Public Education

The Monroe County School District announced that two new principals would take over schools that are also their alma maters. It means that all three public high schools in the Florida Keys are run by educators who hold diplomas from the same schools they lead.

Florida is second in the nation in school book censorship. The director of a library in Palm Beach County is concerned that public libraries could start facing the same challenges.

The bill would make every Florida student eligible for taxpayer-backed school vouchers — a priority of House Speaker Paul Renner of Palm Coast.

The new Economic Prosperity and Education Coalition or EPEC was launched to oppose the policies of Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Republican-controlled state legislature. The collective includes Equality Florida, United Teachers of Dade, the South Dade Branch of the NAACP and P.S. 305.

Calling it a move toward “universal choice,” House Speaker Paul Renner on Thursday announced legislation (HB 1), a proposal that would make every student in Florida eligible for school vouchers — a move that Democrats blasted as a Republican attack on public education.

At Sigsbee Charter School, located within a Navy base in Key West, the pandemic led to a drastic increase in mental health referrals and a decline in students taking science, technology, engineering and math classes. Teachers believe the issues are linked — and now they will have access to a grant to tackle the problem.

During a visit to Broward schools, Randi Weingarten of the American Federation of Teachers — one of the country's largest teachers unions — called on Gov. Ron DeSantis to work with her members to help students, rather than trying to "divide parents and teachers" through what she says are divisive and damaging policies.

The state of Florida is estimated to divert more than $1 billion in public funding to private schools during the 2022-2023 school year, according to an analysis by the Florida Policy Institute and the Education Law Center. Lawmakers have significantly expanded the state's school voucher system in recent years. “Enough is enough,” said one superintendent.

School board races usually don’t get much hype. That might be changing this election season.

Across the country and in Florida, more families are choosing homeschool. In our region, thousands more students are learning from home now than before the COVID-19 pandemic. What was once considered an alternative could be moving toward the mainstream.

School districts across Florida are trying to figure out how to comply with new state laws that restrict how schools can teach about sexual orientation, gender identity, race and discrimination. In Palm Beach County schools, teachers are being told to review the books in their classroom libraries for references to racism and sexism.

Democratic State Sen. Gary Farmer talks about his own party’s current shortcomings. A Florida educator who teaches future teachers has something to say about the state’s education policies. Plus, we talk with the publisher of Islandia Journal about extinct species and hidden Florida history.