Jay Waagmeester | Florida Phoenix

Legislators added a provision eliminating zoning requirements for small private schools into a Democratic-led bill in the waning hours of the 2026 legislative session. Both GOP-led chambers of the Florida Legislature on Thursday passed SB 182, allowing private schools with 150 or fewer students to operate in commercially zoned buildings.

Both chambers of the Legislature, following negotiations, have agreed about what to include in the proposed School Board Members’ Bill of Rights.

However, the bill would allow farming on conservation land.

In November, the Florida Board of Education adopted standards for teaching middle and high school students about communism. After that, President Donald Trump directed the U.S. military to invade Venezuela and capture Maduro.

During a news conference celebrating national School Choice Week in Valrico, DeSantis and Education Commissioner Anastasios Kamoutsas announced Florida’s participation in the federal tax credit program established by the One Big Beautiful Bill last summer.

HB 127 would put in state law a requirement to test elementary students on their ability to write and read cursive. Existing state law does not require cursive writing, but State Board of Education curricula do. The board, however, does not require students to prove proficiency.

A bill filed Monday by state Rep. Tom Fabricio would require teachers to take an oath to the Constitution and nonpartisanship. The bill, HB 147, would require teachers to, “before entering upon the duties of a classroom teacher,” take the oath. The language is similar to oaths taken by lawyers, doctors, and public officials.

It’s the Florida House’s turn to address school voucher accounting shortfalls. The Senate unanimously approved its package to fix problems uncovered by a state audit that created major consternation among lawmakers.

A study led by biology graduate student Jessica Folsom used genomic data in determining the flamingo population and its genetics in Florida and proposes strategies to restore the population.

Former Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez took her oath of office Friday, cementing her (semi-)new title: president of Florida International University. The FIU community and Nuñez’s network gathered for her presidential investiture ceremony in Miami, complete with video comments from Gov. Ron DeSantis. She’d served at FIU on an interim basis since she left the governor’s office in February,

This finding, in conjunction with the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, comes as the DeSantis administration attempts to ban vaccine mandates, including for public school students.

A bill filed Monday by state Rep. Tom Fabricio would require teachers to take an oath to the Constitution and nonpartisanship.