Around the state: Florida’s Board of Education has approved implementation of a system to grade the state’s voluntary prekindergarten programs, a Broward school board member who was voted out of office in last week’s primary has been appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis to the state Board of Education, Sarasota school board members have approved a $300,000 settlement with the widower of a former district employee who claimed she had been racially harassed and bullied, the University of Florida denies the appeals of students punished for their participation in pro-Palestinian demonstrations on campus in April, and further deregulation of public schools is expected to get consideration in the 2025 legislative session. Here are details about those stories and others from the state’s districts, private schools, and colleges and universities:
Broward: A carbon monoxide leak in the cafeteria at Cypress Bay High School in Weston on Friday sent six people to the hospital for treatment. Five of those affected were school employees, and a paramedic was also treated. The leak has been fixed and normal school operations are expected to resume today, school principal Kassandra Fried said Sunday in an e-mail to students and parents. Sun Sentinel. WPLG.
Polk: IDEA Lakeland is the newest Florida charter school opened by the company based in Texas. It’s a K-6 school that focuses on preparing students for college, and has an enrollment of about 500 students with another 300 on a waiting list. It was designated by the state as a School of Hope, which is a program that rewards charters with tax breaks for opening in areas with persistently low-performing schools. IDEA Lakeland will hire interventionists and special teachers to help classroom teachers. Lakeland Ledger.
Lee: District officials are asking the state Department of Education for $2.5 million to help English language learners in their schools. They estimate that in the past six years, almost 10,000 students from 81 countries have enrolled in schools. More than 20 percent of the district’s students don’t speak English as their native language. WFTX. A 9-year-old elementary school student who was sitting on the ground waiting for his school bus was struck by an SUV on Friday and seriously injured. The accident happened in Lehigh Acres. Fort Myers News-Press. WINK. WFTX.
Pinellas: Plato Academy’s long legal battle with the company that provides early-learning care has left parents scrambling to find before- and after-school spots for their young children. Plato has tried to fire Superior Schools over what it calls security issues, but instead of leaving Superior has filed a series of lawsuits against the charter school company. Tampa Bay Times.
Brevard: The increasingly conservative school board is expected to become more so after last week’s primary election. Republican John Thomas defeated Democrat Amber Yantz to become the fourth conservative, and if current board member Matt Susin can defeat Democrat Avanese Taylor in the Nov. 5 runoff, the entire board will lean to the right. Florida Today. A Sunrise Elementary School teacher in Palm Bay was arrested last week and accused of child abuse of a “low-functioning and non-verbal” student under the age of 13. Police say Beatriz Rapisarda, 41, physically pushed the student and restrained the child by grabbing their wrists. She was placed on administrative leave by the district during the investigation. Florida Today. WKMG.
Sarasota: School board members have approved a $300,000 settlement with the widower of a late purchasing department employee who claimed she had been racially harassed and bullied for four years and then threatened with termination. Elsa Beal filed the complaint in 2020. When she died in late 2021, the complaint was pursued by her husband Craig. Charlotte Sun. A 59-year-old school bus driver from North Port died Friday when he had a medical episode, losing control of the bus that then struck three other vehicles in a Publix parking lot. No students were on the bus, and no one else was injured. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. WWSB. WFTS.
Clay: A 15-year-old boy riding his bike to school was seriously injured last week when he was hit by a car. The driver stopped to help the boy, who was wearing a helmet. Florida Highway Patrol troopers and the Florida Department of Transportation are investigating. WJXT.
Columbia: District officials have tightened security at the district’s sporting events by adding metal detectors, banning bookbags and re-entry of attendees, and requiring spectators to stay in the bleachers unless they’re buying snacks or using the bathroom. WCJB.
Wakulla: Newly elected superintendent Richard Myhre and District 2 school board member Angie Nichols talk about what they hope to accomplish for the district, teacher pay, filling open positions, community relations and more. WTXL.
College and universities: The University of Florida has denied the appeals of students punished for their participation in pro-Palestinian demonstrations on campus in April. Six students were each suspended from the school for three years. WMNF. Faculty dissatisfaction with policies enacted by former University of Florida president Ben Sasse confronts interim president Kent Fuchs and returning provost Joe Glover. Tampa Bay Times. The number of college applications from minorities, first-generation and low-income students has risen significantly, according to data from an undergraduate college admission application. The finding appears to defy predictions of a dropoff after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last year that overturned race-conscious admissions. K-12 Dive.
State BOE appointment: Daniel Foganholi, the District 1 representative on the Broward school board who finished third in Tuesday’s primary with less than 20 percent support, was appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis to the Florida Board of Education on Friday. Foganholi was named by the governor to the Broward board in 2022 to replace District 5 board member Rosalind Osgood, who decided to run for another office. But he didn’t live in the district so he ran for a Coral Springs City Commission seat and lost. Then he was appointed to the District 1 school board seat to replace Rod Velez, who was disqualified from holding office because he is a convicted felon. Sun Sentinel. Miami Herald. Tallahassee Democrat. Florida Politics. Florida Phoenix.
Education deregulation: The push to cut regulations for public schools in Florida is expected to continue during the 60-day 2025 legislative session that begins March 4 and is scheduled to end May 2. Among the changes sought are aligning regulations for public and charter schools. “If we are going to be competitive, then we need the same rules,” says Bill Montford, the CEO of the Florida Association of District School Superintendents, which advises districts. WCTV.
New state VPK standards: A grading system for voluntary prekindergarten programs was approved last week by the Florida Board of Education. It takes effect at the end of this school year, and is intended to measure throughout the school year how well VPKs prepare children for kindergarten, then make the information easily accessible to parents. Half of the provider’s score will be weighted on the “quality” of the teacher-child interaction and instruction, with learning gains accounting for 30 percent and achievement 20 percent. Florida Phoenix.
Freedom schools growth: Florida’s restrictions on teaching about racial issues has led to the growth of “freedom schools” in community centers and churches throughout the state that instruct students about “the majesty and value of black history.” The private lessons are free from state restrictions, and provided by six branches of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, a black academic club founded in 1915 by black historian Carter G. Woodson. The Guardian.
Lice and schools: School rules that students with lice must be free of nits before being allowed to return to campus are unnecessary and disruptive, the Centers for Disease Control, American Academy of Pediatrics and the National Association of School Nurses now say. The organization say there is little chance of people spreading lice unless they share a bed, hats or hairbrushes, and that lice do not spread diseases. “It’s more of a stigma than a medical issue,” says Dr. Isabel Hendrickson, chief pediatric resident at John Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg. Tampa Bay Times.
Around the nation: Federal officials are prohibited from enforcing a new rule protecting students from gender discrimination in Florida and three other states, a federal appeals court decided last week. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with the states’ argument that the U.S. Department of Education overstepped its authority with the interpretation that Title IX covers gender identity. Reuters. U.S. Department of Education officials said they have approved all requests from states and districts for an extension to the deadline for spending federal COVID relief aid. The extensions are for another 14 months. K-12 Dive. Where does Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris stand on education issues? Education Week. U.S. Republicans pushed a culture war in public education that they now appear to be losing ground on. Politico.
Opinions on schools: A humane transformation of New College of Florida in Sarasota seems never to have been a consideration. This is an arrogant administration that prefers attack to collaboration, mandate to mediation, subterfuge to transparency. Its methods are altogether contrary to the Christian values it purportedly espouses. Carrie Seidman, Sarasota Herald-Tribune. At the root of why New College of Florida discarded so many books sits a larger question of trust. After so many people in power have been openly hostile to traditions the school has held dear, what can be believed? Stephanie Hayes, Tampa Bay Times. Vanderbilt University has sold Palm Beach County on a new business school for downtown West Palm Beach. Can it deliver? Palm Beach Post.
