Around the state: Nearly $400 million in federal funds headed to Florida schools is frozen by the federal government while the proposed $6.8 billion program is being reviewed, a bill expected to expand charter schools in the state is signed by the governor, a strategic facilities plan is approved by the Duval school board and proposed DEI changes are protested, and Orange’s school district is helping school employees find affordable housing. Here are details about those stories and others from the state’s districts, private schools, and colleges and universities:
Orange: A new school district program is helping school employees find affordable housing. A deal between the school district and six housing complexes makes school employees a priority when units become available. “This is just the beginning,” said deputy superintendent Bridget Williams, who says the launch of the program a year ago was a “significant milestone” to help the district recruit and retain teachers and other workers. Orlando Sentinel.
Duval: School board members have approved the district’s strategic facilities plan, titled Duval Reimagine, which calls for building some new schools, repairing existing ones, closing schools that are underenrolled and struggling academically, and redrawing school boundaries to better distribute enrollment. WJXT. Dozens of parents, students, and advocates rallied at Tuesday’s school board meeting against proposed revisions to the district’s diversity, equity and inclusion policies. A district official said no decisions have been made. WJAX. WTLV.
Brevard: One of the projects Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed this week was $5 million for an expansion to West Shore Junior/Senior High School in Melbourne. It was a request by former state Sen. Randy Fine, R-Palm Bay, who is now a U.S. representative and was a former ally of DeSantis before rescinding an endorsement of the governor for the 2024 Republican presidential primary and instead backing Donald Trump. Also vetoed after being approved by the Legislature was $1 million for an aviation assembly and fabrication hangar where north Brevard high school students would have been trained. Florida Today. Florida Politics.
Lake: School officials say they won’t fill certain job openings as a way to save $3 million to help offset the loss of $8 million in state funding due to a projected decline of 1,500 students who are leaving the district with the use of school choice scholarships. “It’s a challenging situation, but we will get through it with innovative thinking, sound decision making, and a commitment to supporting a quality education for every child in our public schools,” says Superintendent Diane Kornegay. Triangle Sun.
Sarasota: Karen Rose, the former chair of the school board who lost her re-election bid last November, has been appointed by Gov. DeSantis to the State College of Florida Manatee-Sarasota board of trustees. Her nomination must be approved by the Senate. Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
Florida funding frozen: About $396 million of the $6.8 billion in federal grants to U.S. K-12 schools that have been frozen by the Trump administration were scheduled to be distributed among Florida school districts. Funding was scheduled to support migrant education, after-school programs and English language instruction. But distribution has been paused at least until the programs due to receive money are reviewed, and state school districts are scrambling to adjust to the unexpected change. Tampa Bay Times. WFTS. Politico.
In the Legislature: Gov. DeSantis has signed a bill that is expected to expand the state’s number of charter schools designated as Schools of Hope. SB 2510 changes the definition of persistently low-performing schools, which could open the way for more charters, and also give those charter schools the right to use vacant school facilities or even locate inside a traditional district school if space is available. News Service of Florida. DeSantis also signed a bill authorizing the Pasco school district to pay Marcus Button $1.2 million for catastrophic injuries he suffered in a 2006 crash caused by a school bus driver. Florida Politics. Dozens of other education-related laws went into effect Tuesday. Florida Phoenix. State Rep. Mike Redondo, R-Miami, has been selected as the Florida House speaker after the 2030 elections. Florida Politics.
Charter schools conference: Charter schools are eager to build on good academic performances on national tests and recent political developments that could help the industry grow, movement leaders said at the first day of the National Alliance of Public Charter Schools annual conference in Orlando. Enrollment is up, more federal and state money is being devoted to expand charters and new developments in school choice, such as collaborations that allow students to take one-off classes in charter schools, are also seen as an opportunity for more educational options. NextSteps.
More on assessments results: How Florida school district students did on the latest state progress assessments tests. Marion. Dixie, Gilchrist, Levy. DeSoto. Charlotte. Citrus. Gadsden. Glades. Hamilton. Hardee. Hernando. Highlands. Hillsborough. Jefferson. Lafayette. Lake. Lee. Madison. Manatee. Monroe. Okeechobee. Pasco. Pinellas. Sarasota. Sumter. Suwannee. Taylor. Wakulla.
Around the nation: Senators narrowly approved President Donald Trump’s tax and spending bill on a 51-50 vote early Tuesday morning. It includes an extension of almost $4 trillion in tax cuts, increased spending for border security and the military, cuts in health-care spending, and funding for the nation’s first federal tax credit scholarship program. But a late compromise made the school choice program voluntary, and Democrat-majority states are widely expected to opt out. A vote in the House is expected today. The 74. Reuters. NPR. Associated Press. New York Times. Politico.
Opinions on schools: What’s more important to Florida’s future, that our kids can read and write, or that we warehouse undocumented immigrants in an Everglades encampment? John Hill, Tampa Bay Times. Education should be about evidence-based exploration, not indoctrination. As Thomas Jefferson recognized, freedom thrives only when men and women can freely express ideas, a freedom inextricably linked to freedom of education. Gordon Patterson, Florida Today.
