SARASOTA, Fla. – Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday appointed six new members to the New College of Florida Board of Trustees in a move that one appointee and conservative ally of DeSantis said is aimed at “recapturing higher education.” The picks will allow DeSantis to…
Read More Florida Gov. DeSantis Shakes Up Liberal University, Appoints 6 New Members To New College
As Gov. Ron DeSantis targets “trendy ideology” in higher education, his administration is asking state colleges and universities for information about resources they are putting into activities related to diversity, equity and inclusion, and critical race theory. DeSantis has made the fight against critical race…
Read More Florida Governor Ron DeSantis Targets “Trendy Ideology” In Higher Ed
Ten school districts whose LGBTQ support guides and other policies were called into question by the state Board of Education are in various stages of revising the documents, or in some cases have dropped the disputed guides, according to responses the board discussed Wednesday. State…
Read More Ten Florida School Districts Revising Student Support Guides
With a Jan. 1 deadline looming, a state Department of Education workgroup is crafting a training that all school-library workers must use in selecting books and other materials. But tension has simmered because some members of the panel don’t believe its recommendations go far enough.…
Read More Disagreements Surface Over Florida School Librarian Training
Kent Stermon, a Jacksonville-area businessman and member of the state university system’s Board of Governors, was found dead in an apparent suicide Thursday night, law enforcement officials confirmed on Friday. Stermon was found “deceased, alone in a locked vehicle” in the parking lot of a…
Read More Florida GOP Donor Found Dead In Locked Vehicle From Apparent Suicide
State Rep. Joe Harding resigned his House seat Thursday after being charged with fraudulently obtaining coronavirus-related business loans. Harding, R-Ocala, submitted his resignation a day after the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida announced a grand-jury indictment on charges of wire fraud,…
Read More Florida Lawmaker Joe Harding Resigns After Indictment
State Rep. Joe Harding has been indicted on charges of wire fraud, money laundering, and making false statements in an alleged scheme to defraud the Small Business Association and obtain coronavirus-related business loans, federal prosecutors announced Wednesday. Harding, R-Ocala, “obtained and attempted to obtain more…
Read More Florida Lawmaker Indicted On Fraud Charges
Last school year marked a more than 10-year low for Florida’s kindergarten and seventh-grade students completing all doses of required immunizations, according to a recent report from the state Department of Health. About 91.7 percent of kindergarten students in public and private schools statewide completed…
Read More Florida School Immunizations Slide
Citing a potential infringement of free-speech rights and other constitutional liberties, dozens of people gathered to challenge a rule proposed by Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration that would restrict the way protests can be conducted in Florida’s Capitol Complex. The state Department of Management Service’s proposal,…
Read More Controversial Proposal Aims To Restrict Protests In Florida Capitol
Florida had 5,077 incidents of students being involuntarily committed under a mental-health law known as the Baker Act during the past school year, data presented Wednesday to a school-safety commission showed. The Baker Act is a roughly 50-year-old state law that allows courts, law enforcement…
Read More Data Shows Thousands Of Students In Florida Committed Under Baker Act