Around the state: A proposed bill would repeal tuition breaks for out-of-state students whose grandparents live in Florida, a legislative committee approves a bill placing restrictions on citizens-led constitutional amendments, Florida will receive $79 million in a lawsuit settlement with an e-cigarette manufacturer, the state’s Department of Corrections is offering $1,000 bonuses for teachers to work in prisons, and elementary schools on the Treasure Coast and elsewhere are increasingly offering attractor programs to boost enrollment. Here are details about those stories and others from the state’s districts, private schools, and colleges and universities:
Broward: A former school resource officer at Blanche Ely High School in Pompano Beach has been arrested and accused of hitting a student last month. Deputies said Ronald Thurston, 48, faces charges of aggravated child abuse and felony battery. Thurston had been a sheriff’s deputy until he was fired in 2022 after being accused of shoving a handcuffed man’s head into a patrol car. Sun Sentinel.
Duval: An assessment of the district five years after the pandemic shows an improving graduation rate and students lowering the gap in test scores compared with the state average, but also a 7% decline in enrollment since 2020, which has contributed significantly to a $100 million budget deficit. Florida Times-Union.
Volusia: A paraprofessional at Horizon Elementary School in Port Orange has been arrested and accused of inappropriate communications with students. Police said Jeffery Summers, 51, was arrested as part of an operation targeting suspects accused of crimes related to child exploitation. He’s charged with obscene communications with a minor, including use of a computer to solicit/lure a child and traveling to meet a child. WKMG. WFTV. WESH. Daytona Beach News-Journal.
St. Lucie, Martin, Indian River: Elementary schools on the Treasure Coast are increasingly offering new programs such as video production, gardening, robotics and more as a way to boost enrollment in a competitive school choice environment. The concept of attractor programs began in middle and high schools but is spreading as traditional public schools fight to retain and attract students. “Our public schools have a lot of challenges that they’re experiencing,” said Rajni Shankar-Brown, a Stetson University education professor. “What we’re seeing now is there is an enrollment decline in our public schools. We have to re-engage families who might consider alternative options.” TCPalm.
Leon: After-school and summer programs for students will be expanded with a $2.5 million grant from the Children’s Services Council Leon. Enrollment is “on a first-come, first-served basis, with priority given to families residing in targeted neighborhoods,” according to the CSC. WCTV. WFSU.
Santa Rosa: A former instructional technology director for the school district has been arrested and accused of larceny. A school district investigation concluded that Kelly Short, 57, had been stealing from the district for at least two years. She was placed on leave in July and resigned in October. WEAR.
Colleges and universities: The University of South Florida and the University of Tampa are among 60 U.S. colleges under federal investigation over the way they responded to reports of antisemitic harassment and discrimination on their campuses. Universities that receive federal funds must comply with a law barring discrimination based on shared ancestry, ethnic characteristics or national origin. Politico. News Service of Florida.
Higher education bill: Tuition breaks for out-of-state students whose grandparents live in Florida would be repealed under a higher education bill filed Monday in the Senate. An otherwise similar proposal in the House would keep the waiver, which was used by more than 630 students to save $11.5 million last year, and remove the cap limiting yearly growth to 350 students. The Senate version also calls for revising language in state laws that might be considered diversity, equity and inclusion. Politico Florida.
Also in the Legislature: The Senate Ethics and Elections Committee has signed off on a bill that would put new restrictions on people and groups who want to get constitutional amendments on a ballot. USA Today Florida Network. News Service of Florida. A bill cleared by a Senate committee Monday would allow employers in work-based learning programs to pay students and others less than the minimum wage. Employees would have to agree to accept less than the minimum wage of $13 an hour, and those under 18 would have to get the approval of a parent. USA Today Florida Network. News Service of Florida. Florida Politics. WFSU. WJAX. A House subcommittee is considering a proposal to require instruction on cursive writing in grades 2-5. WTVT.
Teaching in prisons: Florida’s Department of Corrections is offering $1,000 signing bonuses for people to work in prisons as teachers and aides. FDC-certified teachers will start at $51,500 with the one-time $1,000 hiring bonus, and receive full state benefits that include retirement, paid training and year-round employment. WJHG.
State, JUUL settle: Florida has settled a lawsuit against the e-cigarette manufacturer JUUL Laboratories over its marketing practices that the state contended was aimed at students. The $79 million the state will receive will be used to create the Vape Free Florida Fund to educate students and their families about the dangers of vaping. News Service of Florida. WOFL. WTVT.
Around the nation: The Department of Agriculture is cutting $660 million in spending that went to U.S. schools and child-care facilities to purchase food from local farms, according to the School Nutrition Association. Also being cut is support for local food banks and other feeding organizations. Politico.
Opinions on schools: Eliminating the Department of Education would be catastrophic for children with 504 plans and Individualized Education Programs, leaving states to determine their own rules without federal protections in place. Lissette Fernandez, Orlando Sentinel. It is deeply ironic that the very politicians who decry government overreach in cultural affairs are themselves guilty of using the state as a vehicle to impose pedagogical “reforms” that promote their own political agenda. George Esenwein, Orlando Sentinel. A case before the Supreme Court over what would be the first fully taxpayer-supported religious school in modern American history represents a collision between the protection for the “free exercise” of religion and the prohibition against religion’s official “establishment.” Linda Greenhouse, New York Times.
