Florida ranks fifth in nation for education, according to yearly nonprofit ranking
Florida ranks fifth in the country for education based on an annual report released Monday, June 10 by The Annie E. Casey Foundation. The annual Kids Count Data Book measures child welfare in each state in the country. According to its latest analysis, Florida ranks number five when it comes to education. More from WLRNand Central Florida Public Media.
DeSantis vows to increase funding for teacher pay, but educator unions say it's not enough
Gov. Ron DeSantis announced on Monday that he supports increasing the state's allocation for teacher salaries by more than $200 million in next fiscal year's budget. That brings the total allocation to $1.25 billion — what DeSantis called a "record salary funding increase." But the state's largest teachers union, the Florida Education Association (FEA), pushed back against the significance of the funding increase. More from WUSF and Florida Politics.
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» As Florida looks ahead to more money for teachers, pay discrepancies persist between new and experienced staff
New state law to require locked doors at Florida schools
Staying proactive to keep your children safe as the days of unlocked doors and windows at Florida schools are ending. A new state law requires locked doors and entrances at all schools when students are inside. It does not change the number of security officers in each building. Lee County schools’ partnership with the Lee County Sheriff’s Office is ahead of the curve in school safety and security. Inside and outside doors are already closed and locked, and you need ID to get inside, but for other schools in Florida, it establishes new perimeter and door safety requirements. [Source: WINK News]
Florida high schoolers plunge headfirst into NIL waters — part of sea change for young athletes
The wave of new rules that have transformed the college sports landscape and empowered student-athletes to earn money off of their name, image and likeness has found another fertile home: high school athletics. Dozens of states — from New York to California and now Florida — are all backing student-athletes in a paradigm shift in sports. Florida becomes one of more than 30 states and D.C. to give high school athletes the green light, but with plenty of guardrails. [Source: NBC News]
More Florida school districts are limiting cellphones on campus
The effort continues to restrict student cellphone use in schools as a way to refocus attention on learning and reduce mental health problems. The Pinellas and Pasco county school boards are the latest to tighten up their usage policies, each adopting new rules on Tuesday. At the crux of each plan is an expectation that students will have their phones off or silenced and out of sight during class periods, unless they have teacher permission. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› Florida Southern College appoints new president
Dr. Robert L. Fryer, Jr., chairman of the Florida Southern College Board of Trustees, announced today the appointment of Dr. Jeremy P. Martin as the 18th president of the College, succeeding Dr. Anne Kerr who is retiring after 20 years of distinguished service. This spring, the Florida Southern College Board of Trustees announced the appointment of Dr. Kerr as President Emerita upon her retirement.
› IHMC’s ‘habitat for innovation’ grows with new $40M research complex in downtown Pensacola
Dozens of residents, staff members and local officials gathered on Tuesday morning to cut the ribbon on the newest addition to the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition’s (IHMC) campus in downtown Pensacola. The new $40 million multi-floor facility will serve as the IHMC’s Healthspan, Resilience and Performance research complex as well as an economic/intellectual beacon for the entire Northwest Florida region.
› Florida school board votes to ban book centered around a book ban
Banning a book that tells the tale of a student challenging her school banning books? That's just what one Florida school board did, even after an advising committee recommended to keep it in libraries. "Ban This Book" was removed from Indian River County schools in May after a majority of the district's school board voted last month to take it out of circulation. The book was first approved by the school board in 2022 and was kept on shelves despite a challenge in 2023.
› Pasco OKs Patel charter school despite community concerns
Despite community objections, the Patel Foundation for Global Understanding won approval Tuesday to bring a new charter high school to south-central Pasco County. School Board members said they understood fears that the proposed 1,000-student school in the Odessa community might not address long-term crowding problems in other high schools that serve the area.