State’s sex ed guidance: Florida school districts should stress abstinence and not teach students about contraception, show them photos of the human reproductive systems or discuss topics such as sexual consent or domestic violence, state officials have reportedly advised in phone calls to districts that had waited for a year for guidance on their proposed sexual education teaching materials. After the calls, both the Orange and Broward school districts announced they would abandon their own plans and adopt the state guidance to “emphasize abstinence.” Elissa Barr, a professor of public health at the University of North Florida, said about a dozen other school districts have received the same advice. “We in Florida, we’re moving in the wrong direction,” she said. “We should be making data driven decisions, and we’re just not.” Orlando Sentinel and Sun Sentinel.
Around the state: An appeals court rejects a request by Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody to send a case over jurisdiction in opioid epidemic lawsuits to the state Supreme Court, Pasco schools are combining reading and social studies instruction, Flagler school board member Sally Hunt resigned Friday, Hillsborough schools are struggling with a malfunctioning software system, and the parents of a student killed in the 2018 Parkland school shooting have created a video game re-creating what their son might have seen that day. Here are details about those stories and others from the state’s districts, private schools, and colleges and universities:
Broward: The parents of a student killed during the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School have created a video game that re-creates what their son might have experienced before being gunned down that day. “The Final Exam” was created by Joaquin Oliver’s parents, Manuel and Patricia Oliver, to educate players on the grim realities of mass shootings and, hopefully, convince them to help bring about gun reform. WPEC. WTVJ. WFOR. WPBF. WTVJ.
Hillsborough: A software system intended to manage the school district’s daily operations has been beset with technical problems that are causing teachers to take daily attendance, students to face inaccurate class schedules and errors on transcripts, and extra work for staff to fill out forms. “We have failed our teachers, we have failed our administrators and we have no one to blame but ourselves,” school board member Patti Rendon said at a recent meeting. Board members asked Superintendent Van Ayres to put together a plan by Tuesday’s meeting to fix the issues. Tampa Bay Times.
Palm Beach: A student at John F. Kennedy Middle School in Riviera Beach was arrested last week and accused of having an unloaded gun on campus. After receiving a tip through the FortifyFL app, school police found the gun in the student’s backpack. WPTV.
Lee: School board members approved a new civil rights and equity guide for the district that Superintendent Ken Savage said is meant to create a neutral environment for students. “Our priority is to serve our entire community. It is to try to allow the standards that we teach, our compulsory education services that we are obligated to provide, to find a way to do it in such a way that all of our students can come and learn, and that we aren’t adding to any type of divisiveness or anything along those lines knowing that many of these issues are very passionate,” he said. Cape Coral Breeze.
Pinellas: A bitter race for the school district’s District 5 seat has been called by one central Florida political blogger as one of the best examples of “moderate conservatism vs. MAGA extremism.” On one side is Katie Blaxberg, a moderate Republican who has collected endorsements of retiring District 5 board member Carol Cook, who had held the seat, Sheriff Bob Gualtieri and others in her party. On the other is Stacy Geier, who is backed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, Moms for Liberty and the Pinellas Republican Executive Committee. Geier supporters have called Blaxberg a RINO – Republican in name only – while Blaxberg backers have labeled Geier as a conspiracy theorist and hate group member. Tampa Bay Times.
Pasco: Concerns that an emphasis on reading was cutting into instruction time for social studies, school officials instituted a program to combine the two as much as possible. New textbooks were purchased, new lesson plans drawn up and teachers went through two rounds of training. Cassie Hernandez, a district humanities curriculum senior supervisor, said the goal is to develop strong readers who also have a foundation in the state and nation’s history. Tampa Bay Times. The recent spate of threats against schools has at least one parent planning to enroll her children in the Florida Virtual School. “It’s something that I didn’t want to do,” said Jeaneth Reinoso, who has two children in district schools. But, she adds, “Is it so important that my kids are going to school or is it more important that I get to see them every day?” WTSP.
Lake: Four district students are among the 16,000 U.S. students recently selected as National Merit Scholarship Program semifinalists. The students represent Eustis, Lake Minneola, East Ridge and Leesburg high schools in competing for one of the 6,870 scholarships that will be awarded next spring. Daily Commercial.
Collier: At Village Oaks Elementary in Immokalee, both students and some of their parents who are not English speakers are benefiting from instruction in the language offered at the school. For a second year, Village Oaks is presenting an eight-week English for parents, and teachers say the class benefits both parents and their children. “The students I have now, they talk about how their parents are coming to school and learning just like them, and I think that helps. I think that actually motivates them even more,” said teacher Erika Arvizu. WFTX.
Alachua: An 18-year-old Gainesville High School student was arrested Friday and accused of sexual battery of a 14-year-old girl in a stairwell of the 9th-grade center during school hours. Police said the boy initiated sexual conduct, and continued after the girl said no. Independent Florida Alligator.
Flagler: School board member Sally Hunt resigned Friday after less than two years in the District 1 seat. She had announced her intention earlier this year to leave but chose to stay on the board long enough so that her seat would be filled with an appointment by Gov. DeSantis instead of being on the ballot. Her departure leaves the board with four members and two of them, Colleen Conklin and Cheryl Massaro, will be replaced in November by Janie Ruddy and Lauren Ramirez, who were elected in the August primary. Flagler Live.
Jefferson: School officials are expanding the clear bag policy enacted two weeks ago to include school buses, both school campuses and all school-sponsored events, starting today. When it went into effect Sept. 12, the policy was limited to “all school athletic events, performing arts events and other large group events.” WCTV.
Colleges and universities: New College of Florida has opened a new campus bookstore that sells textbooks, school supplies and college merchandise. It’s open weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Southeastern University in Lakeland has received $5.6 million gift from the Graper Family Scholarship Endowment, which it will use on scholarships for students pursuing a ministry-related degree. Lakeland Ledger.
Education in the courts: An appeals court has rejected a request by Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody to send a case over jurisdiction in opioid epidemic lawsuits to the state Supreme Court. Moody is arguing that the state’s settlements with drug companies should override school boards’ deals compensating them for the damages caused to students and the extra costs of local districts to educate them. News Service of Florida.
Around the nation: The expansion of educational vouchers in Florida and other states has made it easier for churches to decide to start schools, according to pastors and Christian education experts. Jimmy Scroggins, whose Family Church in south Florida wants to open three classical Christian schools over the next year, says the push is not aimed at hurting public schools. “Our hope is to help accelerate this movement of Christian education. … That every Christian church with a building will consider starting or hosting a neighborhood school,” he said. “We’re not trying to burn anything down. We’re trying to build something constructive.” Associated Press.
Opinions on schools: The appointments of Ben Sasse and Richard Corcoran to university presidencies seem to indicate that you don’t have to be particularly qualified to obtain a high-paying gig in higher education in Florida. You just have to have the right – conservative – political connections. Kathleen Coty, Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
