Around the state: Senate and House leaders meet later this week to continue their contentious negotiations over a state budget, at least five bills calling for more charter schools have cleared the House or Senate, Franklin County school officials are considering moving to a four-day school week, Highland County’s school board is weighing its options to cut a budget deficit, and a 16-year-old Orange County high school student died Monday when she was hit by a car while trying to cross a street near the school. Here are details about those stories and others from the state’s districts, private schools, and colleges and universities:
Broward: Newly appointed District 6 school board member Adam Cervera is a long-time Miami-Dade resident and a Coral Gables lawyer who describes himself as a “dedicated advocate for children and education.” He was appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis last week to replace Brenda Fam, who resigned with about 18 months left in her term after complaining about the board’s and district’s “toxic atmosphere.” Cervera and his family are in the process of buying a house in Broward. Sun Sentinel. A Miramar High School student was arrested Monday and accused of having an unloaded gun on campus. A screening detected the gun as the boy entered the school. He said the gun was his father’s, and that he wasn’t aware it was in his backpack. WFOR. WPLG. WSVN. WTVJ. WESH.
Orange: A 16-year-old student at Oak Ridge High School in Orlando was struck and killed by a car while walking across a street near the school Monday morning. The girl was not in a marked crosswalk, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. The 28-year-old driver was not injured and remained at the scene. Orlando Sentinel. WKMG. WESH. WOFL. WFTV.
Duval: A 3rd-grade teacher at Chimney Lakes Elementary School in Jacksonville is being credited with saving the life of a student who was choking on a bottle cap this month. As Maria Norman was walking her class to recess, the boy began to choke. She was able to dislodge the bottle cap he had swallowed by using the Heimlich maneuver. WJAX. An employee at Stanton College Preparatory School in Jacksonville has been temporarily reassigned due to a “human resources matter,” district officials said Monday. No further details were disclosed. WJXT.
Polk: District officials will partner with a private developer to plan and build a high school in the Poinciana area of northeast Polk by 2028. The deal with Fortress Secured LLC caps a four-year process that was marked with confusion and delays, and marks the first time the district has gone into a partnership with a company to plan and build a new school. Lakeland Ledger.
Osceola: The school board is moving ahead with a $47 million plan to rebuild Eagle Creek Elementary School in Kissimmee. Skanska has been hired to demolish a 66,000-square-foot building and construct a 96,000-square-foot replacement, renovate a 15,744-square-foot building and relocate the playgrounds. WFTV.
Escambia: A former substitute teacher is suing the school district, contending discrimination because of their gender identity. Hane Cypress McLeaish, a transgender nonbinary individual, claims they were discriminated against when they worked at C.A. Weis Elementary, Global Learning Academy and Pine Meadow Elementary schools because of their preferred pronouns. Pensacola News Journal.
Leon: District officials are consolidating school bus routes for the 2025-2026 school year because of an anticipated shortage of bus drivers. “We can’t keep doing what we’re doing given the circumstances we face with the driver shortage,” Superintendent Rocky Hanna said. “We’re going to have to make some changes.” The district currently has 97 bus routes but has about 20 drivers fewer than needed to cover the routes. Hanna is also asking the school board to align SAIL High School start and finish times with other high schools to free drivers to handle elementary school routes. Tallahassee Democrat.
Indian River: School board members voted Monday to join a national lawsuit against the parent companies of social media sites TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat. The suit claims use of the sites harms the mental health of students. TCPalm.
Citrus: A consultant is recommending that the county commission update school impact fees on new construction. Fees were last updated in 2021, but they were adopted at 50% of the proposed rates. If commissioners agree with the consultant, school impact fees will rise between 142% and 202% of the current rates, and range from $3,128 on multi-family units to $5,298 on single-family homes. Commissioners will hold two public hearings on the fees in May, and vote in June. Citrus County Chronicle.
Highlands: School board members will consider a hiring freeze, staffing reductions, department budget reductions, adjustments to insurance benefits and more to deal with budget deficits this year and next. State funding losses due to declines in enrollment total $1.76 million for the rest of this school year and are projected to be $1.77 million in the 2025-2026 fiscal year. Health insurance costs are also forecast to rise nearly $4 million next year. “We are going to have to work around it,” said school board member Mason Whidden. “We are going to have to give the taxpayers the best quality education we can for the best price we can.” Highlands News-Sun.
Sumter: A special education teacher at Lake Panasoffkee Elementary School has been arrested and accused of abusing students. Deputies said they were told by witnesses that Stephanie Arnott, 40, forcefully jerked the head of a 5-year-old, causing the child to cry, and wrapped another child tightly in a blanket for a nap. District officials said Arnott will be fired. WKMG.
Franklin: A four-day school week could be in the future of Franklin County public school students. Superintendent Steve Lanier said schools would be open Monday through Thursday, and 45 minutes would be added to each day. “It’ll help reduce our teacher burnout, it’ll help increase the morale of the students and staff, it’ll reduce absenteeism, it’ll improve graduation rates and increase enrollments,” he said. Town hall meetings are being held this week to gauge community support for the idea. WCTV.
Budget talks scheduled: Budget talks between Senate and House officials will resume later this week, according to Senate Appropriations chair Ed Hooper, R-Clearwater, who said he hopes lawmakers finalize and vote on the spending package next week. The session was supposed to end Friday, but it can’t end until a budget is approved, and the sides are $4.4 billion apart in spending with most of the difference coming from wildly divergent tax-cut proposals. News Service of Florida.
Tension in the session: The budget stalemate is just one of the factors contributing to a rise in tensions in this legislative session. Senate and House leaders are trading insults, and both have differences with some of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ agenda, a development that has displeased the governor. “Everything is going over the cliff,” noted one Tallahassee lobbyist. Politico Florida. USA Today Florida Network.
Also in the Legislature: At least five bills have cleared the Senate or House that would help charter schools, a development that critics contend will weaken traditional public schools. News Service of Florida. K-12 students would receive two weeks of instruction about the history of people with disabilities and the disability rights movement under a bill that was approved by the Senate Monday and is now headed to the governor. Florida Politics. A bill requiring school employees to be trained in recognizing and reporting human trafficking has cleared the Senate. Central Florida Public Media.
Dual-enrollment option: One of the lesser-known benefits offered by school districts is dual enrollment, which allows public, charter, home-school and private school students to take college courses while working on their high school diploma. These classes can earn them an associate’s degree or certifications in technical fields. “It’s free to the student and parents, so you’re getting college credit at no cost,” said Kirk Bradley, a dean at Pensacola State College. “It gives students the opportunity to earn college credit while they’re still in high school. That gives them a leg up on students who aren’t starting college until after high school.” Pensacola News Journal.
Around the nation: When the U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments Wednesday in the fight over whether a religious charter school is constitutional and can be publicly funded, the key questions will be: Are charter schools public schools? If they are not, do they have the right to free exercise of religion? Chalkbeat. KGOU. Education Week.
Opinions on schools: A bill offering a math “endorsement” to teachers who aren’t certified in math as a way to address a shortage of those teachers may seem like a reasonable idea. But what the state needs are individuals with strong math skills who are capable of passing Florida’s math certification exams. Paul Cottle, Bridge to Tomorrow.
