School book challenges continue despite new Florida rules
The big story: In recent weeks, Florida officials have taken steps to dampen school book challenges, adopting laws and rules aimed at cutting the number of titles removed from shelves.
The efforts didn’t change the underlying laws that prompted some school districts to pull materials while reviewing content. And they don’t seem to be stopping the flow of community complaints.
The Hillsborough County School Board will hear two on Monday. Hernando County’s board will take up 24 a week later. Author Sonya Sones hopes to convince the Hernando district to leave her book “The Opposite of Innocent” available for teens who might benefit from it. Read more here.
Florida Freedom to Read Project leaders say confusion over what state laws say has led to questions over which books may remain, WGCU reports.
In higher ed
Campus protests: Protests over the Israel-Hamas war arrived at some of Florida’s university campuses, with more planned. The tone has been mostly pro-Palestinian, including demands that schools divest from firms that have interest in Israel’s war efforts. • Florida State University has asked pro-Palestine protesters to remove tents from campus, later turning sprinklers on the site, Florida Phoenix reports. • Here are some photos from UF’s protest from WUFT.
Math lessons: Northwest Florida State College students no longer must take math courses that are not part of their degree plans, the Northwest Florida Daily News reports.
University presidents: Florida Polytechnic University trustees approved a three-year contract with a starting salary of $490,000 for incoming president Devin Stephenson, News Service of Florida reports.
From the court docket ... The state of Florida officially joined Florida State University in its lawsuit against the Atlantic Coast Conference, demanding records that the conference has refused to produce.
K-12 hot topics
Career education: Palm Harbor Middle School in Pinellas County has launched a new medical academy, WFTS reports.
Employee discipline: Three cheer coaches at a Leon County high school were removed after an investigation determined they gave alcohol and drugs to students during a cheer travel trip, the Tallahassee Democrat reports. • The Duval County school district announced plans to overhaul its teacher misconduct policies and procedures, WTLV reports.
Job cuts: Concerns are rising that “massive” job cuts are coming to Duval County schools as the district deals with financial issues, WTLV reports.
Lunch line: Central Florida schools are getting ready for new federal nutrition guidelines that will reduce the amount of sugar and sodium in cafeteria offerings, WMFE reports.
Security: A national conference on student safety and security came to Orlando, where the latest equipment was on display, Spectrum 13 reports.
Title IX: Florida education commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. told school districts to put off implementing new federal Title IX guidelines protecting transgender students, the Tallahassee Democrat reports. “Florida will fight this,” Diaz wrote. Officials in Louisiana, Oklahoma and South Carolina took a similar stance.
From the police blotter ... A volunteer coach at a Cape Coral charter school was arrested on accusations of sending sexually explicit text messages to a student, WBBH reports. • A former Palm Beach County substitute teacher was arrested on additional charges of sexual battery against a student after another victim came forward, WPTV reports.
Don’t miss a story. Here’s a link to yesterday’s roundup.
Before you go ... Heart plays Tampa tonight. Wonder if they’ll do this classic tribute?
