Around the state: A proposed Florida Department of Education rule would require school districts to submit plans to the state every year detailing how they will teach U.S. history, black history and the history of the Holocaust, Miami city commissioners revoke a decision to award use of public land to a private school instead of to expand a public school, Hillsborough officials plan to emphasize the teacher shortage as a reason for voters to approve a special property tax to improve pay, nine Palm Beach County schools are using an artificial intelligence program for tutoring, Duval’s school board begins a search for a new superintendent, dates are set for the 2025 Florida legislative session, and six Lee County teachers are presented with Golden Apple awards. Here are details about those stories and others from the state’s districts, private schools, and colleges and universities:
Miami-Dade: Miami city commissioners killed a deal to allow a private school to build a $10 million athletic facility on public land after the owners of the school withdrew from the 2022 contract. The deal had been heavily criticized after a city commissioner who helped broker the deal for David and Leila Centner was indicted on charges of money laundering and bribery. School districts had planned to expand the iPrep Academy public school on the property. Miami Herald. WSVN. WTVJ.
Broward: A language arts teacher at Driftwood Middle School in Hollywood was arrested Wednesday and accused of having “inappropriate” contact with a student between the ages of 12 and 16. Police said Felicia Sharonda Smith, 39, is charged with lewd and lascivious molestation and lewd and lascivious battery. “The teacher has been reassigned away from the school and students pending the outcome of the case,” said a district spokesperson. Sun-Sentinel. Miami Herald. WPLG. WTVJ. A social studies teacher at a private Catholic school in Hollywood has been arrested and accused of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old student during a field trip last year. Police said Boris Bastidas, 35, who teaches at Chaminade-Madonna College Preparatory, is charged with coercing or enticing a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity and traveling in interstate commerce for the purpose of engaging in illicit sexual conduct. Sun-Sentinel. Miami Herald. WPLG. WFOR.
Hillsborough: School officials said they will try to sell voters this November on a special property tax to supplement teacher pay and boost some school programs as a way to reduce the long-standing teacher shortage. One talking point is that 10,000 district students began the 2023-2024 school year without a full-time teacher because of the shortage. But first they will have to convince school board members and county commissioners the tax is needed. At a recent meeting, three of the seven school board members said nothing or were noncommital about the tax, and county officials are considering asking voters to renew the community investment tax and are talking about ending the school’s share of the revenues it generates. Tampa Bay Times.
Palm Beach: Nine district schools have begun using an artificial intelligence tutoring tool, Khanmigo, which gives students individual attention when the classroom teacher is busy. Officials expect to expand use of the program to all district high schools next year. WPTV. More than 2,000 students at West Boca Raton Community High School attended classes without air conditioning and computers and ate bagged lunches after a fire on a utility pole in front of the school knocked out the school’s power all day Wednesday. Florida Power & Light restored the power at about 3 p.m., after the students had gone home. Palm Beach Post.
Duval: The district begins taking applications today for the superintendent’s job. Diana Greene resigned last June, and deputy superintendent Dana Kriznar has been working as the interim. Applications will be taken through April 15, and the school board will interview finalists in May with an intent to have the new superintendent on the job July 1. An earlier search was suspended when the board wasn’t satisfied with the candidates. Florida Politics.
Lee: Golden Apple awards for excellence in teaching were presented Thursday to six district educators. The winners are: Christine Bartz, a kindergarten teacher at Pine Island Elementary School; Sara Kizzire, 9th-grade biology teacher at Lehigh Senior High; Jill Klausing, a reading teacher at Dunbar High; Jessica Lisi, a language arts and social studies teacher at Tanglewood Elementary; Michelle Smith, a special education teacher at Lehigh Senior High; and Sarah Thornburg, a dance teacher at Cypress Lake High. Fort Myers News-Press.
Pasco: A district teacher who was one of the plaintiffs in the just-settled lawsuit over the Parental Rights in Education law said she will now start lobbying the school district to allow teachers to return “safe space” stickers and signs that indicate support for LGBTQ+ students back into their classrooms. Myndee Washington said the settlement clarified that “does not require the removal of safe space stickers, which are not classroom instruction,” and she’ll ask the school board to reverse the district’s earlier decision to outlaw them. Superintendent Kurt Browning said district officials will have to consult with their lawyers before making such a decision. Tampa Bay Times.
Colleges and universities: Florida A&M University has received a $9 million federal grant to develop community partnership schools in north Florida that offer students and their families educational, health and social services through partnerships among a school district, a health-care provider and a college or university. WCTV. WTXL. Florida Polytechnic University is in line to receive $8.7 million in one-time funding from the 2024-2025 state budget, as well as an increase in $3 million in operating funds. About $5.7 million iwould go toward designing a Student Achievement Center on the Lakeland campus, and $3 million would be used for STEM program enhancements. Lakeland Ledger. Teachers unions at Hillsborough Community College and St. Petersburg College have met the threshold of having 60 percent of eligible members paying dues in order to remain certified, while the University of South Florida’s did not and is going through the recertification process. WUSF. The national animal rights group Stop Animal Exploitation Now has filed a federal complaint against USF that alleges the school violated the Animal Welfare Act when two pigs died during a research project. Tampa Bay Times.
Teaching history in Florida: Florida school districts would have to submit a “required instruction implementation plan” to the state every July on what and how they will teach U.S. history, black history and the history of the Holocaust under a proposed state Department of Education rule. Districts would also have to detail the “professional qualifications of the person delivering instruction” and a “description of the materials and resources utilized to deliver” such instruction. A hearing on the proposal is scheduled April 17. News Service of Florida.
Alternative education: Charter schools are the top alternative education options to traditional public schools in Florida, according to a study by the Witherow Brooke educational consulting agency. Nearly 400,000 Florida students attend 726 charter schools, which is 14 percent of the state’s K-12 enrollment. Montessori schools are Floridians’ next favored option, followed by Steiner & Waldorf schools. GulfLive.com.
2025 legislative session: The 2025 legislative session will begin March 4 and end May 2, according to information posted by the Florida Senate. March is the standard starting time for sessions in odd-numbered years, and January in even-numbered years. News Service of Florida.
Opinions on schools: The state’s settlement of the lawsuit challenging the Parental Rights in Education law is proof that the law was harmful. Jen Cousins, Orlando Sentinel.
