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Florida Trend Education
Lawmakers want to shake up Florida's virtual school system
Lawmakers want to shake up Florida’s virtual school system
State Rep. Randy Fine says Florida’s online education program needs an overhaul. Crafted before the iPhone, the model that allows Florida Virtual School to offer classes and also franchise its curriculum has become too expensive and duplicative, the Palm Bay Republican argues. Florida law requires school districts to provide virtual course options for their students. This proposal would force them to look elsewhere for materials that meet state standards — potentially at a greater cost than what they are spending now. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]
Parents who started homeschooling during the pandemic don't want to send their kids back
The number of homeschoolers in Florida has spiked in a dramatic way since the start of the pandemic. The state saw an overall 35.2% increase in the number of homeschoolers between 2019-2020 and 2020-2021, according to the Florida Department of Education. But the increases were even steeper in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties. The counties both experienced over 60% increases in the number of children being homeschooled between the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 academic years. [Source: Pensacola News Journal]
Florida Trend Exclusive
Researchers at FSU and Florida A&M develop a better design for a low-gravity space simulator
Existing space flight simulators that use free-fall to generate near-zero gravity are restricted by size and typically have short low-gravity durations — from only several seconds to a few minutes — making them unsuitable for experiments that require long observation times. Researchers at Florida State University and Florida A&M’s College of Engineering have developed a design for a magnetic levitation-based low-gravity simulator that is 1,000 times larger than existing simulators of the same type. [Source: Florida Trend]
Opinion: New bill threatens federal financial aid for Florida’s students
New bills that tinker with accreditation standards for political gain could end up costing hundreds of thousands of Florida’s higher education students access to federal financial aid and federal student loans. Among other things, the “Postsecondary Education” legislation (Senate Bill 7044/House Bill 7051) requires every university and college in Florida to change accreditors at the beginning of each accrediting cycle (roughly every five to seven years, on average), and it provides a legal cause of action against any accreditor that takes retaliatory action against an institution. [Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
Kids are struggling with mental health. Florida schools are struggling to help.
As the number of young people living with mental illness increases, barriers to care — including a shortage of providers and prohibitive costs of therapy — make it difficult for many people to get the help they need. Advocates are turning their attention to schools, asking whether the education system is prepared to support student mental health need [Source: Tampa Bay Times]
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› FSU makes multimillion dollar commitment to local research incubator
Florida State University has pledged $5.6 million in capital commitments to bring a new research-centric business incubator called North Florida Innovation Labs to Leon County’s Innovation Park. “Universities are economic engines,” FSU President Richard McCullough said. “This partnership with the city and Innovation Park will enhance our existing research operations while building new partnerships and creating new jobs.”
› Can drones locate invasive Burmese pythons in Everglades? ERAU researchers investigating
There are possibly as many as 300,000 Burmese pythons in Florida; no one really knows the population. Researchers from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and Warren County Community College in New Jersey have begun a research project to see if they can make the snakes less stealthy.
› USF faces angry reaction to rumored changes in its sign language major
A recent series of messages has led to confusion and turmoil concerning the American Sign Language Interpreting and Deaf Studies program at the University of South Florida, one of two schools in the state to offer a four-year degree in that field. Nathan Maxfield, interim chairperson in USF’s Department of Communication Sciences & Disorders, sent out an email on Feb. 11 saying he was sorry to announce the program would be closing.
› New implant dentistry program at Jacksonville University
Jacksonville University is introducing a three-year Master of Science in Dentistry and Certificate in Comprehensive Oral Implantology, supported by the Comprehensive Oral Implantology Residency Foundation and using the American Academy of Implant Dentistry post-graduate core curriculum.
Previous Education Updates:
- Florida student aid requests plunge. How many will delay or skip college?
- Florida schools have a teacher shortage. Why are they cutting jobs?
- Florida schools need more nurses. Can they compete with employers who pay more?
- Florida's MBA programs: Mastering the cyber industry
- Florida settles lawsuit over LGBT education bill
- $117.5 billion state budget pumps up education spending
- Florida lawmakers continue debate over school red tape, education spending and more
- Too many Florida kids are skipping school. What's being done about it?
