Home schooling gains steam for Florida families

Home schooling gains steam for Florida families

In Florida, as around the nation, home schooling has become perhaps the most popular form of school choice. And Florida remains a leader, seeing continued growth beyond the pandemic and some of the highest participation numbers. Nine of the 10 school districts with the most home-school students are in the Sunshine State, according to the Washington Post. More from the Tampa Bay Times and the Washington Post.

Florida university presidents slated for inauguration, confirmation

Final steps in leadership changes at two Florida universities are slated for the first weeks in November, while another school’s president is in line for a potential reappointment. University of Florida President Ben Sasse is set to be inaugurated as the school’s thirteenth leader on Thursday during a ceremony on campus. Meanwhile, the Board of Governors is scheduled to meet on Nov. 9 for a meeting that will include consideration of the confirmation of Richard Corcoran as the president of New College of Florida. [Source: News Service of Florida]

Activist pushes for environmental education to be required in Florida schools

More than 30 years ago, Congress passed the Environmental Education Act of 1990, which required the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to help with environmental literacy in schools. In Florida, while some schools offer environmental education as an elective, rarely is it required. One lifelong Floridian is hoping to change that. [Source: Spectrum News 13]

This Florida school district banned cellphones. Here’s what happened.

In May, Florida passed a law requiring public school districts to impose rules barring student cellphone use during class time. This fall, Orange County Public Schools — which includes Timber Creek High — went even further, barring students from using cellphones during the entire school day. [Source: New York Times]

Florida lawmakers will look at providing extra funding for school vouchers

Florida lawmakers are gearing up to provide additional funding to a part of the state's school-voucher program that serves students with special needs, as some proponents of the scholarships say demand has outpaced supply. The state Legislature is gathering for a special session starting Nov. 6 to address a range of issues. A joint proclamation from Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, R-Naples, and House Speaker Paul Renner, R-Palm Coast, said the session will include an effort to provide “a mechanism to increase the number of students served under the Family Empowerment Scholarship for students with disabilities.” [Source: News Service of Florida]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Florida limited lessons about Black history. Many voters disagree. [Tampa Bay Times]
In recent months, Florida has gained national attention for its stance on the teaching of African American history. Though perhaps the most high profile in its actions, Florida was one of several states to implement laws since 2021 restricting the instruction of race or gender. The Black Education Research Center at Columbia University wanted to see if such laws reflected public sentiment. Its latest survey suggests they do not.

› Clay schools' agreement to change teaching of non-English speakers ends Justice Dept. probe [Florida Times-Union]
The U.S. Justice Department will oversee changes to Clay County schools’ screening and teaching of students just learning English as part of a civil rights investigation settlement announced Monday. “This agreement will help ensure that English learner students in Clay County are given the tools necessary to succeed and strive in the classroom,” Kristen Clarke, assistant attorney general from the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, said in a release about the agreement a subordinate signed in her name.

› Sarasota Middle School counselor named 2024 Florida School Counselor of the Year [Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
Carmen Larson, a counselor at Sarasota Middle School, is the first counselor from the Sarasota County School District to win the award, given yearly by the Florida School Counselor's Association. She holds a doctorate in philosophy from the University of Florida and has been at Sarasota Middle since 2018.

› School bus driver shortages persist in North Central Florida. Here’s how some districts are responding [WUFT]
Bus driver shortages have marked school districts across the nation for years, leading buses to be late and drivers forced to pick up extra routes. As a result, North Central Florida counties are attempting to curb the shortage by eliminating routes, focusing on retention strategies and reevaluating school start and stop times.

Tags: Education eNews

Previous Education Updates:

• FHSAA to potentially sanction esports in Florida schools
• College crime surging back to pre-COVID levels. Here's the crime at Florida colleges, universities
• 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