In the Legislature: Members of the Florida House voted down all 19 amendments offered by Democrats on Tuesday to a bill that would ban transgender females from competing in girls high school and college sports, which is now ready for a House vote today. The Senate also had been scheduled to take up the bill today, but postponed it because of a “busy” rules committee agenda. The House’s move came a day after the NCAA put Florida and other states on warning that passing such bills could result in championship sports events being moved to other states. News Service of Florida. Politico Florida. Florida Politics. A bill requiring high school students to receive at least 45 minutes of instruction about victims of communism every Nov. 7 was approved by the House on Tuesday. The Senate version is awaiting a hearing by its appropriations committee. News Service of Florida. The Senate Education Appropriations Subcommittee has approved a bill that would allow veterans and other people who have been out of college for five years to take free online courses from state universities. News Service of Florida. A bill that would allow prayers before high school sports championship games is ready for a vote in the House. News Service of Florida. Florida Politics. Rules that would restrict the use of seclusion and restraints on students with disabilities would change under a bill that is ready for a full House vote. Florida Politics. Colleges and universities would have to disclose details of their research agreements with China and six other countries if the House passes H.B. 7017, which is now ready for a vote by the full chamber. Florida Politics.
Around the state: The Miami-Dade and Broward school districts announce that they expect students in classrooms in the fall, angry parents and teachers target Superintendent Addison Davis over cuts he’s proposing in staffing and programs, an Osceola school district committee is recommending that school resource officers wear body cameras, face masks will continue to be required in Pinellas schools, Lee County is planning for its first community school in 2024, and sex education classes were put on hold this year in Volusia County because of the pandemic. Here are details about those stories and other developments from the state’s districts, private schools, and colleges and universities:
Miami-Dade, Broward: As part of a push to put students back in classrooms in the fall, the Miami-Dade and Broward school districts are eliminating most online learning options. Miami-Dade Superintendent Alberto Carvalho and Broward’s Robert Runcie made the announcements official Tuesday. “Many of our students have learned well online, but there is no substitute for the live presence of a dedicated, caring professional,” said Carvalho. “There will be no blended, hybrid or remote learning for students,” Runcie said, citing poor academic results for online learners, the number of educators who have been vaccinated and the promise that students will also soon be able to gets shots. Virtual learning options are still available. Miami Herald. Sun Sentinel. WPLG. WFOR. WSVN. WTVJ.
Hillsborough: Superintendent Addison Davis was the target of angry parents and teachers at a school board meeting Tuesday night who are rallying against the cuts he’s proposed in staffing and programs. A petition has been started calling for Davis’ resignation. There’s talk of a citizens committee being formed to review the work of Davis and other administrators. Davis was accused of being secretive and misleading, with a union rep saying, “I want to introduce you to a new word being used in our home: Addi-spin.” Davis said the job cuts “weigh on my heart, on my shoulders,” but insisted they’re necessary to fix the district’s deteriorating financial situation. Tampa Bay Times. WTVT. WFTS. The boom in charter school growth has come at a particularly bad time for the school district, officials noted during a meeting Tuesday. More schools are opening, taking more students and money from district-run schools at a time when the district has a budget deficit of more than $100 million and is cutting teachers and the very programs that could attract students. Three more charter schools started by IDEA Public Schools of Texas are about to join the 50 or so charters already in the county. IDEA is coming in under the state’s Schools of Hope program, which allows charters to move into areas with persistently struggling schools. More than 15 percent of the county’s students already attend charter schools. Tampa Bay Times.
Pinellas: Superintendent Michael Grego said Tuesday that the district’s policy requiring face masks on campuses and other safety protocols will remain in place for now. He told school board members that medical advisers recommended the policy be continued because the infection rate is rising and only about half the county’s residents have been vaccinated. He suggested the issue could be revisited in a month or so. He also added that he’d like to say the next school year will be back to normal, but “I can’t even say that yet for this summer. We need to get through this school year first.” Tampa Bay Times.
Lee: Franklin Park Elementary School in Fort Myers will be torn down in 2022 and rebuilt in 2024 as a community partnership school, the first in the county, school officials said Tuesday. Demolition and construction are scheduled to begin in October 2022, and the new school is scheduled to open in August 2024 as a community hub with educational, medical, financial services and more for students and their families. Students will attend classes in portable classrooms during construction. Fort Myers News-Press. WINK. WFTX. School board members questioned the conditions of portable classrooms at Tuesday’s meeting. “We’ve got to maintain our investment, and I don’t feel like that we’re maintaining our investment for some of these portables,” said board member Melisa Giovanelli. Superintendent Greg Adkins said, “There are limited dollars for these projects, and these portables are quite expensive.” WINK. School board members approved the proposed high school graduation dates. Ceremonies for the 14 traditional public high schools are June 5-6 at four halls or arenas. Fort Myers News-Press. Some parents are complaining about a poster used as part of LGBTQ education in the district. It suggests ways students can support LGBTQ students, and some parents say it’s inappropriate. “You don’t talk about these topics to a 10-year-old, nor a 6-year-old,” said Mike Rodriguez. “That is why I’m concerned. Stuff that we don’t even talk about to our kids, the school now was trying to implement it.” District officials said the poster is nothing new, that it simply states what’s been in the code of conduct all year. WINK. WFTX.
Pasco: The 11-year-old student who went missing Monday morning from River Ridge Middle School in New Port Richey and was the subject of an AMBER alert has been found safe in the Tampa home of a 22-year-old man. Deputies said the girl thought of the man, Luis Alberto Encarnacion, as her boyfriend. He was charged with concealing the location of a minor, unlawful use of a communication device, lewd or lascivious battery and sexual battery. Two other men, 17 and 19, were also arrested and charged with interfering with child custody. Tampa Bay Times. WTSP. WTVT. WFTS. WKMG. Miami Herald.
Osceola: School resource officers should wear body cameras, a committee studying ways to change the district’s policies on those officers has recommended. The committee was formed after an officer body-slammed a black female student to the ground while trying to break up a fight at Liberty High School in January. Kissimmee police chief Jeff O’Dell, who is on the committee, said the cameras could be added to its 16 SROs as early as August but would cost about $25,000. Another committee member, sheriff’s office major Dan Weis, said the cost to equip its 65 SROs would cost $235,000 and could take years to implement. The committee expects to complete its recommendations for the school board by June. Orlando Sentinel.
Seminole: The engine on a school bus from the Endeavour School in Lake Mary caught fire Tuesday afternoon. Three students and two others were on board, but escaped without injuries. WKMG. WOFL.
Volusia: Sex education was put on hold this school year because of the pandemic, according to district officials. The decision was an “instructional call,” said Grace Kellermeier, who coordinates special programs. She said teachers are told to sit on the floor with students and keep the lesson “low-key,” but that would have been more difficult this year. “We don’t like it to be in a cold classroom auditorium setting,” she said. “It’s to keep it less threatening for the children.” Both 6th- and 7th-graders will get the lessons in the next school year. Sexual health experts called the decision to delay a “bad idea.” Daytona Beach News-Journal.
St. Johns: Some parents and students are lobbying for changes to the district’s dress code, calling it sexist and saying it disproportionately targets girls. At Bartram High School, they offered as an example, 54 students were cited in March for dress code violations and 49 of them were girls. More than 4,400 people have signed a petition calling for a change. District officials said they would review the code in May. WJAX. WTLV.
Sarasota: School board members unanimously agreed Tuesday to fire former Sarasota High School attendance clerk Joy Deal, who had been accused of mocking students and making other “rude, embarrassing and inappropriate comments,” and had been disciplined several times. Her termination was first recommended in 2018 by then-superintendent Todd Bowden, but she’s delayed it with appeals and leaves of absence. Tuesday, Deal called herself the victim, vowed to appeal the board’s decision and said she would be back at work in the coming days. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. School officials held a town meeting in Venice this week to discuss concerns about the community’s schools. What they heard, mostly, were people complaining about the district’s face mask mandate. “Our children are being made to stumble with fear because of your current mask policy and the years of teaching about so-called man-made global warming are both based on bad science and clearly instill fear,” said one attendee. Charlotte Sun.
Bay: District officials are putting an emphasis on pre-K programs to prepare students to enter kindergarten and help reduce the learning gap they see in early elementary grades. Social skills and language are prioritized over academics, though children are learning to count to 50, the alphabet and more. “We know our successes are going to be predicated on how they (students) do in pre-K,” said Superintendent Bill Husfelt. “If they’re successful in pre-K and learn those social skills, should know how to spell their name, understand how to read a little bit, those things are going to help them be better kindergarten students.” Panama City News Herald. A heated but civil debate was held Tuesday night between supporters and opponents of the tax increase for schools. Election day is April 20. WMBB. The historic St. Andrews School in Panama City will be transformed into a community center, after control of the school was passed from the school district to the city through a $1-a-year, 10-year lease agreement. WJHG.
Colleges and universities: The University of South Florida is taking part in a national study to see if people with allergies have a higher risk of adverse reactions to the Moderna and Pfizer coronavirus vaccinations. About 3,400 people between the ages of 18 and 69 are being recruited in 28 sites around the country. Tampa Bay Times. Nearly two-dozen U.S. colleges and universities are closing permanently, victims of the pandemic. WFTX.
Districts win music awards: Five Florida school districts have won Best Communities for Music Education awards from the National Association of Music Merchants. The Broward, Hillsborough, Orange, Pinellas and Palm Beach school districts were honored. NAMM Foundation.
Around the nation: About 36 million Americans would have their federal student loans erased if the Biden administration agrees to cancel up to $50,000 in student loan debt as progressive Democrats have proposed, according to a U.S. Department of Education report. Politico.
Individual learning options: An overwhelming majority of U.S. parents would like to see schools move away from the traditional teaching approach and begin to offer individualized learning plans that are tailored to students’ needs, according to a poll by the National Parents Union. It also showed that 56 percent of parents want the option of in-person or online learning for their children next fall. redefinED.
Opinions on schools: The pandemic wreaked havoc on few institutions more than the school system. That’s why it was smart that Florida granted schools, students and parents some much-needed relief from the punitive impact of high-stakes testing. Tampa Bay Times. The League of Women Voters has asked what the state is getting for the money it spends on private school vouchers. The answer is clear: More choices and better outcomes for all. Patrick Gibbons, Daytona Beach News-Journal. Gov. Ron DeSantis is touting Florida’s push to improve civics education curricula to build a more informed citizenry as a model for the nation. But that will only be true if race is an integral part of it. Kitty Oliver, Florida Today.
