Around the state: A federal appeals court rules that a Tampa Christian school’s First Amendment rights were not violated when it wasn’t allowed to broadcast a pregame prayer at a state championship football game in 2015, a new employee ethics and professional standards policies is approved by the Duval school board, an Indian River school board member wants to appoint a committee to discuss the achievement gap between white and black students that doesn’t include representation from the NAACP, schools in Hillsborough and Hernando counties continue to report air-conditioning problems, and the University of Florida is offering a course on the music of Jimmy Buffett. Here are details about those stories and others from the state’s districts, private schools, and colleges and universities:
Miami-Dade: District students are now subject to random searches with metal detectors, school officials informed parents in a letter. A fulltime security team will conduct the searches at schools on a random, rotating basis. WFOR.
Hillsborough: Yates Elementary School in Brandon was again without air-conditioning Tuesday. Parents said the A/C also was out during orientation. School officials issued a statement saying, “Technicians were on site this morning and got one chiller back up and running. We are waiting for a part from the A/C company for the other chiller. We will run the system 24/7 until the part comes in to keep the classrooms cool.” Spectrum News 9.
Duval: New employee ethics and professional standards policies were unanimously approved Tuesday by the school board. District employees are now required to immediately report misconduct that “affects the health, safety or welfare of a student.” The “Know the Line” policies were proposed by former interim superintendent Dana Kriznar after a series of allegations of teacher misconduct with students at the Douglas Anderson School of the Arts. Jacksonville Today. WJXT. WTLV.
Manatee: District officials are now taking nominations from county residents for a name for a K-8 school that is under construction on Uihlein Road in the eastern part of the county. Suggestions will be accepted through Sept. 27. WWSB.
Marion: A business manager who stole about $620,000 from an alternative placement school in Ocala between 2016 and 2023 pleaded guilty last week and was sentenced to year and a day in prison and ordered to make restitution. Danielle Liles’ theft left the Silver River Marine Institute unable to pay its bills, and it subsequently closed after the district terminated its contract. Ocala Star Banner. WKMG. WCJB.
Sarasota: School board members have started the process of adopting a new policy governing how artificial intelligence is used in schools. Teachers and other staff must have approval from a supervisor before using AI, and students will need permission from teachers. Students will also be required to have other evidence to confirm information used from AI. WFLA.
Bay: In the two weeks since school started, the district has seen more than 11,000 unexcused absences and more than 6,000 excused ones. Students who miss more than 15 days in a 90-day period are considered truant. Seven percent of county students fall in that category, and Superintendent Mark McQueen says it’s a problem that will take a community solution. WMBB. School board members said they intend to participate in the free federal after-school meals program at the A. Gary Walsingham Academy in Panama City Beach. Panama City News Herald.
Hernando: Air-conditioning problems are being reported at several schools even after expensive repairs were made recently. Central, Springstead and Hernando high schools all are experiencing interruptions. Interim superintendent Ray Pinder asked for patience. “The air-conditioning problems and challenges that we have at schools, I just remind people that I appreciate your patience with that, too. I know that’s a little bit challenging, but we do air-condition about 2 million square feet of property in Hernando County.” Suncoast News.
Indian River: School board member Kevin McDonald is proposing to update a committee formed to help close the achievement gap between black and white students. But he wants to convene a committee without representation from the local NAACP, which would run contrary to the federal court desegregation order the district has been under since 1964. “Utterly ridiculous,” local NAACP chapter president Tony Brown said of the plan and his organization’s exclusion. “The desegregation order was about black children.” He called it “an attempt to remove the NAACP from the playing field.” The proposal will be discussed at the board’s Sept. 9 workshop meeting. TCPalm.
Flagler: Some school board members still have questions about a proposal to require heart screenings for student-athletes. Board chair Will Furry is opposed to mandating the screenings, saying that should be a parent’s decision. A vote is scheduled Sept. 18 on three options: Keeping the policy as is and reminding parents that the ECGs are free, requiring one screening in the four-year career of every student-athlete, or requiring the screenings but giving parents the option to opt-out. WKMG.
Colleges and universities: Two University of Florida students who were arrested at a pro-Palestinian protest in April have agreed to plea deals on a charge of resisting an officer without violence. Keely Gliwa and Roseanna Bisram must pay pay $150 in court fees and donate $150 to children’s charities. Both remain banned from the UF campus for three years. Fresh Take Florida. Infusion of nearly $400 million in state funds in the past three years to educate and train nursing students has boosted the number of graduates by 24 percent, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Tuesday. WPLG. The Center Square. Florida Politics. Billionaire real estate investor Jeff Greene said he’s talking with Vanderbilt University about selling the school an acre of land in downtown West Palm Beach as part of its proposed graduate campus, even as the city is offering 7 acres worth $40 million to the university for free. Palm Beach Post. Jimmy Buffett’s music is the subject of a new academic course at the University of Florida call “Uncommon Arts: Son of a Sailor.” It’s an honors elective class, and about a dozen students have enrolled. Florida Politics.
School prayer in the courts: The First Amendment rights of a private Christian school in Tampa were not violated when the Florida High School Athletic Association denied its request to use a stadium’s public address system to broadcast a prayer before a state championship football game in 2015, a panel of the 11th U.S. District Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday. Judges unanimously agreed that pregame speeches broadcast over a PA system have “traditionally constituted government speech,” and that is not subject to regulation under the First Amendment. A new Florida law now requires the FHSAA to allow schools to make whatever opening statements they wish at events, including prayer. Courthouse News Service. News Service of Florida. Florida Phoenix.
Opioid lawsuits dispute: Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody is asking the state Supreme Court to decide if school boards can file opioid-epidemic lawsuits even though she’s reached settlements with drugmakers. Last month, an appeals court rejected Moody’s argument that the settlement at the state level supersedes lawsuits by local government agencies. News Service of Florida.
Return of the car line: With Florida schools back in session, it’s time for horror stories about the daily car line. More than half of America’s students are now driven to a school, up fourfold since 1969. Tampa Bay Times.
Around the nation: The push by Republican lawmakers to reinsert Christianity into public schools is getting resistance in some conservative-led states from local officials who remain uneasy about the mixture of church and state. “What we’re trying to do, honestly, is protect the religious freedoms of all of our students … from being improperly indoctrinated by teachers or by schools,” said Rob Miller, superintendent of the Bixby Public Schools district near Tulsa, Okla. “There’s enough court precedent and historical evidence to show that the separation of church and state has worked well for quite a long time.” Politico. Using artificial intelligence, two economists have analyzed 14.5 million high school yearbook photos from 1930 to 2010 from all over the U.S. to compile a list of fashion trends. What they discovered wasn’t entirely new, but the use of the tool was. NPR.
Opinions on schools: Does Florida need teacher certifications exams, or are principals well-equipped to evaluate candidates for all teaching positions, including those in such specialized fields as physics, without the information that those exams provide? Paul Cottle, Bridge to Tomorrow. A pilot program to extend the Richmond, Va., school year from 180 days to 200 at two schools has yielded remarkable results. Jason Kamras and Taikein Cooper, The 74.
