Around the state: A bill relaxing work restrictions for students is now ready for a vote on the House floor, time is running short for the Senate and House to reconcile budget differences in order for the Legislature to adjourn as scheduled May 2, another of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ picks as trustees at the University of West Florida is rejected by the Senate, a Broward school board member cites a “toxic environment” for resigning her seat, and Palm Beach’s school board is expected to end the district’s DEI policies at today’s meeting. Here are details about those stories and others from the state’s districts, private schools, and colleges and universities:
Broward: School board member Brenda Fam is stepping down May 1 because of what she called a “toxic environment” within the district. Fam is the lone conservative on the board, and has often expressed frustration with the district and her colleagues. “I cannot, with a good conscience, serve a school district that lacks full transparency, that does not live up to the highest moral and educational standards for students, parents and educators, nor live up to their fiscal responsibilities,” she wrote in her resignation letter. Fam was elected in 2022. Gov. Ron DeSantis will appoint her replacement. Sun Sentinel. Miami Herald. WTVJ. WPLG.
Hillsborough: A 13-year-old student at Webb Middle School in Tampa was arrested and accused of having a weapon at school. Deputies said a tip led them to search the student’s backpack, where they found a switchblade-style knife. WFTS.
Orange: District officials are considering hiring a consultant to help convince parents and students who attend charter or private schools or are home-schooled to return to a public school. A vendor would be paid $935 for each student they bring back to the district. Enrollment in public schools is expected to be down by more than 3,000 students next fall. WKMG.
Palm Beach: School board members are expected to remove diversity, equity and inclusion efforts from the district’s policies during an emergency meeting today. Federal officials gave the board until April 18 to comply with new policies on diversity and race or risk $300 million in funding. Superintendent Michael Burke signed the compliance form last week, with the board set to formally approve the changes today. Palm Beach Post. Sun Sentinel. WPTV. School bus drivers, custodians and other noninstructional employees will rally today at the school board meeting for higher wages. The union is asking for 11.5% raises, and the district is offering 3%. Palm Beach Post. WPTV.
Duval: A part-time teacher has been removed from the Douglas Anderson School of the Arts in Jacksonville for alleged “inappropriate” conduct, district officials told parents in an e-mail this week. The teacher was not named, and details of the incident were not disclosed. At least six teachers have left Douglas Anderson in the past three years because of inappropriate contact with students. WTLV.
Lee: Changes to 50 job descriptions made earlier this month are expected to save the district about $1 million, but are drawing a torrent of criticism from school nurses and psychologists. They contend the reorganization could eliminate registered nurse supervision, risking students’ access to timely and effective care. Fort Myers News-Press.
Brevard: Dozens of protesters rallied at Tuesday’s school board meeting in support of Melissa Calhoun, the Satellite High School teacher who was suspended for using a student’s preferred name without the parents’ approval and is not being rehired for next year. A motion to retrain Calhoun failed on a 4-1 vote, and the decision to not renew her contract was affirmed. Florida Today. WKMG. WOFL. WESH.
Collier: An 18-year-old student at Naples High School was arrested and accused of having a fishing knife on campus. Deputies said the boy had the knife in his car in the parking lot, and that no threats were made. WBBH.
Manatee: Manatee School for the Arts and Hola Elementary in Palmetto are preparing to convert to rooftop solar as their primary power source. The district is partnering with Tampa Bay Solar on the 3,000-panel project at the charter schools owned by Renaissance Arts and Education. WFLA.
Marion: Two schools opening in the fall have been given names by the school board. Ross Prairie Elementary School bears the name of the nearby forest, and Winding Oaks Elementary carries the name of the community where it’s located. WCJB.
Sarasota: Three rezoning plans have been proposed to fill the under-construction high school in Wellen Park. Many of the students who will fill the school when it opens in the fall of 2026 will come from Venice High, while others could be shifted from Lemon Bay High in Charlotte County and from North Port High. Charlotte Sun.
Leon: A 10th-grader at Leon High School was arrested this week and accused of assaulting a teacher. Deputies said the teacher approached the student for drinking a non-alcoholic beverage and using his cell phone in class, both violations of school policy. The student allegedly responded by slapping the teacher in the face, punching him several times and shoving him to the ground. Tallahassee Democrat. WTXL.
Bay: The first of the school district’s 11 high school graduation ceremonies is May 15, for the Bay Virtual School, and the last is May 30 for Central High School. Panama City News Herald.
Citrus: The school system’s former policy and compliance officer is threatening to sue the district for what she calls wrongful termination without due process. Teresa Royal was suspended in March and accused of gross misconduct and “willful neglect of duty” by Superintendent Scott Hebert. In 2023, Royal had made an informal complaint against her coworkers, saying she felt “unsafe.” Citrus County Chronicle.
DeSantis picks rejected: Three of the five University of West Florida trustees appointed by Gov. DeSantis have now resigned or been rejected by the Florida Senate. DeSantis was seeking to reshape the Pensacola school, which he claims had “some of the most liberal programs in the state” that were not aligned with the conservative values of the area. Politico Florida. Pensacola News Journal. Another DeSantis appointee, Joel Rudman as a trustee at Pensacola State College, resigned his seat late Monday before his scheduled Senate confirmation hearing. Politico Florida. Florida Politics. Pensacola News Journal.
Also in the Legislature: Legislation that would relax the rules of working for students 16 and under was approved Tuesday by a House committee and is now ready for a vote by the full chamber. HB 1225 would allow 16- and 17-year-olds to work unlimited hours, and students 14 and 15 could also work more if they have a GED, are home-schooled or attend a virtual school. Florida Phoenix. Florida Politics. Time is running short for the Senate and House to come to an agreement on a budget that would allow the Legislature to end its session as scheduled May 2. The sides are still $4 billion apart on spending, with substantive differences on tax cuts, Everglades spending, state employee pay raises and more. Politico Florida. A House committee approved a $5 billion tax-cut package that includes a reduction of the state sales tax from 6% to 5.25%. News Service of Florida.
STEM students honored: The top 112 juniors in the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics were recently honored at the state’s 28th annual Sunshine State Scholars conference. Forty-three of the students were awarded one-year scholarships to attend Florida’s top-ranked higher education institutions. Florida Department of Education.
Around the nation: U.S. Education Department officials said Tuesday that the National Assessment of Educational Progress tests will be scaled back after 2026, with fewer students and fewer tests given. “The changes we are making are not in response only to congressional appropriations, but also clear signals from the administration of the need to reduce spending,” said Martin West, the vice chair of the National Assessment Governing Board, which sets policy for the NAEP. Education Week. A majority of U.S. Supreme Court justices appeared sympathetic Tuesday to an argument that Maryland parents be allowed to cite religious reasons in order to opt their children out of lessons that use LGBTQ storybooks. Politico. The 74. Education Week.
Opinions on schools: In their latest attempt to make public schools as unattractive as possible, Republicans in Tallahassee are pushing to slash funding for the Advanced Placement classes and other university-prep programs. Scott Maxwell, Orlando Sentinel.
