Around the state: Dozens of K-12 schools were awarded A grades by the state even though half of their students aren't considered proficient in reading or math, Florida's Board of Governors approved the formation of a new college accrediting organization, 30 Pasco schools will test artificial intelligence programs during the next school year, the union representing Broward teachers will learn today whether it won a recertification vote, and a religious school in Volusia County announces it is closing just weeks after one of its teachers was arrested on pornography charges. Here are details about those stories and others from the state’s districts, private schools, and colleges and universities:
Broward: The union representing the district's teachers will find out today if it has been recertified. A majority of the votes of all teachers is required for the Broward Teachers Union to continue on their behalf. The election was required when the union fell below the necessary 60% of eligible employees submitting their membership forms and paying dues. Sun Sentinel.
Hillsborough: School board members have approved July 29 as the first public hearing over the 2025-2026 district budget, even as they acknowledged there are unanswered questions about the projected $50 million budget deficit and changes in federal funding that would affect school meals, teacher training, educating undocumented children and more. Tampa Bay Times.
Palm Beach: School officials say the Trump administration's $6 billion-plus freeze placed on federal grants puts $31.5 million at risk that the district was counting on for teacher training, after-school care, and other academic services. Palm Beach Post. WLRN.
Duval: The robotics team from Mayport Coastal Science Middle School in Jacksonville has won its second straight international championship, besting teams from around the United States, China, Kuwait, New Zealand and Puerto Rico. Florida Times-Union.
Pinellas: A medical behavioral assistant at the Nina Harris Exceptional Student Education Center in Pinellas Park was arrested last month and accused of possession and transportation of child pornography. Marrell Speights has been fired, according to school officials. IONTB.
Pasco: Thirty district schools will test two artificial intelligence models in the next school year to see whether they can be used to improve student academic performance. Scholar will be used in elementary schools and Khanmigo in middle and high schools. Deputy superintendent Monica Ilse said she hopes the programs free teachers from routine things like preparing quizzes and completing paperwork so they can spend more time helping students. Tampa Bay Times.
Volusia: After one of its teachers was arrested last month for possession of child and animal pornography, a religious school has announced that it's closing. United Brethren in Christ Academy in Holly Hill made the announcement earlier this month, about two weeks after David McKeown, 47, was arrested. Parents say they're struggling to find new schools for their children. Daytona Beach News-Journal.
Lake: Lake hadn't been an A district since 2008, until the latest grades from the state were released last week. Fifteen schools were graded A, and Treadway Elementary and Lake Virtual improved from C grades to A. Daily Commercial.
Marion: Two new schools, Winding Oaks and Ross Prairie elementaries, will be open for students when schools resume Aug. 11, district officials said last week. The schools were built to accommodate overcrowding in southwest county schools. Ocala Star-Banner.
Clay: For the sixth straight year, Clay's school district earned an A grade from the state. Twenty-four of 43 district schools received an A grade, and more than 92% of the district's school got either an A or a B. Clay Today.
Escambia, Santa Rosa: School boards in Escambia and Santa Rosa have approved policies to ban the use of cell phones in middle and high schools in the fall. Violating the policy with a call or text could bring a student a referral. Pensacola News Journal.
Alachua: A hearing on a school board appeal to the Florida Board of Education over the approval of the Newberry Elementary School conversion to a charter has been postponed. It was scheduled to be heard Wednesday, but the discussion has been shelved with no new hearing date set. WCJB.
Hernando: For the ninth straight year, the school district was awarded a grade of B from the state but it's now just 3 percentage points away from an A. Five schools received A grades, and no schools were rated below a C. Hernando Sun. Hernando Today.
Hendry: Three schools received A grades from the state for the last school year, helping the district improve to a B grade after eight consecutive C's. Rated as A schools were Westside, Central and Eastside elementaries, and all district schools received at least a C. Lake Okeechobee News.
Highlands: For the first time since 2011, the school district got a B grade from the state instead of a C. Five schools received an A, up from one last year. "Nine schools have made an A or B grade and this is the first time we have ever done that since 2011," said school board member Mason Whidden. Highlands News-Sun.
Monroe: Monroe's school district earned an A grade from the state after three years of being rated as a B. Seven of the 19 schools received the top grade, and nine got B's. Florida Keys Weekly.
Jackson: The district received its highest ever score from the state this year, and is now 2 percentage points from becoming an A district. Three schools were awarded an A, with three earning B's and three others C's. Jackson County Times.
Wakulla: For the third year in a row, the district received an A grade from the state and is now rated the 11th-best school district. All its schools were awarded an A or B, one of nine state districts to accomplish that. Wakulla News.
DeSoto: The district received a C grade from the state for the ninth straight year, but DeSoto High improved from a C to a B for the first time since 2015. Charlotte Sun.
Madison: For the fifth straight year, the school district received a grade of C from the state. Greenville Elementary improved from an F to a D, and two other schools moved up to a B from a C. Three schools maintained their C grade and Madison Creative Arts Academy declined from an A to a C. Madison County Carrier.
Jefferson: The district maintained its C grade from the state, but Jefferson K-12 declined by a letter from its B in 2023-2024 to a C this year. "I am disappointed we didn't maintain the B, but I have a plan in place with great teachers and staff for continued improvement," said Superintendent Jackie Pons. Monticello News.
Colleges and universities: Florida's Board of Governors voted Friday to allocate $4 million to help create a new college accrediting agency that could be in place by 2028. Florida is expected to be joined by five other southern states to make the Commission for Public Higher Education a replacement for the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, which Gov. Ron DeSantis contends has focused on left-wing "ideological fads" and diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives instead of academic rigor and student outcomes. Politico Florida. USA Today Florida Network. News Service of Florida. Florida Phoenix. Miami Herald. Tampa Bay Times. WUSF. Inside Higher Ed.
School grades concerns: Dozens of K-12 schools received A grades from the state this year even though half of their students or more did not earn proficiency on the annual standardized assessments. How? The answer lies with the way the grades are calculated. Learning gains are counted nearly as much as student proficiency. "What’s bad to me is that the school grades don’t accurately reflect how students are doing," said Debra Robinson, a former Palm Beach County School Board member who is now the chair of that county’s Coalition for Black Student Achievement. "Students can earn learning gains at their school year after year without ever being proficient, and to me, that’s a problem." Sun Sentinel. Orlando Sentinel.
State BOE appointment: Layla Collins, who lost a bid for the District 1 seat on the Hillsborough County School Board last August, has been appointed to the state Board of Education by Gov. DeSantis. Collins, a Republican who is married to state Sen. Jay Collins, R-Tampa, will replace Ben Gibson as of Aug. 1. Tampa Bay Times.
Around the nation: The Trump administration said it wants to stop undocumented students from attending the Head Start preschool program or using dual enrollment and early college programs. Education Week. Chalkbeat. A hundred years after the famous Scopes Monkey Trial over the teaching of the theory of evolution, battles over what children should learn in school are intensifying. USA Today. Threats and harassment of school officials is up 170% since the pandemic, according to a survey conducted by researchers at Princeton University. NPR. A recent University of Oregon study says there is "no consistent evidence that moving to a four-day schedule improves learning outcomes — and in some cases, it may do the opposite." K-12 Dive.
Opinions on schools: Seven years after the Parkland school shooting, our schools are safer because Florida prioritized prevention, accountability and collaboration. But our work is far from over. The threats change constantly. Tony Montalto and Bob Gualtieri, Tampa Bay Times. University of Florida researchers release an overview of key components of several significant education bills introduced or passed during the 2025 legislative session. University of Florida Education Policy Research Center.
