By Gabrielle Russon In his annual State of the State Address, Gov. Ron DeSantis laid out his priorities of abolishing property taxes, repealing gun control laws and cleaning up the Everglades. DeSantis gave a 30-minute speech to both chambers on what marks the first day of the Legislative... Continue Reading
By Jesse Scheckner Legislation with the potential to significantly change Florida’s educational landscape has cleared its first House hurdle after its sponsor heard concerns about its potentially negative effects. The Education Administration Subcommittee voted 13-5 on party lines to... Continue Reading
By Leslie Postal Starting Florida’s public high schools no earlier than 8:30 a.m. may be a plan that gets scrapped before it is ever implemented. Two years ago, Florida approved the start time rule to begin in the 2026-27 school year, setting up a major shift for the state’s... Continue Reading
By Jacob Ogles A Senate-led effort to create more local control in Florida’s public schools cleared its first committee. The Administrative Efficiency in Public Schools bill (SB 166) advanced from the Senate Pre-K-12 Education Committee on a unanimous vote. “When working with... Continue Reading
By Finch Walker In Brevard Public Schools, expelled doesn't really mean expelled — at least, not in the traditional sense. The terminology the district uses to describe the punishment handed down to students for certain offenses has caused debate among board members and staff since... Continue Reading
By Mary Lett The Escambia County School District has not yet been subjected to any ICE raids within its schools, but teachers and community members are pushing school district leadership to adopt written guidelines for staff interactions with immigration and law enforcement agencies. Escambia... Continue Reading
By Ana Goñi-Lessan and Gray Rohrer Legislators have already held three sessions this year, but there’s still some heavy-hitting legislation that could impose more immigration laws, lower restrictions on guns and cut property and business taxes. Tuesday the House and Senate will meet at... Continue Reading
By Andrew Powell Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith and Rep. Rita Harris are backing a pair of bills (SB 1514, HB 1197) that would expand anaphylaxis policies and training in public schools. The Orlando Democrats introduced the measures to ensure proper protocols are followed for handling... Continue Reading
By Jeffrey S. Solochek Even before the law took effect in the fall, Florida school district leaders had strong worries that they wouldn’t be able to handle the requirement that all doors and gates be locked or staffed whenever students are present on campus. As they implemented the rule,... Continue Reading
By Robbie Sequeira Across the country, state lawmakers are finding rare bipartisan ground on an increasingly urgent issue for educators and parents: banning cellphone use in schools. Fueling these bans is growing research on the harmful effects of smartphone and social media use on the mental... Continue Reading
By: Steven Walker Florida schools could be required to show students detailed videos of human fetal development under legislation filed this week that mirrors laws backed by an anti-abortion group and adopted in recent years in North Dakota and Tennessee. Rep. Dana Trabulsy, R-Fort Pierce,... Continue Reading
By: Phil Ammann Oral arguments are scheduled for Friday. A legal battle is brewing in Florida over HB 3, the law aimed at protecting young people from the perceived dangers of social media. The Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA) is challenging the law in court,... Continue Reading
