New bill targets start times for Florida middle schools, high schools

Florida Education News-South Florida Sun Sentinel 1/20 2:11A Jim Saunders

TALLAHASSEE — With Florida school districts facing a 2026 deadline, a Senate Republican  filed a proposal that would repeal requirements aimed at later start times for many high schools. The proposal (SB 296), filed Friday by Sen. Jennifer...

Will Broward close one school or five? The proposals expected up ahead

Florida Education News-South Florida Sun Sentinel 1/18 9:25P Scott Travis

A yearlong effort to shrink the size of Broward schools for this fall could end with the School Board deciding to close one school. Or maybe five. The School Board is expected to consider separate proposals Wednesday from Superintendent Howard...

Banning cellphones in schools gains popularity in red and blue states

Florida Education News-South Florida Sun Sentinel 1/17 6:29A Associated Press

By ANDREW DeMILLO LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas’ Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and California’s Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom have little in common ideologically, but the two have both been vocal supporters of an idea that’s been...

How to get student loan relief after the L.A. wildfires

Florida Education News-South Florida Sun Sentinel 1/17 2:00A Nerdwallet

By Eliza Haverstock, NerdWallet Wildfires have burned at least 12,000 homes, buildings and other structures in Los Angeles, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection’s latest estimates. If the L.A. wildfires have...

Florida bill would ban students in the US without legal permission from some public universities

Florida Education News-South Florida Sun Sentinel 1/14 8:34A Kate Payne

TALLAHASSEE  — A Florida state lawmaker has filed a bill that would ban some public colleges and universities from admitting immigrants who are in the country without legal permission. The proposal comes the day after Gov. Ron DeSantis called for...

Millions have had student loans canceled under Biden — despite the collapse of his forgiveness plan

Florida Education News-South Florida Sun Sentinel 1/13 5:44A Associated Press

By COLLIN BINKLEY WASHINGTON (AP) — Despite failing to deliver his promise for broad student loan forgiveness, President Joe Biden has now overseen the cancellation of student loans for more than 5 million Americans — more than any other president...

Some US lawmakers want more Christianity in the classroom. Trump could embolden their plans

Florida Education News-South Florida Sun Sentinel 1/13 4:56A Associated Press

By MORIAH BALINGIT, AP Education Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Conservative lawmakers across the U.S. are pushing to introduce more Christianity to public school classrooms , testing the separation of church and state by inserting Bible references...

Trump wants to change colleges nationwide. GOP-led states offer a preview

Florida Education News-South Florida Sun Sentinel 1/9 5:42A Associated Press

By HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH and JOCELYN GECKER of The Associated Press, WILLIESHA MORRIS of AL.com, and KEVIN RICHERT of Idaho Education News Nearly a decade ago, intense protests over racial injustice rocked the University of Missouri’s flagship...

Lawmaker wants to reverse parts of Florida’s controversial teacher merit pay law

Florida Education News-South Florida Sun Sentinel 1/3 8:15A Steven Walker

A GOP state senator wants to nix Florida’s merit pay requirement for teachers, unwinding the first-in-the-nation policy pushed into law by Republicans, but fiercely opposed by most teachers, more than a decade ago. Sen. Ana Maria Rodriguez,...

Why do so many Florida universities hire politicians as presidents?

Florida Education News-South Florida Sun Sentinel 1/3 12:26A Ian Hodgson

Three of Florida’s public universities will likely select new presidents next year. There’s a good chance that at least one will be a former lawmaker. Nationally, less than half of college and university presidents come from outside academia,...

Broward schools watchdog expected to start in early 2025

Florida Education News-South Florida Sun Sentinel 1/2 3:04A Scott Travis

The new year brings some new oversight for Broward Schools, as the district makes final plans to become part of the county s Office of Inspector General. The office will start working in the school district in a couple of months, Marylin Batista,...

Broward schools aim to move past 10-year construction debacle

Florida Education News-South Florida Sun Sentinel 12/29 12:00A Scott Travis

It was a day of celebration as Riverside Elementary in Coral Springs unveiled a much-anticipated renovation to the school library, showing it was finally getting some return from the decade-old $800...

After 50 years at USF, this professor sees the times a-changin’

Florida Education News-South Florida Sun Sentinel 12/24 10:33P Divya Kumar

When Marvin Karlins was a freshman at the University of Minnesota in 1959, another freshman walked into his folk singing class and asked what it was about. “He wasn’t great, but he played guitar,”...

Broward school calendar includes longer middle school days and Hindu holiday

Florida Education News-South Florida Sun Sentinel 12/14 9:00P Scott Travis

Broward middle school students would have slightly longer school days next year to enable all students to get a Hindu holiday off, under a recommended 2025-26 school calendar. The calendar would also enable schools to finish the first semester...

Will Florida end in-state tuition for thousands of “dreamers”?

Florida Education News-South Florida Sun Sentinel 12/14 12:00A Jeffrey Schweers

TALLAHASSEE For a decade, children brought into the country illegally by their undocumented parents could enroll in a state college or university for the same fee as in-state residents, if they attended a Florida high school for three years. But...