Florida student test results arrive. School grades loom.
Slightly over half of students scored at or above grade level in many of the topics, with that level rising to 70% in civics, biology and U.S. history. The outcomes are up from the previous year. With the score information published, attention next turns to school grades — a compilation measure that is more easily digestible to the general public, but which also carries financial and oversight implications. More from the Tampa Bay Times and the Florida Phoenix.
Florida Trend Exclusive
Building boom
In response to the campus housing crunch, Florida universities are putting on their hard hats and launching ambitious and expensive building plans to dramatically increase the number of student beds on campus. Even as new residence halls sprout from the ground, they’re noticeably different from the student dorms of yesteryear. They tend to have more amenities, for one thing. [Source: Florida Trend]
Florida out-of-state tuition could go up for first time since 2012
Students entering Florida for higher education may want to keep an eye on the price tag now that universities have permission to increase tuition on out-of-state students. Out-of-state tuition has not been changed at any public institution in Florida since 2012, when University of South Florida raised it to $491 per credit hour. At Florida State University, out-of-state tuition for graduate students has not increased since 2004. [Source: Florida Phoenix]
Driver’s ed now mandated for Florida teens, but not lessons behind a wheel
Florida teenagers will need to take a driver’s education class to earn their learner’s permit starting next month, thanks to a new state law that eliminates a shorter online course many relied on to get on the road. The new law still does not require teens to have formal, on-the-road driving lessons, but it does require a longer online course before teens can get their permit at age 15. The motor safety advocate who helped craft the bill hopes down the road Florida will demand behind-the-wheel classes before young drivers are licensed. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]
Can kids be safe and unplugged at school? This Boca startup says yes
When Fiorella Occhionero started researching screen time and childhood development, she wasn’t expecting it to change the course of her career. The longtime manufacturing executive and mother of two had started digging into how schools were handling smartphones. And what she found didn’t sit right. Occhionero’s concerns led to the creation of Focus Safe, a startup based in Boca Raton that offers software to help schools manage student-owned devices during class time. The product isn’t designed to block phones entirely but rather restrict nonessential use in a way that works for parents, educators, and kids alike. [Source: Refresh Miami]
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› Leon County School Board approves AI policy
The Leon County School Board has approved a new artificial intelligence policy for students and faculty to follow as AI grows in popularity in the education sector. Prior to the approval June 17, students did not have access to AI chatbots on school district networks or devices, but teachers have used AI for lesson planning. With the green light from the board, district staff can now explore software options for implementation and to train teachers ahead of the start of the 2025-26 school year.
› Pinellas schools bracing for much tighter budget next year
Pinellas County school district officials are more thankful than ever that voters approved a doubled local property tax referendum in November. Without the added revenue, projected to generate $145 million in 2026, the district would be facing one of its worst financial pictures in years. Projections for its $1.1 billion budget, introduced in a Tuesday workshop, are awash in negative numbers from state and federal sources, with per-student funding rising by slightly more than 1% — well below inflation — while student enrollment declines by about 3,000.
› Jacksonville gives University of Florida land, $105 million for graduate campus in LaVilla
In a vote that ushers in the University of Florida to build a graduate center campus in LaVilla, the Jacksonville City Council gave final approval June 24 to legislation providing city funding and property for the project. Council voted 16-0 to convey five properties to UF, including one the city is acquiring through an exchange of city-owned property, and contribute $105 million in Duval County taxpayer funding to the campus.
› ‘Betrayal’: Donor yanks $1M from FIU over undocumented student tuition hike
Miami businessman and philanthropist Miguel “Mike” Fernandez has suspended a $1 million donation to Florida International University in protest of Florida’s decision to strip in-state tuition benefits from undocumented students — a policy that was until recently endorsed by FIU’s new president, Jeanette Nuñez. In a June 4 letter to Shlomi Dinar, dean of FIU’s Steven J. Green School of International & Public Affairs, Fernandez denounced the tuition hike as “punitive” and called for the state to restore “fairness and opportunity.”