On this Monday, Feb. 10, episode of Sundial:
Update on education policies in the 2020 legislature
Florida business leaders have joined the fight to increase teacher pay.
This year, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced a proposal to set a statewide minimum teacher salary at $47,500 and to create a new bonus program. The business community agreed this will foster long-term success and a stronger education system. Emily Mahoney, state government reporter for the Tampa Bay Times and the Miami Herald’s Tallahassee Bureau, has been following the fight in Tallahassee and joined Sundial. Also, Mahoney gives us an update on school vouchers and the debate about discrimination against LGBTQ students in Florida schools.
A look at how U-visas are handled in South Florida
An investigation by Reveal, a public radio program from the Center for Investigative Reporting, found that many police departments were making it hard for immigrants to report crimes.
The City of Miami Police Department, like other departments across the country serving large immigrant populations, routinely created barriers for undocumented immigrants to be granted U- visas. The U-visa is a protection that grants legal status to immigrants assisting law enforcement with a case, so they can cooperate without fear of deportation. Between 2016 and 2018, the Miami Police Department approved only 27 of 235 U-visa certification requests.
Following the investigation, the Miami PD made changes to its rules. Reveal immigration reporter Laura Morel joined Sundial to talk about her story on U-visas and how police departments were not using the visa as intended.
A documentary about the Parkland school shooting
A new ABC News documentary, "After Parkland," explores how parents and students have recovered from the Parkland school shooting and been inspired to take action.
This week marks two years since 16 students and one teacher were killed at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School campus.
“Those first days are very difficult,” says filmmaker Jake Lefferman. “We wanted to make sure that the students and families were comfortable with us.”
ABC News filmmakers Lefferman and Emily Taguchi joined Sundial to talk about the documentary, which will be screened nationwide in select theaters starting Feb. 12 and become available on Hulu beginning Feb. 19.