education

An administrative law judge Wednesday rejected a request by the Florida Department of Health to dismiss a challenge by six school boards to a rule that seeks to prevent student mask mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic. The decision by Judge Brian Newman came a day before a hearing is scheduled to start in the challenge filed by the school boards in Miami-Dade, Broward, Orange, Duval, Alachua and Leon counties.

The Florida Department of Health on Friday proposed a long-term rule to try to prevent school mask mandates and give parents more authority to decide whether children who have been exposed to COVID-19 should be able to attend school.

A plea for help by the National School Boards Association is having a ripple effect in politics—riling local school board members, already-angry parents, and causing the Florida Association of School Boards to distance itself from its national arm. In Leon County, angry parents blasted their local school board after the national association likened certain threats to domestic terrorism.

Vickie Cartwright isn’t Broward’s permanent schools’ superintendent — at least not yet. The School Board voted 6 to 3 on Tuesday to reject a request by member Nora Rupert to forgo a national superintendent search and immediately offer the long-term job to Cartwright, who has been interim superintendent since Aug. 1.

The Leon County School District has dropped its mask requirements for students in grades Pre-K through 8th. Leon Superintendent Rocky Hanna says he’s following through on his promise to parents to revisit the policy when positivity rates fell.

The ongoing drama between Miami city commissioners and soon-to-be former-Police Chief Art Acevedo. Why thousands of Broward students aren't in classrooms. Plus, an atmospheric scientist's plea for more climate change conversations.

Attorneys for families of children with disabilities have asked a federal appeals court to block an executive order by Gov. Ron DeSantis aimed at preventing school mask requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic. The attorneys filed a 34-page motion Thursday at the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals seeking an injunction against the executive order while an appeal of a lower-court ruling moves forward.

The Florida Board of Education voted during a conference call on Thursday afternoon to sanction eight districts — including the three large public school systems in South Florida — for defying state rules that guarantee parents the choice of whether their children wear masks. As of now, the districts are allowing opt outs for only medical reasons.

Test-to-stay policies could help keep students in in-person school. But amid a national shortage, rapid tests can be hard to come by, and the practice isn't common.

Florida is the last state to submit a plan to the U.S. Department of Education that's required before more than $2.3 billion in federal aid for Florida schools can be released.

Attorneys for the school boards in Miami-Dade, Broward, Orange, Duval, Alachua and Leon counties filed the challenge late Wednesday afternoon at the state Division of Administrative Hearings. The districts have required students to wear masks to try to prevent the spread of COVID-19, bucking Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration on the issue.

Former Florida Congresswoman Gwen Graham, who ran for governor in 2018, was cited for her "remarkable record of service and impact."