As social media ban advances, critics ask, What about parental rights?

| 2/15/2024

As social media ban advances, critics ask, What about parental rights?

Opposition is mounting as a proposal to bar children under 16 from social media platforms gains more steam among Florida lawmakers. And it’s relying heavily on the language of parental rights that state Republicans have leaned on when promoting other bills relating to what students can read, learn and talk about in schools. More from the Tampa Bay Times and Florida Politics.

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Education guru

Education was calling for Adam Giery. His mother was a teacher — he always dreamed of following in her footsteps — and he was inspired by his own teachers. “I'm a product of an American public education system that just wouldn't expect less from me,” Giery explains. “My teachers were there for me, my teachers set a very high bar and when given the choice to pursue a profession, ‘teacher’ felt like the answer.” [Source: Florida Trend]

Proposal would give limited college aid to high school dropouts

A bill that would allow people who have dropped out of high school to get tuition waivers to pursue diplomas and workforce credentials at Florida colleges got unanimous backing Wednesday from a key House committee. But some members of the House Education & Employment Committee raised concerns and questioned whether, as one Republican put it, the bill would give high school drop-outs a “better deal” than students who graduate. More from the News Service of Florida and the Tampa Bay Times.

School employee unions struggle to meet tougher state rules to survive

Public sector workers throughout Florida, including teachers and non-instructional school employees, voiced loud opposition in 2023 as state lawmakers pushed through legislation making it harder for them to retain their union representation. They warned that the measure, which required 60% of all eligible employees to join while also barring employers from using paycheck deductions to collect union dues, could kill off the collective bargaining associations. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]

Two Florida universities have more than $1 billion in endowments to invest on campus

How much money a university receives from donors can play a big role in how well it serves its students — making the size of a school’s endowment an important factor. Schools use endowments for a wide range of things, from financing extra professorships and doling out scholarships to constructing new buildings or entire degree programs. The largest endowment falls to the University of Florida, which was $2.4 billion in 2021. That’s nearly double the amount of the state’s second largest – the University of Miami, with $1.4 billion. [Source: Gainesville Sun]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› As Jacksonville grows, UNF aims to enroll 25,000 students by 2028, raise academic profile [Florida Times-Union]
University of North Florida officials are nursing dramatic plans to grow enrollment by nearly 50 percent over five years, reaching 25,000 students by 2028. They’ve embraced the first new on-campus housing construction in 15 years, a 521-bed dorm for honors students, as a sign of changes to come.

› Hillsborough has a new way of teaching kids to read. Inside one classroom. [Tampa Bay Times]
For years, educators have talked about the importance of getting children to read by the end of third grade. Some schools have struggled to achieve that goal. Wondering why, a veteran teacher at Bay Crest Elementary in Hillsborough County researched different approaches in search of better outcomes.

› Orange Technical College aims to beef up skilled labor workforce in Central Florida [WFTV]
February is Career and Technical Education Month. It’s a time to recognize the value that CTE programs offer to students, the workforce, and the overall economy. Orange Technical College is training its students to help fill a skilled labor shortage in Central Florida. From surgical technology, to cosmetology, to construction, OTC offers dozens of programs for students in a unique setting.

› $5M gift to UM to help elevate student entrepreneurs with new accelerator program and funding [Refresh Miami]
The University of Miami has long empowered aspiring engineers, architects, and entrepreneurs from all disciplines to develop design ideas as part of their coursework and capstone projects. The next step — the ability to launch student-created concepts in the marketplace — has received a significant boost with a $5 million pledge from University alumnus Angel Alvarez, founder and chairman of ABB OPTICAL, and his family to establish the University Student Startup Accelerator or USTAAR.

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