Around the state: Athletics officials fined a Broward County high school, state elementary school students may not lose their daily recess break, a school board member in Sarasota was asked to step down, year-round classes have been proposed in one district and New College has a preliminary agreement for a major land purchase. Here are details about those stories and other developments from the state’s districts, private schools, and colleges and universities:
Miami-Dade: A teacher is being accused of sending explicit photos and money to a middle school student, according to police. Mauricio Alexander Ruiz, 29, was charged with offenses against students by an authority figure. The math teacher at Thomas Jefferson Middle School has since been released from county jail on a $7,500 bond, court records show. Miami Herald.
Broward: State athletics officials have fined a Broward County high school for allowing a transgender athlete to play on its girls volleyball team. Monarch High School will face a $16,500 fine and probation from a state athletic association because a transgender female played on the varsity volleyball team. The Florida High School Athletic Association also has banned the transgender student at the center of the controversy from playing on any member team in the state through Nov. 20, 2024, according to a letter sent to the high school’s interim principal, Moira Sweeting-Miller. The school’s regular principal, James Cecil, has been temporarily reassigned while Broward schools conducts its own investigation of the volleyball controversy. The student’s mother, Jessica Norton, an information management specialist at the school, and three other school officials have also been reassigned or suspended during the investigation. Officials announced the probe into Monarch High School in late November. South Florida Sun-Sentinel. WPLG. CBS Miami. NBC 6. Politico.
Brevard: School board members will discuss a proposed pilot program that could lead to year-round classes for some schools in the county. Earlier this year, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a law that creates a four-year pilot program to test a year-round school system in five districts. The goal of the program: To see whether reducing the amount of days students are off in the summer would decrease learning losses. If based on other year-round school models, the programs would have shorter break periods. WKMG.
Sarasota: School board member Bridget Ziegler was asked to resign on Tuesday, but did not. The Sarasota County School Board cannot directly remove Ziegler from the panel, but voted 4-1 Tuesday for a resolution requesting that she step down. Ziegler is co-founder of the conservative parents group Moms for Liberty. School Board chairperson Karen Rose, who had been an ally of Ziegler, brought the non-binding resolution to the table for consideration. “It is not about the left. It is not about the right,” Rose said. “It’s about students.” Tampa Bay Times. NBC News. Associated Press. Axios. Politico.
Lake: A new dog at the Lake County Sheriff's Office is using her nose to keep vapes out of the hands of students to help the epidemic. The Villages Daily Sun.
Recess update: Florida elementary school students may not lose their daily recess break. State Sen. Corey Simon removed the idea from his 52-page bill, SB 7004, on Tuesday. The bill was aimed at deleting several regulations that he said make public schools less competitive with private education options. Sen. Victor Torres said he was happy with the bill and the removal of the recess language. He said students have asked him why the Senate would consider restricting recess. “The kids are listening,” Torres said. “We as senators have got to listen to the students.” The Senate’s fiscal policy committee agreed by an 18-0 vote to end policies ushered in by former Gov. Jeb Bush. Those include requirements that high school students pass two exams to graduate and that third graders pass a reading test to move on to fourth grade. Tampa Bay Times. Orlando Sentinel.
Chronic absenteeism: Students missing too many days of school is a problem for parents and faculty across the state of Florida. More than 450,000 students missed at least 18 days or more during the 2020-21 school year, according to the state Department of Education. “We spend a lot of time on attendance because we know if they're not here they're not learning," said Sharon Patrick, Santa Rosa County School District director of continuous improvement. Some methods to curb the issue include interventions like phone calls, meetings or counseling. WEAR.
Colleges and universities: New College has a preliminary agreement for a major land purchase from the Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport on Monday, and the college is preparing for its pitch to state legislators for millions of dollars in investment for improvements on campus. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. The University of Florida last week announced plans to develop about 13 acres in Gainesville's Innovation District just east of campus aimed at creating a world-class destination for Fortune 500 research companies and a talent pipeline for University of Florida students who are seeking high-paying jobs. In collaboration with Concept Companies and Trimark Properties, the project — slated to start in 2024 — includes a total buildout of 1.2 million square feet of space. The Gainesville Sun.
Opinions on schools: Americans started a baby bust in 2008. In addition, the public school system seems determined to do their best imitation of Side-Show Bob marching over rakes since 2020, prompting a great many American families to make other schooling plans. Matthew Ladner, NextSteps. Bridget Ziegler helped turn Florida against LBGTQ kids and transform schools into battlegrounds for culture wars. Miami Herald Editorial Board.
Around the state: School grades were released across the state, gender disparities vary across colleges and universities, teachers must get permission from principals to use certain material and parents in Duval are encouraged to fill out a crucial survey. Here are details about those stories and other developments from the state’s districts, private schools, and colleges and universities:
Palm Beach: A bicycling event honored a local man who was a pioneer in the education world. Dr. Joaquin Garcia was honored on Sunday for his contributions to local schools in this county. La Vuelta Palm Beach 2023 was a community event with the first long-distance bike ride to benefit the school named in the late Garcia's honor, which opened this fall. Dozens participated in the event. WPTV. Meanwhile, voters in Palm Beach may be asked to again raise the sales tax in order pay for construction projects at public schools. State requirements for the school district to share money with charter schools and the higher cost of construction has caused a $600 million shortfall in its capital budget of the next 10 years. Palm Beach Post.
Hillsborough: In Brandon, Black and brown students learned hair care through Curls for Queens, a Tallahassee-based hair care organization. Tampa Bay Times.
Duval: To secure federal funding for schools, the school system here is calling on all parents with children enrolled to actively participate in the 2023 Federal Impact Aid Survey. The survey can significantly contribute to funding for educational materials, textbooks and staff support. Parents are strongly encouraged to participate before the deadline, which is Dec. 20. CBS 47. Meanwhile, a new center in Jacksonville will expand the clinical capacity for the diagnostic evaluation, management and treatment of children and adults with neurodevelopmental disorders. It is among 10 new projects that are receiving strategic funding at the University of Florida, according to President Ben Sasse. Linda R. Edwards, M.D., dean of the College of Medicine in Jacksonville, is optimistic that the Precision Autism Center of Excellence will have a significant effect on healthcare outcomes. “We are thrilled to be receiving this opportunity to provide additional support to individuals with autism,” Edwards said. “CBS 47. Yahoo News.
Brevard: In the past, if a teacher saw a chance to step outside the textbook and use a video, poem, art project or word problem in a math class to help students better grasp a concept, they were free to do that. Now, due to HB 1069, which places responsibility of overseeing instructional material on principals, they must get permission before using "supplemental material." The process can take weeks and the consequences could be dire, with one elementary school principal writing to her teachers in an email that if they did not request approval of the use of items like worksheets, websites or coloring pages that were not part of district adopted curriculum, they could face monetary fines, fail time or forfeiture of their teaching certificate and loss of their jobs. The inability to be flexible with lessons through the use of supplemental materials is having a profound impact on students and teachers, said Adam Tritt, an advanced placement English teacher at Bayside High School. "Any time a teachable moment comes up, which I could cover with a poem or an article or a short video, I actually have to get the permission, fill out a form and get permission through the principal, which means it has destroyed the teachable moment," Tritt said. Florida Today.
Sarasota: Attention surrounding Bridget Ziegler's life is the basis of mounting pressure for her to quit her public life with the school board. ABC Action News.
School grades: Long-awaited school grades arrived on Monday for Florida's schools. Results from the state Department of Education showed that the Hillsborough, Pasco, Hernando and Pinellas school districts earned B grades overall. Pinellas Superintendent Kevin Hendrick pointed to “tremendous” results at various campuses, including Tyrone Middle, the district’s only F-rated school last year. Tyrone rose to C, one of 10 middle schools to improve their grades. “These school grades serve as a baseline for districts and provide a starting point for future achievement,” state education commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. said in a statement. Tampa Bay Times. In Alachua County, schools received a B grade. Main Street Daily News. In Miami-Dade, A grades were received. CBS Miami.
Colleges and universities: A cohort for LGBTQ students at the University of South Florida that is part of the school's "living and learning communities" celebrated five years since its creation. "The only agenda that we have here is to love each other, to respect each other, and make friends,” said Trikkha, a psychology major. WUSF. Across most college campuses in the United States, one fact has been consistent for decades: Female students outnumber male ones. The gender disparity is not the same at all Florida campuses, with the gap varying from school to school. Palm Beach Post.
Opinions on schools: The Florida Education Association estimates that there are over 5,000 teacher vacancies in Florida's public schools, which represents a critical shortage. Arthur Harley, South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
