Civil rights groups seek talks with Florida university leaders over protests
The big story: Florida’s response to pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses has prompted several civil rights groups to seek an audience with state higher education leaders.
They say they want the schools to do more to protect protesters’ constitutional rights to free speech and assembly. State officials have said they encourage intellectual freedom and a diversity of ideas, but the groups question whether that’s really occurring.
“This is a challenging moment for institutions of higher learning, but now is not the time for the forceful suppression of speech; it is an opportunity for meaningful dialogue,” the groups said in a letter to chancellor Ray Rodrigues. Read more here.
Hot topics
Board elections: Three Palm Beach County school board incumbents will not seek reelection, the Palm Beach Post reports.
Book challenges: The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression accused the state of Florida of misrepresenting statute relating to library books, leading to an increase in schools removing titles from shelves, the Tallahassee Democrat reports.
Cellphones: A Manatee County private school told students they could carry cellphones, but keep them off and out of sight. That didn’t work. So the school banned phones altogether, Bay News 9 reports.
Charter schools: Some Volusia County parents are raising concerns about the management and staff conduct at a local charter school, Space Coast Rocket reports.
Parent communication: The Leon County school district is rolling out a new system to send messages to parents during emergencies, such as the tornadoes it recently experienced, WCTV reports.
School grades: The Sumter County school district is fending off accusations that it improperly has reassigned low-performing students to avoid having their scores affect school grades, WKMG reports. Department of Education officials said the accusations go back to 2016-17.
Social studies standards: The Florida Department of Education is recommending revisions to what students learn in social studies classes. One thing it isn’t proposing any changes to is the controversial standard suggesting that slaves learned skills they benefited from, Politico Florida reports.
Student conduct: The Lee County School Board adopted new rules on vaping and artificial intelligence in its updated student code of conduct, WINK reports.
Superintendents: Former Lee County superintendent Christopher Bernier will become the next superintendent of Duval County schools, Jacksonville Today reports. Meanwhile, Duval’s interim superintendent responded to Department of Education concerns about student safety, Jacksonville Today reports.
From the police blotter ... A Brevard County teacher is under investigation by law enforcement over techniques used to break up a fight, WKMG reports. • An 11-year-old Indian River County middle school student was arrested on allegations of making a threat of violence against a school, TC Palm reports.
Don’t miss a story. Here’s a link to yesterday’s roundup.
Before you go ... Saxophonist David Sanborn, a Tampa native who led the smooth jazz movement in the 1980s, passed away earlier this month. Here’s one of his biggest hits to remember him by.
