida Today.
Pasco: Kirkland Ranch Academy of Innovation will be opening this fall in Wesley Chapel. Students at the school will have the chance to get certified in one of 10 programs. They can then continue on to college or into the workforce. The $70 million campus will be state of the art. ABC Action News.
Escambia: County school board members are meeting about changing a policy that allows 18-year-old students to legally have a gun in their vehicle on school campuses. The school district is calling the policy a “loophole.” WEAR TV.
Leon: Leon County Schools will miss out on millions in education funding due to an increase in students taking advantage of new state laws that allow district funds to go to private schools. The district will finish the 2021-22 budget year with a $11.5 million deficit. Tallahassee Democrat. A beloved former Leon High School teacher named Sara Lamar passed away, leaving behind a legacy of literacy. Tallahassee Democrat.
Alachua: The public school system here has the largest disparity of reading levels between Black and white students in the state, according to data from the Florida Department of Education. The data shows a gap of 47 percentage points between reading levels of white and Black students in Alachua, which are 72 % and 25%, respectively. The reading gap here is larger than the statewide average of 29 percentage points. WUFT. Meanwhile, school officials at Littlewood Elementary School want faculty members to complete online security training to combat online security risks. WUFT.
St. Johns: Schools in this district teamed up for hands-on activities to learn about the ecosystem and how to be better stewards of the environment by doing activities like planting their own vegetables. CBS 47.
Citrus: The Citrus High School concert band is preparing to compete at the state level for the second time in about 30 years. In April, they will travel to the University of Florida’s Phillips Center for the State Concert Music Performance Assessment (MPA). Citrus County Chronicle.
Flagler: The Flagler County Commission is considering ending a long-standing smart-growth rule that there would no longer have to be sufficient school capacity for new developments to move forward. The change involves a proposed revision of the county’s Comprehensive Plan, eliminating the “school concurrency” requirement. Flagler Live. The Flagler County Commission also voted 5-0 this week to approve the first increase in school impact fees in 17 years. The move ended a seven-month confrontation between the commission and the school board as the commission refused to approved the board’s initial request for an increase and pushed for concessions favoring home builders that the school board was not willing to make. Flagler Live.
Monroe: A Catholic high school will return to Key West in 2023, answering the requests of local parents and families who wanted their child’s Catholic-school education at The Basilica School of St. Mary’s Star of the Sea to continue beyond eighth grade. Keys Weekly.
Financial literacy: Gov. DeSantis signed a bill Tuesday that would require high schools students to know financial literacy. He announced the signing of the bill during a news conference Tuesday with Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran and Senate President Wilton Simpson at the Innovation Preparatory Academy in Wesley Chapel. The bill would require all Florida high school students to meet a financial literacy one half credit requirement in order to graduate. The requirement would begin sometime between the 2023 and 2024 school year. WXTL. WESH. Fox 13. WPLG.
Education degrees: Colleges of education say enrollment has been steadily declining for the past decade as teacher dissatisfaction rates rise and concerns about teacher shortages intensify. The pandemic has likely made things even worse. Education Week.
Supreme Court news: Ketanji Brown Jackson is making history as the first Black woman to be nominated to the nation’s highest court, changing the way some students see themselves. WLRN.
University and college news: University of South Florida has chosen Rhea Law as their new president. Law will become the eighth person to hold the job. The nomination is pending approval by the state Board of Governors next week. Law is an attorney who has been interim president since August after former President Steven Currall stepped down. Tampa Bay Times. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Theater and engineering students at the University of West Florida recently joined forces to design and fabricate a giant mechanical lion to be used on stage in the upcoming performance of “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.” Pensacola News Journal.
Opinions on schools: Opponents of school choice such as the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers argue that vouchers, education savings accounts and other parent-centered reforms would “drain resources” from public schools. But this reasoning should finally be put to bed. Dan Lips, reimaginED. Chronic absenteeism skyrocketed during the pandemic. Even when absences are for “excused” reasons, like health or transportation issues, families can experience a lack of support that feels like pain in addition to punishment. Joanna Smith-Griffin, The 74th.
