March 29, 2024
Florida shops for new accreditors

Florida Trend Education

Florida shops for new accreditors

| 12/15/2022

Florida shops for new accreditors

Florida officials have been meeting with accreditors since early summer, sources at various accrediting bodies told Inside Higher Ed. And according to a little-covered public meeting in August, state officials and college presidents seem especially keen on one organization as a potential accreditor: the Higher Learning Commission, the largest of the nation’s major accrediting bodies. [Source: Inside Higher Ed]

Florida schools still need more teachers

The school year began with a teacher shortage severe enough to have district officials talking about emergency declarations. Many classes went from substitute to substitute, if they were lucky enough to find one. Plenty of instances found the teachers in the school giving up their planning time to cover the openings, pushing them to the brink, too. As the semester nears an end, the numbers don’t look much better. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]

Many kids are struggling. Is special education the answer?

Schools contending with soaring student mental health needs and other challenges have been struggling to determine just how much the pandemic is to blame. Are the challenges the sign of a disability that will impair a student’s learning long term, or something more temporary? It all adds to the desperation of parents trying to figure out how best to help their children. If a child doesn’t qualify for special education, where should parents go for help? [Source: WUSF]

Florida ranks No. 1 in parent-led education

Florida ranked first in the United States for parental involvement in education, according to the Center for Education Reform’s Parent Power Index. The index is released annually and measures the policies that exist in each state. Those policies are ranked by whether they allowed parental choice in what their child’s education would be, and if the needs of the student and their families were considered first. More from the  Center Square and Florida Trend.

Florida Board of Education to scrutinize LGBTQ support guides

The State Board of Education is slated this week to scrutinize LGBTQ support guides and bathroom policies for transgender students in 10 school districts, as state officials question whether they are violating a law known as the "Parents' Bill of Rights" and other measures. The Parents' Bill of Rights relates to what families are entitled to know about their children's education and health care. [Source: CBS News]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Ukrainian student graduates from USF after difficult path
Danylo Solomentsev knows that graduating from the University of South Florida is a milestone in his life. But as he thought about his time in college, many of the 22-year-old’s thoughts returned to his home in Ukraine. His college journey, he said, was nothing compared to what some of his classmates back home were facing. “What do I have to complain about?” Solomentsev said. “My classmates are fighting a war.”

› Disputes rage on over Florida school book selection, challenges
Florida’s school library book battle doesn’t seem to get a rest these days. A Department of Education work panel, already stirring up debate for its efforts, was supposed to meet virtually this week to finalize its recommendations. Then the department amped up the upset by shifting the session to an in-person activity, in Tallahassee, despite most of the members including the department liaison saying they couldn’t make it.

› South Florida’s colleges and universities continue to grow athletics programs
Barry University added five sports last month. In September, Nova Southeastern University added two new sports and brought back women’s rowing. And then there’s St. Thomas University, which has added 14 sports in the past four years, growing its athletics program to 28. That’s more sports than any other college or university in South Florida.

› Florida Lottery education contribution reaches $43 billion
The Florida Lottery announced on Tuesday that its life-to-date contributions to the state’s Educational Enhancement Trust Fund have exceeded $43 billion. Since the Lottery’s inception in 1988, Florida’s public schools have received more than $23 billion, while colleges and universities have received a combined total of more than $11 billion, according to a press release from lottery officials.

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