Too many Florida kids are skipping school. What's being done about it?

| 2/22/2024

Too many Florida kids are skipping school. What’s being done about it?

About 31% of Florida students were chronically absent last school year — up from 20% in 2018, according to the state Department of Education. They are kids who have missed at least 10% of their classes. And while their numbers have started to shrink slightly, educators remain worried. State lawmakers in Florida are among those sounding the alarm. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]

Florida is one of 18 states to allow corporal punishment in schools. Will it change?

The state is one of 18 that continue to permit the practice, although data show the number of incidents has declined each year over the last decade. Still, legislation to limit corporal punishment in public and charter schools is unlikely to move in the current session, underscoring the enduring nature of this controversial approach to discipline. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]

Where does Florida rank among most and least educated states?

People who have college degrees earn around $600 to $1,200 more each week than those who don’t, according to a recent study from WalletHub on the most and least educated states. The personal finance company used metrics like percentage of high school, associate’s, bachelor’s and graduate or professional degree holders in each state to compare and determine the most and least educated states in the U.S. Other metrics used included the average quality of each state’s universities, racial gaps and gender gaps in educational attainment. [Source: TC Palm]

Want more face time with profs? These Florida schools have the most faculty per student

Some college students don’t mind classes in large lecture halls. But others seek out small class settings, with greater possibilities for interacting with professors. Not surprisingly, different schools offer different staffing levels when it comes to the number of faculty available to teach. Those levels have a direct effect on class sizes across a campus. And the differences don’t always play out the way you might expect. [Source: Palm Beach Post]

Few apply to Florida schools through DeSantis' order aimed at helping Jewish students, others

At least five people in the United States have applied to Florida universities through Gov. Ron DeSantis’ emergency order to encourage transfer students across the country who feel they experienced religious persecution on campus after the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks. The governor’s order announced last month waives application fees and, in some instances, grants in-state tuition to transfer applicants. [Source: Gainesville Sun]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Florida official defers to parents on if kids should return to school amid measles cluster [Miami Herald]
Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo on Tuesday said that parents and guardians should be the ones deciding whether their children will continue attending classes as the sixth case of measles has been confirmed at a Broward County elementary school. All the cases thus far have been reported at Manatee Bay Elementary School, a K-5 school located in Weston.

› Florida Holocaust Museum, USF will house Elie Wiesel collection [Tampa Bay Times]
The Florida Holocaust Museum and University of South Florida will soon become the permanent home for the collections of Elie Wiesel, the Nobel prize-winning Holocaust survivor, professor and writer who for years was a visiting professor at Eckerd College. Thomas Smith, a board member for the museum and vice provost for academics at USF’s St. Petersburg campus, said the center at the university will need approval from the state Board of Governors and is still in the earlier stages of planning.

› Leon County's first-ever school esports lab: Nims Middle's tech revolution [Tallahassee Democrat]
On a recent Friday morning, students at R. Frank Nims Middle School in Tallahassee were excited, not only for the weekend, but for the new facelift their school is about to get in the coming months. Along with an $8-million renovation project for a new cafeteria and gym, financed by the district's capital improvement fund, students will be getting a start-of-the-art esports lab, the first in the Leon County School District.

› Sarasota School Board approves resolution for November vote on property tax extension [Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
Sarasota County voters will determine this November whether to again extend an optional local property tax for the School District, after the School Board unanimously approved a resolution Tuesday evening to continue a referendum on the issue. The largely procedural vote ensures that the district brings the referendum before voters at the upcoming general election.

Tags: Education eNews

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FHSAA to potentially sanction esports in Florida schools

Florida home values have more than doubled in the past decade

Florida invests $850 million to advance Everglades restoration