Governor Ron DeSantis Announces Proposal to Increase Minimum Salary for Florida Teachers

Governor Ron DeSantis announced Monday his proposal to increase the minimum salary for teachers across the state. The Governor’s proposed 2020 budget recommendation will include a pay raise for more than 101,000 teachers in Florida by raising the minimum salary to $47,500.

According to the National Education Association, Florida ranks 26th in the nation for starting teacher pay at $37,636. With this investment of over $600 million, raising the minimum salary to $47,500 will rank Florida 2nd in the nation for starting teacher pay. [Source: Governor's Press Office]

Here are the Florida colleges with the highest entry-level salaries

When it comes to entry-level salaries, some colleges and universities help students get a head start faster than others in the Sunshine State. SmartAsset took a look at Florida's public and private colleges to find which campuses provide the most value to students. The company considered several factors, including tuition cost, average entry-level salary and financial aid averages. One Tampa Bay college made the list — the University of South Florida at No. 9. The college had a higher student retention rate and starting salary for graduates than the state average. [Source: South Florida Business Journal]

Florida to use VW money for cleaner buses

New public-transit and school buses that run on electricity and alternative fuels would get much of Florida’s share of a federal payout from a Volkswagen emissions scandal, under a plan rolled out Tuesday by the state. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection issued what is known as a request for information on a $116.4 million initiative intended to voluntarily remove older buses from the road. [Source: News Service of Florida]

Florida Department of Education Seeks Public’s Input

One of Governor DeSantis’ campaign promises was to eliminate “all vestiges of the Common Core” from Florida’s education system as it stands today. Once in office, DeSantis even went as far as issuing an executive order to eliminate the “Common Core.” For the past several months since DeSantis took office, educators from the state have been working on revising Florida’s K-12 English-Language Arts and Math standards as they inch closer to DeSantis’ goals.

Now that the second draft of the proposed changes is out, the Florida Department of Education wants to hear from the state’s public. The department just announced nine separate hearings that’ll take place across the state, beginning October 7th and stretching out until October 23rd. [Source: Florida Insider]

UWF cybersecurity director appointed to Florida Cybersecurity Task Force

Dr. Eman El-Sheikh, director of the University of West Florida Center for Cybersecurity, will serve on the newly established Florida Cybersecurity Task Force. Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed El-Sheikh, the only higher education Gubernatorial appointee on the task force. The task force will be chaired by Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez and includes the state chief information officer, state chief information security officer and representatives from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and Division of Cybersecurity Management. Cybersecurity executives from Florida Blue, Memorial Healthcare System, NextEra Energy, PartsHawk, Publix and Walt Disney World Resort will join El-Sheikh on the task force. [Source: UWF Center for Cybersecurity]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Secretary of Education Awards University of North Florida $1.6M Grant for Innovative Teacher Prep [UNF]
UNF’s College of Education and Human Services was awarded a $1.6 million Teacher Quality Partnership grant from the U.S. Department of Education. UNF is the only university in Florida to receive new funding.

› National Education Group Apologizes for Inaccurate Report On Florida School Spending [WLRN]
A national education reform advocacy group that released a report last week arguing Florida’s urban school districts spend less on schools with a majority of nonwhite students has acknowledged the analysis was flawed and issued a new study with an apology.

› Florida begins arming teachers as large school districts rebuff controversial program [Fox News]
Teachers in seven Florida county school districts will soon be locked and loaded thanks to a state law enacted this month that provides schools with the option to allow teachers to carry concealed guns.

› Schools to explore countywide college promise program [Miami Today]
College promise programs can mean a real opportunity for secondary level schooling for many facing the reality of today’s costly tuition.