Codifying a new Gulf name: The name “Gulf of Mexico” would be replaced by “Gulf of America” in all state statutes, and school boards would be required to buy instructional and library materials that reflect the change under bills filed Tuesday for the regular legislative session that begins March 4. The renaming bill was filed after President Donald Trump signed an executive order changing the name of the Gulf, and a bill filed in the House would require state agencies to update all geographic materials and school boards to buy only materials that include the change. News Service of Florida.
Also in the Legislature: A bill banning schools and other government buildings from flying flags supporting political messages or figures has been reintroduced in the Florida Senate a year after stalling out, and has already been approved by one committee. Politico Florida. USA Today Florida Network. Florida Politics. A companion bill was filed in the House on Tuesday to a Senate bill repealing a law requiring later school start times by the fall of 2026 for middle and high schools. Famuan. A change in a state retirement program would shorten the time school employees would have to stay retired before returning to work, a move aimed at helping labor shortages. Florida Politics. In the special session that began Tuesday, immigration bills began moving through the Legislature even as hard feelings linger in the bitter dispute between Gov. Ron DeSantis and legislative leaders. USA Today Florida Network. Politico Florida. Associated Press.
Around the state: A new report shows Florida students are struggling to recover academic ground lost during the pandemic, Lee school board members consider banning students’ use of cell phones during the school day, a radio talk show host’s financial literacy course with references to Bible scriptures is approved in Brevard, Leon’s school board is revisiting the idea of appointing a superintendent, Nassau school officials decide not to follow a state recommendation to merge two schools, and more than 245,000 Florida students have now applied for state K-12 scholarships. Here are details about those stories and others from the state’s districts, private schools, and colleges and universities:
Broward: Increasing disruptions from school threats recently caused district officials to change the way they respond, and they say they already notice a difference in the number they’re receiving. Instead of reacting the same way for all threats, district officials are now working with law enforcement to better determine the severity of the threats before deciding how to respond. “We’re already on just raw data feel like the number of calls were getting have reduced because people aren’t seeing us take that drastic action of going to a full evacuation,” said security officer Ernie Lozano. WPLG.
Orange: District employees will have priority to rent affordable housing units at two Orlando apartment complexes under an agreement signed this week. Ten units at each of the complexes will be set aside for qualified teachers, bus drivers and food service workers. WFTV. WESH. District officials have agreed to offer school employees three weeks of paid maternity leave. After that, employees can use other available paid sick leave or take up to nine weeks of unpaid leave. Orlando Weekly. Jarvis Ward, a 26-year-old math teacher and assistant football coach at Lake Nona High School in Orlando, has been arrested and accused of inappropriate conduct with a 16-year-old student. WKMG. WOFL. WFTV. WESH.
Palm Beach: There is probable cause to issue sanctions against a former physical education teacher and athletic director at Sunset Palms Elementary in Boynton Beach, the Florida Department of Education has decided. Sanctions against Dax Rankine, accused of sexually assaulting a student, range from a written reprimand to a revocation of his teaching license. No criminal charges have been filed. Rankine can contest the findings and request a hearing before the DOE imposes a penalty. WPBF.
Polk: A $50 million modernization of Elbert Elementary School in Winter Haven should be finished this summer and open in the fall. The school has been closed for two years during the construction. Lakeland Ledger.
Lee: District students would not have access to their cell phones during the school day under a proposal being considered by the school board. A vote is expected next month on changes to the student code of conduct that would include the ban. Fort Myers News-Press.
Brevard: A financial literacy curriculum that uses scriptures to support key points was approved Tuesday by the school board. “Foundations of Personal Finance” is a program backed by national radio talk show host Dave Ramsey. Some board members also were criticized for their reaction to the recent arrests of Roosevelt Elementary School’s principal and a teacher for their roles in a party at which students were drinking alcohol. Board member Gene Trent had said such partying “isn’t anything new” and that “when we have thousands of employees, things happen.” One parent said she was “disgusted” by the way the board handled the issue. Florida Today.
St. Johns: A plan to improve teacher salaries has been approved by the school board, which will use revenue from a property tax increase and an extension of the half-cent sales tax that were approved by voters in November. The district has 85 teaching vacancies and will need to hire teachers for several new schools opening soon. WJAX.
Marion: Turnaround plans for the Ocali Charter High School and McIntosh Area School have been approved by the school board. Ocali received a D grade from the state, and McIntosh an F. If the plans don’t improve the school grades to a C or better, the state could step in and order changes. Ocala Gazette.
Leon: School board members have begun considering whether the school superintendent should be an appointed position or an elected one. The job is currently filled by voters every four years. Voters would have to approve the change, and they have rejected the change eight times since the 1960s. Tallahassee Democrat.
Bay: Rutherford High School students and their parents are lobbying the school board to keep the block schedule, which they say gives them more time to absorb material, an extra day to finish homework, and the chance to take an elective. Principal Todd Mitchell said he also would like to continue block scheduling, but that it requires more teachers and is more expensive. WJHG.
Nassau: A state suggestion that the district consolidate Callahan Elementary into Callahan Intermediate School to make a preK-5 school won’t be followed, assistant superintendent Mark Durham said this week. “It’s just a recommendation from the state based on how they think growth patterns and all that are going as far as efficiency in our buildings,” he said. “We would never move forward with something like that without having a tremendous amount of community input and discussion.” WTLV.
Putnam: District officials have submitted a plan to the state to bring four elementary schools and a high school into compliance with class size requirements by the fall. The plan states that the current school year will help “indicate a need for additional teaching allocations to comply with class size-reduction requirements.” WUFT.
Union: School board members approved a plan to keep the district-run day-care center, Tiger’s Den in Lake Butler, open for the next school year. The plan is for the district to continue to own and maintain the building, but for an outside company to run the day-care business. “We have very few day-cares in this county and we wanted to make sure that opportunity was still there,” said Superintendent Mike Ripplinger. WCJB.
Scholarship applications: More than 245,000 students have applied for Florida K-12 scholarships in the first full week that requests were taken by Step Up For Students, which administers most of the state’s scholarship programs and hosts this blog. More than 500,000 students are using programs this year to accept learning options of their choice. NextSteps.
Around the nation: Ninety-four percent of American students live in a school district that still has not returned to pre-pandemic levels of proficiency in math and reading, according to a new study by the Education Recovery Scoreboard. Florida ranked 36th among states in math recovery between 2019 and 2024 and 45th in reading. Between 2022 and 2024, Florida’s reading recovery ranked last. State students remain a half-year behind their grade level in math and three-fourths of a grade level behind in reading. The report also notes that Florida’s chronic absenteeism, defined as missing more than 10 percent of a school year, went from 20% in 2019 to 31% in 2023 and has slowed the recovery. The 74. The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has terminated 169 contracts worth almost $900 million handed out by the research arm of the U.S. Department of Education to track student progress. DOGE officials say the move won’t affect the Nation’s Report Card and the College Scorecard. Associated Press. The 74. Education Week. Chalkbeat.
Opinions on schools: A claim that in-state tuition waivers for undocumented students costs Florida almost $41 million a year is mostly false because it would be hard to identify exactly how many students would be affected. PolitiFact.
