March 19, 2024
Florida sits at center of national debate over education policy

Florida Trend Education

Florida sits at center of national debate over education policy

| 11/17/2022

Florida sits at center of national debate over education policy

Across the nation, school teachers and administrators are facing growing numbers of rules and laws dictating what they can teach, and how. The pressure is causing many to leave, with polarization over cultural issues intensifying. The departures are not limited to one side of the political aisle, either. Percentages of educators reporting that they’ve been harassed because of policies and procedures have risen. The effects are being felt by students, too. And Florida appears to be at the epicenter of it all. More from the Tampa Bay Times and NPR.

Florida to create 'Florida-specific' behavioral health survey for students

Mental health in kids is declining. It's something we've heard in recent years as the pandemic took a toll on children in and out of the classroom. But what does that really look like here in Florida? Suicide is the second leading cause of death in adolescents. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) offers a survey to track behavioral health trends, called the Youth Risk Behavior Survey. [Source: WTSP]

Florida Trend Exclusive
UNF's Brooks College of Health boosts hands-on training with new simulation center

Nursing students at the University of North Florida Brooks College of Health have a new simulation center for hands-on training. Part of the UNF MedNexus facility on the campus of Florida State College at Jacksonville/Deerwood, the center has eight simulation areas, including a home-care apartment simulation room, an OR/ER flex room, a skills lab, and rooms for trauma, birthing and pediatrics. [Source: Florida Trend]

Florida public university leaders object to proposed tenure rules tied to controversial state law

Leaders of Florida’s public universities are objecting to a proposed system that would evaluate tenured faculty members every five years, arguing elements of it are vague and that it duplicates existing policies. The State University System of Florida issued a draft regulation that would set up the evaluations, called post-tenure reviews. A recently passed state law, dubbed the Stop WOKE Act, allows system officials to require post-tenure reviews. [Source: Higher Ed Dive]

Homeless students undercounted in schools across Florida and the nation

Homeless students have educational rights that are outlined and protected in federal law. Yet every year, thousands of children slip through the cracks, as their districts undercount their numbers if they report any homelessness at all. The scenario plays itself out in Florida, as well as in the rest of the nation. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Board fires schools chief after Parkland massacre report
The superintendent of Florida’s second-largest school district was fired after a late-night motion from a board member appointed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis following a grand jury report into the Parkland school massacre. The board voted 5-4 to dismiss Broward Schools Superintendent Vickie Cartwright, who has held the position since summer 2021, after board member Daniel Foganholi brought up the surprise motion Monday night.

› FGCU president search down to one finalist
Florida Gulf Coast University is down to one candidate in the search for a successor to retiring President Mike Martin, after two finalists dropped out in the past week. Robert Gregerson, president of the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg and a former dean of FGCU’s College of Arts and Sciences, will be the only finalist considered by the school’s Board of Trustees during a meeting Thursday.

› USF restarts provost search after 4 finalists don’t make the cut
The University of South Florida’s national search for a top academic officer is back to the drawing board after President Rhea Law announced that none of the finalists to be provost were still under consideration. The search, in its sixth month, will continue until USF finds “the best possible fit with the right vision and experience,” Law said in a message to the university community Wednesday.

› UF student body president no longer faces impeachment for her Ben Sasse vote
An effort to impeach University of Florida student body president Lauren Lemasters for her vote in favor of making Sen. Ben Sasse the school’s next president has been halted. The student government judiciary committee, made up of nine people from Lemasters’ Gator party, decided that her actions in voting for Sasse as a member of the university’s board of trustees did not constitute malfeasance.

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