Around the state: Book removal fallout continues in Hillsborough, state funding losses projected in Alachua, members of the Collier County Public Schools’ board of education broke ground on what will soon be home to Ave Maria Elementary School, state Legislature extends session and Florida faces an alarming rate of student absences. Here are details about those stories and other developments from the state’s districts, private schools, and colleges and universities:
Hillsborough: Schools Superintendent Van Ayres defended how his district has removed inappropriate books from school libraries at a state Board of Education meeting last week. Ayres said books flagged by state officials were promptly removed from shelves, and that he would tighten the annual review process of materials. The discussion comes amid an ongoing crackdown on material found in Florida’s school libraries. Ayres said these books will be reviewed by the end of summer, and his media specialists will be given a stipend to do so beyond their contracted hours. That will cost the district roughly $345,000. WUSF. Tampa Bay Times.
Brevard: Effective on July 1, districts employing corporal punishment will have to get parental permission before carrying it out. But not every district uses corporal punishment. In Brevard, district policy “strictly prohibits” that type of punishment, officials say. For districts using corporal punishment, the new law — House Bill 1255 — requires that parents give consent before an educator is allowed to discipline their child in that way. Florida Today.
Collier: Members of the Collier County Public Schools’ board of education broke ground on what will soon be home to Ave Maria Elementary School. The school will welcome its first students at the beginning of the 2026-27 school year. The school will start with 900 students. Population growth in the county has led to demand for more nearby school options, with demand especially high in eastern Collier. “In Ave Maria, right now, we are busing kids from here to other elementary schools,” said School Board Chair Kelly Mason. “They’re having to spend a significant amount of time every day riding a school bus to school and home. For them to have [a school] right here, essentially in their backyard, it’s going to save on all this bus time.” WGCU. WINK News.
Alachua: The school board here reviewed federal, state and local funding projections, in addition to facility improvement priorities, during a budget workshop last week. The district is projected to lose $10,739,776 in state funding compared to last year, and gain $4,102,965 in local revenue. The current unfinalized estimate for incoming federal funding is around $34.5 million. The Florida Legislature on Thursday extended its session to June 18 to hammer out the state’s budget, which will run from July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026. Once the budget is final, the legislature waits 72 hours before taking a final vote and sending it to Gov. Ron DeSantis for final review. Main Street Daily News.
Student absences: Florida faces an alarming rate of student absences. Nearly one million Florida students missed more than three weeks of school last year. South Florida schools counted more than 154,000 of these students. Chronic absenteeism skyrocketed statewide more than 50% from 2018-19 to 2023-24, the most recent year available, a South Florida Sun Sentinel analysis found. South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
Driver’s ed: A Florida law requires that teens aged 15-17 take a driver’s education classroom course approved by Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles before they can obtain a learner’s permit. “I’m a husband and I’m a dad, and I’m going to very soon have a young man driving with a learner’s license,” said Sen. Jay Collins, who sponsored SB 994. “Anything that helps keep him and other kids safer on the road is something we should do.” WEAR. Tampa Bay Times.
Discrimination lawsuit: Three public school parents in Florida are appealing a federal judge’s dismissal of their discrimination lawsuit earlier this year where they argued that the state violated their First Amendment rights by not allowing them to challenge school board decisions to remove books. The case involves a law approved by Gov. Ron DeSantis two years ago that allows parents to use a state review process to object to when school boards decide not to remove or restrict a book. But parents say this case against the State Board of Education is discriminatory, according to a brief filed on June 4, since they can’t use this same process when a school board does decide to remove or restrict books. Tallahassee Democrat.
Opinions on schools: Santa Ono’s rejection is the result of a well orchestrated campaign by activists who engaged in a conservative version of cancel culture. Miami Herald.
