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Rule change allows football at state colleges

Rule change allows football at state colleges

Football programs could come to Florida’s state college system after top education officials Wednesday repealed a rule that has prohibited colleges from having teams. The State Board of Education approved repealing the decades-old rule. “Currently, the rule restricts the ability for Florida College System institutions from having a NJCAA (National Junior College Athletic Association) football team. Upon review, it was determined that the Florida Department of Education no longer has statutory authority to have this rule,” an overview of the repeal proposal said. [Source: News Service of Florida]

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UF scientists hope to make vanilla a cash crop in Florida

University of Florida scientists in Homestead hope to add a new crop to the state’s agricultural porfolio. Last year, a research team led by UF plant breeder Alan Chambers successfully sequenced the genome of the commercial species of vanilla. Chambers, an assistant professor of horticultural sciences at UF’s Tropical Research and Education Center, says the DNA information will help South Florida growers cultivate vanilla that’s disease-resistant and highyielding. [Source: Florida Trend]

Florida home to 9 of top 50 colleges in South, according to new study

A new WalletHub study examining the quality of colleges and universities in the United States showed almost 20 percent of the best colleges in the South are in Florida. Regional rankings produced in the WalletHub study said the best school in Florida is the University of Florida, home to the Gators. It’s ranked at No. 5, just one rank below the Georgia Institute of Technology for the 2022 academic year. [Source: WFLA]

Parkland families reach $25 million settlement with school district

The families of 52 people killed, injured or traumatized during the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High have reached a $25 million settlement with the Broward School District, the lawyer for the families confirmed Monday. The largest payments will go to the 17 families whose children or spouses were killed, and they will each receive an equal amount, attorney David Brill said. Brill would not provide further detail on amounts or how the money will be divided. [Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel]

Florida lawmaker proposes adding social media literacy to classroom education

Florida State Senator Danny Burgess (R-District 20) wants to empower students with information, pushing a new bill that would require schools to teach so-called social media literacy in the classrooms. "The classroom is critically important especially in the world of social media where parents may not have been engaged in social media may not know a lot of the ins and outs of social media," Burgess said. The father of three says while there's plenty of good associated with apps like Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok, there are also pitfalls. [Source: WTVT]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› McRorie stepping down as FSU Provost
As another sign of changes after Richard McCullough took over as president, Florida State University Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Sally McRorie announced Tuesday she will step down as an administrator and return to the faculty. McRorie, who became an FSU faculty member in 1994, has been provost since 2015. Among her earlier roles was dean of the College of Visual Arts, Theatre and Dance.

› Up and away: Young Brevard minorities complete aviation STEM course
After weeks of running through pre-flight checklists, checking calculations, and even flying through the skies above Brevard County, students with the 99th Squadron are set to complete their training. The nonprofit organization based in Palm Bay is named after the famed Black unit that included pilots from the Tuskegee Institute training program.

› University of Florida program helps students discover local Gainesville restaurants
Local Restaurant Row is a new program circulating restaurants out of the University of Florida’s Reitz Union Food Court, allowing 10 local businesses the opportunity to market their restaurants or food truck menus to the UF community. In response to student feedback and after consulting with the UF Food Service Advisory Committee, the Office of Business Services sought to include more diverse and local offerings in UF’s dining program.

› Effort to replace Hillsborough school mascots is stalled, parent leader says
School mascots are again a source of controversy in the Hillsborough County Public Schools, and this time it’s because of stalled community meetings. The chairperson of a parent advisory committee, Shannon Durant, says the district scheduled a series of town hall meetings in September to consider the future of Chamberlain and East Bay high schools, which both have Native American-theme mascots. Chamberlain has the Chiefs; East Bay has the Indians.