School grades improve: Florida schools improved in grades issued by the Florida Department of Education on Wednesday, with more A’s and fewer D’s and F’s. Nearly 1,300 schools received an A grade, an improvement of 6 percentage points from 2023. Eighty-one fewer schools were assessed a D, and 17 fewer schools received an F, according to the data. Sixty-four percent of schools received an A or B, compared to 57 percent in 2023, while less than 4 percent of schools received a D or F, down from 6 percent a year ago. District grades were evenly distributed, with 22 receiving an A grade, 22 a B grade, and 21 a C. Jefferson and Taylor got grades of incomplete. Last year, 16 districts got an A, 36 a B and 15 a C. Lafayette, St. Johns, Nassau, Walton and Sarasota are the highest-scoring school districts. Orlando Sentinel. Florida Phoenix. Florida Department of Education.
District-by-district reports: Here are reports on school and district grades from around the state. To access data on specific schools and districts, click on this link and then click on the school grades and district grades links. Miami-Dade. Broward. Hillsborough. Orange. Palm Beach. Duval. Polk. Lee. Pinellas. Pasco. Osceola. Brevard. Seminole. Volusia. Manatee. St. Johns. Lake. Collier. St. Lucie. Marion. Sarasota. Clay. Escambia. Okaloosa. Leon. Santa Rosa. Alachua. Bay. Hernando. Martin. Indian River. Charlotte. Citrus. Flagler. Hendry. Nassau. Highlands. Walton. Putnam. Columbia. Sumter. Monroe. Okeechobee. Jackson. Suwannee. Levy. Wakulla. Baker. Hardee. Gadsden. DeSoto. Washington. Holmes. Bradford. Gilchrist. Taylor. Union. Madison. Dixie. Calhoun. Gulf. Glades. Hamilton. Liberty. Franklin. Lafayette. Jefferson. Florida Department of Education.
Around the state: Florida’s Board of Education approves a proposal to allow high school student-athletes to be paid for endorsements and a Gainesville school’s chess team is the first announced deal, Broward’s school district makes the first of three agreed-upon payments to charter schools of revenue from a tax referendum, Okaloosa schools will spend $172 million to build a new school and renovate two others, Bay’s school board tentatively approves a $672 million budget, the Okeechobee school district welcomes a new superintendent, and the state teacher of the year will be announced tonight. Here are details about those stories and others from the state’s districts, private schools, and colleges and universities:
Broward: The school district has made its first payment of about $32 million to charter schools, as part of its agreement with the state, which had charged the district hadn’t properly shared revenues from a 2018 school tax approved by voters to improve security and increase teacher pay. Two more payments are required over the next two years, bring the total headed to charters at $108 million. News Service of Florida.
Hillsborough: District officials are asking a judge to order the county commission to approve the placement of the school tax referendum on this year’s ballot by Aug. 13. The deadline for items to be submitted in time to make the November ballot is Aug. 20. Attorneys for the board also want the judge to require a response from the commission by Friday. The lawsuit contends that “a county commission enjoys no discretion when receiving such direction. It must direct the supervisor of elections to place the school board’s referendum on the ballot of the general election selected by the school board.” Tampa Bay Times. Gov. Ron DeSantis was critical of the school board’s tax request during a news conference Wednesday in St. Petersburg. “I think taxpayers are sick of it,” he said. “Why don’t you manage things better rather than trying to come and jack up people’s taxes?” WFLA.
Polk: School officials and the sheriff’s office are collaborating to add cameras on school buses to capture drivers who pass illegally when the stop signal of the bus is activated. The cameras record license plates that are sent to the sheriff’s office for a review to see if a ticket should be mailed to the driver. Superintendent Frederick Heid said 22 students died last year in traffic accidents, prompting this safety initiative. “The number of viewings and funerals that we’ve attended this last year is unprecedented and unacceptable,” he said. “Our students should not be put in that position.” WFLA. WTSP. WTVT. Lakeland Ledger.
Brevard: Three newcomers are challenging incumbent Matt Susin for the District 4 seat on the school board in the Aug. 20 primary: Avanese Taylor, a mom and member of the Navy; former teacher Keith Schachter; and Max Madl, a 2024 Viera High graduate. They talked about teacher salaries, student mental health, parental involvement, career and technical education opportunities and more at a candidate forum this week. If no one wins more than 50 percent of the vote in the primary, the top two finishers advance to the runoff Nov. 5. Florida Today.
Marion: The district is the 20th-largest district in the state with 45,000-plus students and one of only 20 with a budget of more than $400 million, but ranks just 55th in the latest state assessment test scores. Of the 19 test score categories, Marion’s best performances were in U.S. history and 8th-grade math with the 39th highest score. Sixty-seven county districts and eight other educational institutions take the annual tests. Ocala News.
Okaloosa: District officials announced plans to spend $175 million to build a new K-8 school in Crestview and make significant renovations at Baker School and Destin Elementary. The new school will hold up to 1,100 students, and the projected completion is the fall of 2026 for it and the Destin projects. The Baker work could be finished a little earlier, said Bill Smith, program director for facilities planning. Northwest Florida Daily News.
Leon: A student’s mother is suing the school board, alleging that a language arts teacher at Tallahassee Classical School discriminated against the then-7th grader by referring to him using a racially offensive term in class in 2022. The teacher no longer works at the school. Tallahassee Democrat.
Bay: The school board tentatively approved a $672 million budget, which is about $20 million less than last year’s spending. A budget workshop and public hearing will be held Aug. 1, and board members are scheduled to take a final vote Sept. 10. WMBB.
Flagler: District 3 school board candidate Janie Ruddy talks about her background and preparation to be a board member, her plans for improving the state grade for the district to an A from its current B, her vision for public education, and more. Her opponent in the Aug. 20 primary is Derek Barrs. Flagler Live.
Putnam: A former school resource officer at Interlachen High School has been found guilty of child sexual abuse. Joshua Herren was arrested in 2022, and police say he committed sexual battery of a minor between the ages of 12 and 18 over a three-year period. Sentencing is Aug. 26, and Herren could receive life in prison. WCJB. WJAX.
Okeechobee: The district starts the new year Aug. 12 with a new superintendent. Dylan Tedders became the interim in March, and took over as the permanent district leader July 1. Tedders said his immediate goal is making sure there are enough certified teachers. Longer-term, the district is building a new Okeechobee High School on the same property as the current high school. It’s scheduled to open in the fall of 2026 but until then, the school will be a construction zone. WPEC.
Colleges and universities: St. Petersburg College has received a $7.2 million grant from the state to help the school establish its semiconductor, artificial intelligence and machine learning training for technicians lab. Florida Politics.
Teachers of the year: The state’s 2025 teacher of the year will be announced at a banquet tonight. The finalists are Clayton Nylund of Hillsborough County, Jaime Suarez of Hernando, Jennifer Brown of Marion, Heather Stewart of Walton, and Samantha Nelson of the Florida State University School in Leon. The Florida Department of Education is honoring them and other districts’ teachers of the year on its Facebook page. Florida Department of Education.
NIL gets BOE’s okay: High school student-athletes can now be paid for endorsement deals after the Florida High School Athletic Association proposal was approved Wednesday by the Florida Board of Education. Florida joins at least 30 other states in giving high-schoolers the ability to be compensated for the use of the names, likenesses and images (NIL). Under the new regulations, students and their parents will be required to “negotiate any NIL activities independent of their school, school district, or the FHSAA,” though students can hire registered agents for advice. Students may not use their school’s logo, uniform or equipment in any NIL deals without permission and can’t endorse alcohol, tobacco, vaping, gambling, weapons, cannabis products or prescription drugs or anything related to “political or social activism.” Also prohibited are collectives, which are funding organizations that funnel compensation to students. The rules take effect immediately. News Service of Florida. Politico Florida. Florida Phoenix. Orlando Sentinel. Florida Times-Union. WFTV. The chess team from the Frazer School, a magnet school in Gainesville, became the first in the state to sign a sponsorship deal, with the furniture moving company College Hunks. WCJB. WUFT.
Opinions on schools: My daughter recently completed 6th grade at our local public school. She had a wonderful experience and judging by her state test scores, she’s well on track academically. But it’s the things she didn’t learn that concern me. Chad Aldeman, The 74.
