Florida Trend Exclusive
Breakthrough season
From storm modeling to concussion prevention, Florida researchers are pushing boundaries across multiple disciplines. Humanity is going back to the moon, and maybe to Mars too. But how do you feed humans on the moon and Mars? Florida Tech senior Trent Causey is looking into it. The astrobiology student is working on extraterrestrial crop growth by using peanut shells to improve conditions for crop growth in lunar regolith, or moon soil. [Source: Florida Trend]
Nearly a third of Florida professors looking for work in another state
Citing state policy on tenure, elimination of diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, and the cost of living, Florida faculty laid out their frustrations in a recent survey. In a Faculty in the South survey conducted by various conferences of the American Association of University Professors, 31% of Florida respondents said they have applied for a job outside of Florida since 2023. That number was 25% among all survey respondents in the South. The same, 31% of Florida respondents, said they plan to seek employment in another state during the next hiring cycle. [Source: WUSF]
Column: Let’s turn Florida’s vacant schools into housing for teachers
Imagine taking three big Florida problems — our housing crisis, teacher shortage and glut of unused classroom space — and addressing them in a single blow. The idea of using vacant schools for housing isn’t new; then-Hillsborough Superintendent Addison Davis suggested the move several years ago as a means for generating value from these properties and better competing against other Florida school districts for teachers and staff. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]
Watchdog gives Florida 'D' grade for universities' free speech climate
Despite Florida being known for its prominent, top-ranked public and private universities, a national free speech group said it averaged a "D" grade for the schools' free speech climate. The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression released a report, which had been embargoed till midnight of Sept. 9, after surveying more than 68,000 students across the nation. The "2026 College Free Speech Rankings" evaluates universities based on student opinions and speech controversies on campus. [Source: Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
Florida school leaders offer caution, caveats as they OK their budgets
Tuesday was final budget approval day for school districts across Florida. Officials in several districts explained that although their budgets are balanced this year, they’re on tenderhooks looking ahead. Pinellas board chairperson Laura Hine said that while the state has touted its efforts to increase education funding by billions over the past four years, about 80% of that money has gone to “new systems of education,” not the traditional K-12 system that serves the vast majority of Florida’s children. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› Florida students score above national average on some subjects on nationwide standardized test
When compared with K-12 schools across the country, Florida made strides in some subjects and grade levels but fell behind in others, according to the results of a nationwide standardized test called the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP. Known as The Nation’s Report Card, NAEP is the only test that compares states’ math, reading, science and writing proficiency, measuring student performance in these subject areas in fourth, eighth, and 12th grade.
› Orange schools to reassign over 100 school teachers amid enrollment drops
More than 100 Orange County Public School teachers will be pulled from their schools and reassigned to others this month as the district works to manage a loss of almost 7,000 students this year. But with 116 teachers now “unassigned” — meaning they are not needed at their current school because of enrollment drops — and about 150 vacant instructional positions, OCPS expects no teachers will be out of a job, Superintendent Maria Vazquez said at a late Tuesday school board meeting.
› Seminole County schools partner with Space Florida to launch aerospace program
Seminole County students are getting a head start on some of Florida’s fastest-growing careers, thanks to a new partnership with Space Florida. The Space Florida Academy Program is rolling out across all nine high schools in the district. The idea is to give students real-world skills and industry certifications while they are still in school, so they graduate ready for both college and the workforce.
› Should Florida’s New College go private?
A former senior member of New College of Florida President Richard Corcoran’s administration is leading a push to privatize the institution — a dramatic turn for a conservative insider once tapped to help carry out Gov. Ron DeSantis’ ideological overhaul of the Sarasota-based school. Nathan Allen, a New College alumnus who served as Corcoran’s vice president of strategy and special projects in 2023 and 2024, said his experience inside the project left him disillusioned and convinced that the college’s future is not secure under the current administration or state control.