Florida Trend Exclusive
Operator wave
The private education gold rush is on in Florida, with new players offering everything from ‘microschools’ to AI-enabled learning hubs. Given demand for private school seats and Florida’s generally private-school friendly regulatory and funding landscape, a number of new operators with new models are venturing here. [Source: Florida Trend]
Florida files suit against textbook publishers, alleging unfair pricing
Gov. Ron DeSantis and Attorney General James Uthmeier announced Tuesday that the state is suing two textbook publishers, alleging they’ve overcharged schools and Florida’s taxpayers. The lawsuit, filed in the state Circuit Court in Tallahassee, accuses McGraw Hill and Savvas Learning Co. of “systematically overcharging Florida school districts for instructional materials.” Florida law requires textbook publishers to charge the lowest price offered to any state or district to every other district in the state. [Source: Florida Phoenix]
Column: Florida’s future depends on stronger math education. Here’s how we get there
What is one thing that Florida’s business leaders, educators, families and philanthropic organizations all agree on? K–12 math education must improve if we want our students — and our state — to thrive. For years, Florida has rightly prioritized reading proficiency. Now, it’s clear to our state leaders that math deserves equal attention. According to recent data, 95% of Florida business leaders say it’s important for employees to be able to analyze data. Yet 90% report difficulty finding candidates who can do so. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]
Florida will phase out certificates of completion for students with disabilities
The Florida Board of Education voted to sunset certificates of completion for students with disabilities who attend K-12 schools in the state. These certificates were awarded to students who couldn’t complete the coursework needed for a diploma. Under a new Florida law, HB 1105, and the board’s vote, students with disabilities will no longer be able to get a certificate of completion at the end of their school career, starting this year. Students with severe disabilities who can’t earn a standard high school diploma, will leave school without any formal recognition upon graduation. [Source: Central Florida Public Media]
For these incarcerated students, Florida's online school has been a disaster
No matter the offense, states must educate students in juvenile detention. It’s a complicated challenge, no doubt — and success stories are scarce. Struggling to educate its more than 1,000 students in long-term confinement, Florida embarked last year on a risky experiment. Despite strong evidence that online learning failed many students during the pandemic, Florida juvenile justice leaders adopted the approach for 10- to 21-year-olds sentenced to residential commitment centers for offenses including theft, assault and drug abuse. [Source: AP]
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› Miami’s Teacher Accelerator Program filling public school teaching vacancies
This fall, 210 graduates of Achieve Miami’s Teacher Accelerator Program (TAP) are stepping into classrooms across Miami-Dade County, helping to fill teaching vacancies for the new academic year. The program, now in its third year, has grown nearly fivefold and has become the second-largest provider of teachers to Miami-Dade County Public Schools.
› At Tampa Bay’s Victory High, newly sober students get a second chance
Victory High is the only school in Florida where students have to have done drugs to get in, said its founder. Most come right out of rehab, after becoming addicted to alcohol, overdosing on fentanyl, shooting heroin. After passing out in parking lots and waking in emergency rooms. Trying to kill themselves. All before they were old enough to buy a beer.
› Florida education department tells Leon County it's not getting half a million dollars
Leon County’s after-school program is once again looking to the local Children’s Services Council for help propping up its budget. That move comes after the state last week informed 27 counties, including Leon, that they stand to lose nearly a third of their afterschool funding. Word of the funding change arrived on the first day of school. It meant the district was now facing a half-million-dollar budget hole.
› Jacksonville University College of Law Class of 2028 begins classes
The fourth group of first-year students at Jacksonville University College of Law began classes Aug. 11. The Class of 2028 comprises 39 women and 30 men, including the law school’s first transfer student and a visiting student. The incoming class increased the student population to 134, more than double the number of students at the campus than in the 2024-25 academic year.