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FL Board of Education to rule on bathrooms and biological sex at birth, in private schools
In what has become a contentious issue in the culture wars in Florida, the State Board of Education on Wednesday will decide on rules to cover the “Safety in Private Spaces Act,” in K-12 private schools, which would prohibit students from using bathrooms or changing facilities not assigned to their biological sex. The rules came […]
A bevy of Atlantic storms likely to miss Florida
The National Hurricane Center is currently tracking two tropical storms Monday morning, while a disturbance in the Gulf of Mexico threatens to become a Tropical Depression. Tropical Storm Franklin is seeing a sustained wind speed of 50 mph in the southern Caribbean. An NHC advisory early Monday morning said that heavy rainfall from the storm […]
Four Atlantic disturbances could be headed towards Florida
While Hurricane Hilary has made headlines for its Category Four status in the Pacific, the National Hurricane Center also updated its map of four disturbances in the Atlantic Ocean Friday as Floridians brace for the fall storm season. Disturbance 4 was mapped just above Hispaniola and is forecast to move into the Gulf of Mexico early […]
State, education union, spar over the number of teacher vacancies across FL public schools
Education Commissioner Manny Diaz, Jr. announced this week that the Florida Department of Education has recorded 4,776 total teacher vacancies to begin the 2023-2024 school year, an 8% decline from last year. One year ago, their figure was 5,208. However, the Florida Education Association, a statewide union, said there are 6,920 teaching vacancies statewide, according […]
Florida adds ‘pronouns’ to long list of education stressors
“Pronouns” have joined the many other words and phrases that have been chewed up, spit out and stretched and folded to its limit into a buzzword on social media, the nightly news, and in political talking points. It’s now in Florida law as something for school districts to monitor and enforce, beginning this school year. […]
The state of K-12 education: Florida schools are under a microscope
As the DeSantis administration continues to make headlines with its K-12 education policies and culture wars, an exodus from public school students to private education — with the help of a new voucher program — and thousands of teacher vacancies, it can be easy to forget that some 2.9 million public schoolchildren woke up early, […]
Progressive ‘report card’ shows F grades for Republicans; one Democrat gets an F
The Florida GOP enjoys supermajorities in the state House and Senate, along with a governor who spent the spring legislative session itching to show off his conservative bona fides before entering the presidential primary. Thus, these days are rough for progressive groups such as Progress Florida and Florida Watch, as indicated by the annual People […]
Another presidential search on the horizon: Florida Polytechnic leader is stepping down
Florida Polytechnic University president Randy Avent will step down from his position in July 2024, in the wake of several departures and university presidential searches in Florida over the past year, he announced. “Leading the University from its infancy to the strong campus we have today has been the privilege of my lifetime,” Avent said. […]