Thousands of Florida teachers may receive money from class-action lawsuit

The legal fight over a controversial teacher bonus in Florida may soon come to an end. Thousands of minority teachers could now receive money as part of a settlement from a class-action lawsuit against the state. Several factors will determine how much they receive, includes how many teachers file claims. More from WFTV.

Florida lawmaker looks to limit restraint used on Baker Acted minors

The University of South Florida Baker Act Reporting Center reported more than 36,000 underaged people were involuntarily examined under the Baker Act. The numbers in that report show that there were about 1,186 involuntary examinations of children per 100,000 that year. HB 1027 from Rep. Kimberly Daniels, D-Jacksonville, would add to the current statute. Florida Politics reported that Daniels’ bill was drawn up after a report from the summer showed that a record number of minors were Baker Acted. More from WTSP.

Florida Board of Education adopts DeSantis budget as its own

Board members call the governor’s agenda ‘bold’ and ‘incredible,’ offer to help promote it. In an unusual but not uncharacteristic move, the Florida Board of Education met by phone Thursday to adopt Gov. Ron DeSantis’ education 2020-21 spending proposal as its own. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]

Tallahassee bobs and weaves as teenage time bombs tick, tock

Stony silence from Tallahassee leaders on a public safety crisis is never a good sign. In fact, it represents an abdication of leadership at the highest levels. Florida public schools face a mental health crisis that is putting lives at risk. In the last year and a half, more than 100 students have threatened to kill or shoot up a Florida school, records from just 10 counties show. [Source: South Florida SunSentinel]

Educational apps can benefit young children, study finds

Educational apps can be helpful in supporting early learning in young children, according to a new study led by researchers at FIU’s Center for Children and Families. The researchers reviewed 35 studies from all over the world that included nearly 5,000 children under the age of six playing with interactive apps, and measured their academic, cognitive, or social-emotional skill outcomes. [Source: FIU News]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› UF Health researchers to map hotspots to see if algal blooms pose health risks to humans [The Star]
Florida’s freshwater lakes, springs and waterways are increasingly threatened by harmful algal blooms that contaminate the water and endanger the lives of aquatic plants and animals. But do toxic algal blooms pose a threat to human health as well? With funding from the Florida Department of Health and the help of big data analytics, a team of researchers from the University of Florida and UF Health plans to find out.

› Florida Peninsula Insurance Company President elected to Florida State University’s RMI Executive Council Board [The Boca Newspaper]
Florida Peninsula Insurance Company president Clint Strauch was unanimously voted to serve on the Florida State University’s Risk Management and Insurance (RMI) Executive Council Board. Strauch is president of Florida Peninsula as well as its wholly owned subsidiary, Edison Insurance Company. He will serve a three-year term that began in the fall.

› UCF researchers’ model predicts what causes sea level rise on Florida’s coasts [WMFE]
University of Central Florida researchers have developed a model that leaders can use to plan for sea level rise in the state’s coastal regions. UCF Department of Civil, Environmental, and Construction Engineering’s Thomas Wahl says their model doesn’t predict when or where sea level rise will happen. But Wahl says it can look at historical data and determine which natural events have caused very high sea levels in coastal regions in the past.