Around the state: Bills are filed for the legislative session that would end in-state tuition for undocumented immigrants and allow people with licenses to openly carry guns on school campuses and in other public areas, Florida teachers union membership declined 15.5 percent after a new law banned paying dues through payroll deduction, seven classrooms at a St. Petersburg school are temporarily vacated after the death of a teacher from Legionnaires’ disease, a Volusia school board member’s comments about students at a high school draw a rebuke, and Lake, Sarasota, Leon and Walton schools honor educators of the year. Here are details about those stories and others from the state’s districts, private schools, and colleges and universities:
Broward: A school district boundary committee is recommending that the school board reject Superintendent Howard Hepburn’s plan to close Broward Estates Elementary School, and instead convert it into a pre-K learning center. The committee also supports turning Coral Cove Elementary in Miramar into a K-8 school, as well as agreeing with Hepburn on his proposed changes to six other underenrolled schools. Board members will consider the recommendations at today’s meeting. Sun Sentinel.
Orange: Orlando city commissioners voted Monday to place speed detection cameras in 21 school zones throughout the city. After a warning period ends, drivers who go more than 10 mph over the speed limit in those zones will be mailed a $100 ticket. WESH.
Palm Beach: The school district’s 2022 teacher of the year was killed after being hit by a car Monday in Wellington. Toshimi Janiga, 62, was a teacher at Riviera Beach Preparatory Academy when she was honored by the district. She taught English language arts and holocaust studies in the district for 18 years, and also also taught Japanese literature and cinema at Florida International University. WPTV. WPEC.
Pinellas: Seven classrooms at Pasadena Fundamental Elementary School in St. Petersburg have been temporarily vacated “in an abundance of caution” after the death of a teacher who tested positive for legionella, the bacteria that causes Legionnaires’ disease. Katherine Pennington, 61, died Nov. 24. Students have been moved out of Building 4, where she worked, until repairs are made to the air-conditioning system and during an investigation into the air quality at the school. Legionella can spread through moisture particles from cooling towers, faucets and elsewhere. Tampa Bay Times. WFTS. WFLA.
Volusia: School board chair Jessie Thompson is defending comments she made about some Deltona High School students at a Moms for Liberty event in October. “We have one high school, and I don’t mean to take anything away from students or parents, and it is a Title 1 school, so high five for doing this,” she said. “They had a 100 percent graduation rate last year — 100 percent! Now, I’ve walked that school multiple times. I’ve met some bright students, and I met some students that I wouldn’t trust filling up my tank of gas.” Deltona Mayor Santiago Avila took exception to that, but she added, “He’s allowed to be offended. I’m offended that our communities haven’t built a culture that cherishes and uplifts learning for the sake of being better, more intelligent people. Instead, we have a culture of adults spending their days on TikTok, and being offended by harsh realities.” She also said she has fed false data to her colleagues to get some items passed. WESH. Daytona Beach News-Journal.
Lake: Steven Benson of South Lake High School has been named the school district’s principal of the year, and Monique Griffin-Gay of Leesburg High School has been chosen as the assistant principal of the year. Both are now eligible for statewide awards. Lake County School District.
Escambia: Designing and building artificial reefs is the focus of new marine science classes at Booker T. Washington and West Florida Technical high schools. About 140 students from each of the schools are enrolled in the collaboration of the district, the county, Coastal Conservation Association and Sea Grant Florida. “We’re trying to capture students’ imaginations and help them find their passion for what they do in the future,” says Timothy Day, deputy director of the county’s Natural Resources Management. “This is another way for students to interact with marine biology, which can open the door to new career paths.” Pensacola News Journal.
Leon: Melissa Olson, a special education teacher at DeSoto Trail Elementary School in Tallahassee, was named on Monday as the school district’s teacher of the year. She’s now eligible for the statewide teacher of the year award. Tallahassee Democrat.
Alachua: Three county chess teams from two private county schools won national championships last weekend in Maryland. Kindergarten and 1st-grade teams from the Oak Hall School and the 10th-grade team from the Frazer School all won titles at the U.S. Chess Federation National K-12 Grade Championships. Also winning a title was the 11th-grade team from the American Heritage School in Plantation, Broward County. Mainstreet Daily News. Grief counselors are at Newberry High School after an 18-year-old senior, Malachi Lancaster, was killed Sunday in a hunting accident. He was a football player and the school’s homecoming king. WCJB. Gainesville Sun. Mainstreet Daily News.
Walton: Kathryn Youngblood, a digital learning specialist for elementary schools, has been named the school district’s teacher of the year. She’s now eligible for the statewide award. Walton County School District.
Colleges and universities: Charges of forgery have been dropped against former state Rep. Carolina Amesty, R-Windermere, who had been accused of forging a man’s name to a document to help her family’s Central Christian University get a state license. Orlando Sentinel. Florida Politics. News Service of Florida. WKMG. High school seniors in Bay, Gulf and Franklin counties can apply for free this week to Gulf Coast State College in Panama City. Panama City News Herald.
Legislative bills filed: A bill to eliminate tuition benefits for undocumented immigrants has been filed for the 2025 legislative session by state Sen. Randy Fine, R-Palm Bay. For the past decade, those students were entitled to in-state tuition from state colleges and universities. “It is not fair to require (Florida residents) to pay $45 million a year to subsidize sweetheart deals for college degrees to those who should not even be here,” he said. Florida Politics. Florida Phoenix. Florida Today. A bill requiring teachers to be trained on how to prevent and respond to school shootings has been refiled for the next session. It’s identical to the bill state Sen. Dan Daley, D-Coral Springs, filed last year that died in committee. Florida Politics. People with licenses to carry concealed weapons could do so openly on college campuses and other public places under HB 31, which was filed Monday by state Rep. Joel Rudman, R-Navarre. Pensacola News Journal. News Service of Florida.
Teacher union decline: Membership in teachers unions declined 15.5 percent after the state passed a law in 2023 that prohibits dues from being withheld from paychecks, the Florida Education Association told the U.S. Department of Labor. Union membership was reported by the FEA at 131,510 before the law was passed, and was down to 111,133 by August of this year. Freedom Foundation. The Lion.
Opinions on schools: Some people suggest that Ivy League+ universities are destructive and others think they’re overrated. I propose that they can and have been some of both. Matthew Ladner, NextSteps. Fixing Florida’s math issues will require strengthening the state’s math teacher corps, but the state seems to be going in the opposite direction. Paul Cottle, Bridge to Tomorrow.
