Science textbook changes: Two authors were told by their publishers that the state of Florida wanted some references to “climate change” removed from their science textbooks before the state would buy them for public school use. Ken Miller, a professor emeritus of biology at Brown University and the co-author of a biology textbook, said he also had to add citations to support statements that “human activity” caused climate change and remove a “political statement” urging governments to take action to stop climate change. He and another author were told by their publishers that the changes were ordered in June phone calls from Florida officials. A publisher also said a 90-page section on climate change was cut from its high school chemistry textbook, and that the phrase was taken out of middle school science books. A Florida Department of Education spokesperson issued a statement that said, “Florida works with publishers to ensure that their product aligns with our standards and does not include any form of ideology or indoctrination.” Orlando Sentinel. Newsweek.
Around the state: Qualified nursing school applicants are being turned away because there isn’t enough capacity in the state’s programs to train them, Broward schools and Pembroke Pines are at odds over who should pay for school resource officers provided by the city, Florida schools can now have volunteer school chaplains on campus to counsel students but some are saying they won’t do it, and a lawsuit against the Manatee elections supervisor over a decision to not hold a special election to replace a school board member has been dismissed. Here are details about those stories and others from the state’s districts, private schools, and colleges and universities:
Broward, Palm Beach: A dispute has developed between the school district and the city of Pembroke Pines over who should pay for school resource officers the city provides for 14 schools. Mayor Angelo Castillo recently said the city would continue to provide the police officers only if the district picked up the full cost, which it put at $165,251 per officer for the coming year. The district has an agreement with other cities and the sheriff to pay $113,560 for each officer, but Castillo said Pembroke Pines didn’t agree to those terms. District officials say they can’t afford the extra cost, and may be forced to hire armed school guardians for those 14 schools instead of having sworn officers. The two sides will meet Tuesday. Sun Sentinel. An appeals court ruled last week that the Broward and Palm Beach school districts are shielded by state law from having to reimburse an insurance company for the medical expenses of three people hurt in school bus accidents. News Service of Florida.
Orange: A former counselor at Rock Springs Elementary School in Apopka is suing the school district, alleging she was excluded from staff meetings, given extra unpaid duties, assigned to a “rat-infested” portable classroom and then unfairly fired at the end of the school year. Donna Mathurin claims the school principal fired her because she’s 56 and black. District officials “deny any allegations of unlawful discrimination.” Florida Politics.
Duval: An NAACP leader who opposed the hiring of Christopher Bernier as superintendent of the Lee County School District in 2022 eventually became enough of a fan to say he was sorry to see Bernier resign in April. “He did improve things,” said James Muwakkil, such as increasing diversity in the school district’s upper management, improving graduation rates and reforming the way student suspensions were handled. “Did he make mistakes? … Of course,” said Muwakkil. “Did he get the job done? He surely did.” Bernier’s top challenge as superintendent in Duval will be “right-sizing” the number of the district’s schools, employees and budget. Florida Times-Union.
Lee: Cape Coral High School’s head football coach has been removed while the district investigates an unspecified allegation against him. Isaac Harvin was named the coach in February, and suspended May 31. District spokesman Rob Spicker said the investigation is expected to be complete before schools reopen Aug. 12. Fort Myers News-Press.
Seminole: A student who shot a classmate at Seminole High School in 2022 was recently sentenced to 15 years in prison. Da’raveius Smith, now 18, had pleaded no contest to charges of attempted first-degree murder, discharge of a weapon on school property and shooting into a building or vehicle. The victim, Jhavon McIntyre, who was 18 at the time, was hospitalized after being shot three times. WKMG.
Manatee: A lawsuit challenging the supervisor of elections’ decision to not hold a special election to replace a resigning school board member has been dismissed by a county judge. Former school board member James Golden said he was denied the chance to run for the District 5 seat after Richard Tatem resigned in May to run for a spot in the Florida House but is choosing not to make the resignation official until November. By doing so, Gov. Ron DeSantis will have the authority to name a replacement for the final two years of Tatem’s term. James Satcher, the supervisor of elections, said the election would not go on the ballot because the state’s resign-to-run law considers an office vacant only when the resignation goes into effect, not when it’s submitted. Bradenton Herald.
Collier: County commissioners approved a school board request to ask voters to authorize the district to use money in its capital budget for operational expenses for the next four years. If voters approve, the district would decide each year how much of the money it would transfer. The change is essential, said Lisa Morse, the district’s director of community engagement and district initiatives, to “recruit, support and retain highly effective instructional and non-instructional staff and maintain high-quality academic programs.” Naples Daily News. Thirty schools will provide all students free breakfasts and lunches this year under the federal Community Eligibility Provision program. Students in schools not included in the program may still qualify for free meals, but will have to submit an application. WINK.
Sarasota: Sarasota city commissioners have voted to move forward with a plan to place speed detection cameras in city school zones. An ordinance is being drafted that would mail drivers $100 tickets for driving 10 mph or more higher than the posted limits in school zones. WFLA.
St. Lucie: A 17-year-old student was arrested last week and accused of having a loaded handgun on the campus of Fort Pierce Central High School. The boy is a student at Lincoln Park Academy, but is attending summer school at Fort Pierce Central. Deputies said they found the gun in the boy’s backpack. WPTV.
Escambia: Plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the school board for removing and restricting books from school libraries are asking a federal judge to order the district to return seven books that have been unavailable for more than a year. Six of the seven books include LGBTQ themes, and the seventh tells the story of the impact of a black teenager’s death at the hands of a police officer on the teen’s friend. News Service of Florida.
Hernando: Partnerships with two universities are under consideration by the school board that would create a pipeline of school counselors and administrators to the district. One would offer five scholarships to current school employees for training from Grand Canyon University to become a school counselor. The other provides 10 scholarships for the master’s program in educational leadership at Saint Leo University. Money for the scholarships would come from the recruitment fund created when voters approved a millage rate hike for schools. Hernando Sun.
Monroe: At a recent candidates’ forum, District 2 school board candidates Zach Bentley and Yvette Mira-Talbott talked about their qualifications, their goals, their support for teachers and what standards they consider to measure success in schools. Florida Keys Weekly.
Highlands: School board members will discuss financing for adding classroom buildings at Lake Country and Woodlawn elementary schools. Total cost is expected to be about $16 million. The district has set aside $4 million in the past two years from the half-cent extra sales tax for schools approved by voters in 2016 that continues through 2036, and will borrow the rest against expected revenue from the tax. Highlands News-Sun.
Colleges and universities: Qualified nursing school applicants are being turned away because there isn’t enough capacity in the programs to train them. In the 2022-2023 school year, the average Florida nursing school had 217 qualified applicants but had room to accept only 148, according to a report by the Florida Center for Nursing. It’s estimated that 21,000 nursing jobs in Florida will go unfilled this year, despite additional funding from the state, and that there will be a shortage of 59,000 nurses by 2035. Orlando Sentinel. Florida A&M University and Florida Atlantic University officials say they have made changes to improve programs that have been threatened by the Board of Governors for closure because of passing rates that fall below the state standards. WFSU. The University of South Florida St. Petersburg has welcomed its first therapy dog, Snowbird, which is trained to provide provide comfort, emotional support and therapeutic benefits. Tampa Bay Times.
Will schools use chaplains? Florida schools can now use volunteer chaplains on campus to provide support for students who have permission from their parents. But will they? Some districts are saying no because they believe the new law is too vague and controversial, and will bring unwanted legal entanglements. Tampa Bay Times. USA Today Florida Network. WFSU.
More on test results: Students’ state standardized test scores were up this year in most of the key academic subjects, Florida Department of Education officials announced last week. Here are reports from school districts around the state detailing how their students did. Hillsborough. Pinellas. Duval, St. Johns, Clay, Nassau, Baker. Polk. Sarasota. Columbia, Gilchrist, Union, Bradford, Levy, Dixie. Flagler. Putnam. Martin. Marion County is near the bottom of state districts in the percentage of students who achieved grade-level or higher scores on the state tests, but district officials said they are trending in the right direction. WCJB.
Can you pass the civics test? All Florida students taking a U.S. government course in public high schools must take the civics literacy exam, a multiple-choice test with 80 questions. Answering at least 48 correctly is required to pass. Here is a 40-question practice test put together by the Florida Department of Education that is representative of the FCLE. WKMG.
Around the nation: More state and school districts are banning students’ use of cell phones during the school day. But do such policies work? Axios. Education could be reshaped if Donald Trump wins the presidency. In his Agenda 47, Trump has called for eliminating the U.S. Department of Education, restoring prayer in schools, creating an American Academy to award low-cost degrees to students that would be funded with fines from institutions that don’t follow his ideological standards, revitalizing school choice, limiting discussion of LGBTQ content in schools, and more. The Nation.
Opinions on schools: The point of the separation of church and state, as any 4th-grader with a reasonably competent history teacher can tell you, isn’t to limit a citizen’s ability to practice their faith, but to protect it. So if the govenor of Florida can, by the power not vested in him, unilaterally declare that the church of Satan isn’t a religion, then he can also wake up one morning and decide that Islam isn’t a religion, or Hinduism, or Catholicism or any faith that allows women to preach or doesn’t handle snakes. Kate Murphy, Miami Herald. Voters should choose school board candidates who exhibit fairness and the ability to represent and understand many points of view, and show leadership skills that put all students, teachers, families and the community first as they engage in their important work. Cathy Swerdlow, Orlando Sentinel.
