By james art 
Around the country: Several tech firms are suing the state over its new law restricting children’s access to social media apps, Eckerd College in St. Petersburg reopened to students a month after closing due to Hurricanes Helena and Milton, Martin County Schools announce their teacher award winner of the Year award, cell phones are now banned during the school day for Dixie County students, Duval school officials begin hearings today on their plan to close some schools, and a Miami-Dade charter school seeks permission from the city of Hialeah to expand operations you are in a city park. Here are details on these and other stories from the state’s districts, private schools and colleges and universities:
Miami-Dade: Academica Charter School in Hialeah is asking the city for permission to expand into a public park. The City of Hialeah Educational Academy has leased part of Slade Park from the city since 2008 and now wants to replace two multipurpose fields with parking, a gym and classroom space. School officials say the space is needed to expand from 1,000 to 1,250 students. The city’s Planning and Zoning Board is expected to make a recommendation to the City Council by Nov. 13. Miami Herald.
Broward: An audit found gaps in how 15 middle and high schools report disciplinary actions to the district. Among the problems cited are schools routinely failing to complete written conduct and last-chance contracts with students, failing to document whether students actually received discipline and administrators failing to review more than 3,000 discipline cases brought to them since 2017. “We have already begun to address the concerns identified in the audit. We also identified instances of potential user error and areas requiring process improvement,” Deputy Chief Angela Fulton wrote in a letter to the auditor. Sun Sentinel. The Boyd H. Anderson High School Marching Band performs at a political rally Oct. 23 in Hallandale Beach for Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee. District spokesman John Sullivan says students and staff are prohibited from participating in political activities or events during school hours. Sullivan said a review of the incident suggests there was no intent to violate school rules, that Principal James Griffin “was not aware” of the group’s activities and that “appropriate administrative action will be taken.” The Voice of Florida.
Duvall: Hearings are scheduled today on the district’s plan to close six under-enrolled elementary schools at the end of the school year and replace a middle school leadership academy with specialized classes for middle and high school students who are falling behind academically in your classmates. Annie R. Morgan, Kings Trail, Don Brewer, Susie Tolbert, George Washington Carver and Hidden Oaks elementary would be closed and Bridge to Success programs would move to Butler Middle School, according to the proposal. A final vote on the plan by the school board is scheduled for Nov. 4. Florida Times-Union.
Brevard: Six early release days and one day that was set aside for teacher development were converted to full days for students to make up classroom instruction time lost when Hurricanes Helena and Milton closed schools, district officials announced. November 1, 8, 15 and 22, December 6 and April 18 and the originally planned teacher development day on February 17 will now be full school days. Brevard County School District. A cafeteria worker at Merritt Island High School has been arrested and charged with sending a student a photo of her bare breast. Ashley Pierce, who is also an after-school care provider at Anderson Elementary, was removed from both positions. Space Coast Daily.
St. John’s: Voters will elect a new representative Nov. 5 for the District 5 school board seat to replace Patrick Kannan, who decided not to seek re-election. Both candidates, Linda Thomson and Bethany Hilbert, have extensive experience in education. Thomson taught math and served as a principal during her 40-year career and retired as the district’s director of K-12 education curriculum in 2017. Hilbert has been a teacher since 2003 and works at Ketterlinus Elementary in St. Augustine. In the questionnaires, they discuss their background and what they see as the two biggest problems facing the field. Jacksonville today.
Escambia, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa: The number of students who left Escambia public schools with the help of state scholarships rose from 1,877 in the 2022-2023 school year to 2,367 in 2023-2024, according to statistics from Step Up For Students, which helps administer state scholarships and is the host of this blog. Okaloosa has lost about 300 students each year, and Santa Rosa has seen about 400 students leave on scholarships in the past two years. WEARING. Renewal of a half-cent sales tax to build and renovate schools, purchase land and upgrade technology is before Escambia voters on Nov. 5. The added tax was first approved in 1997 and, if renewed this year, would be in effect until December. 31, 2037. Expenditures from the tax are monitored by an oversight committee. Pensacola Gazette. Four Okaloosa County high school students have been selected as 2025 National Merit Scholarship semifinalists. Okaloosa County School District.
bay: A $1.5 million grant from the state’s Workforce Development Capital Incentive Program will be used to expand career and technical education programs, including agriculture, allied health assistance, construction trades, criminal justice and operations unmanned aerial systems. WMBB. Former City Commissioner Lynn Haven, who served 45 days in federal prison after pleading guilty to lying on a bank application in 2019, will keep her teaching certificate under a deal recently reached with the state Department of Education. Antonius Gene Barnes is on probation for two years, cannot be a school administrator or manage school funds, and must complete an ethics course and pay a $750 fine. WMBB.
Martin: Vanessa Molina-Council, a 4th grade teacher at Citrus Grove Elementary School in Palm City, was named the school district’s Teacher of the Year and is now eligible for the state award. AP geography and history teacher Samantha Pankhurst of Jensen Beach High was named high school teacher of the year, and Alicia Carter of Hidden Oaks Middle is teacher of the year for that grade level. TCPalm. The school property tax renewal is on the Nov. 5 ballot. First approved in 2018, the tax raises money for student safety and security, mental health, teacher recruitment and retention, professional development and academic initiatives. WPTV.
Gilchrist: Two candidates face off Nov. 5 in the race for the District 4 school board seat being vacated by Gina Geiger, who is running for superintendent. Tammy Moore is the Director of Human Resources for the Gilchrist County Board of Commissioners and her priorities are improving parent involvement and school safety. Patricia Hodge Fillman was a teacher and media specialist at Bell Elementary School for 25 years, and her campaign focused on getting resources, including higher pay, to teachers. WOFT.
Dixie: Students at Dixie County Middle School in Cross City are no longer allowed to use their cell phones at school. In the statement late last week, school officials asked parents to remind their children that phones should be turned off and kept in lockers or bags during the school day. “Cell phones have become a distraction and are interfering with our efforts to provide quality instruction to our students,” said Superintendent Mike Thomas. WCJB.
Colleges and Universities: A month after hurricanes Helena and Milton closed Eckerd College, the coastal school in St. Petersburg reopened Monday. In late September, Helene flooded classrooms and dormitories and closed the school, with classes held remotely. Two weeks later, Milton’s winds caused some damage and more water intrusion was reported. Students started coming back over the weekend and Monday was the first day of school. Spectrum news 9. WUSF.
Tech companies are suing the state: Trade associations representing social media companies Meta, Alphabet and Snapchat filed a lawsuit against the state Monday over a law signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis in March that restricts children’s access to their platforms. They argue that the law, which bans children under 14 from using many platforms and requires parental approval for those aged 15 and 16, violates free speech rights and “puts the state in charge of parenting”. Politico Florida. USA Today Florida Network. Florida News Service.
Schools of Excellence: More than 375 Florida K-12 schools have been named Schools of Excellence by the Florida Department of Education. The school’s rating is calculated based on five components of achievement, four components of knowledge acquisition, high school acceleration, graduation rate, and college and career acceleration. Schools are selected generally are in the 80th percentile class or higher. Florida Department of Education. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Charlotte Sun. WJXT.
Around the Nation: Marijuana use among American high school students has declined dramatically since 2011, according to a recent study by researchers at Florida Atlantic University. In 2011, 23.1% of these students reported using pot, but by 2021, that percentage had dropped to 15.8%. During the same period, the percentage of children who said they tried marijuana for the first time before age 13 dropped from 8.1 to 4.9 percent. Florida Atlantic University. The number of black students enrolled at historically black colleges and universities in the US is at its lowest rate since 1976. Only 28 percent of students enrolled at HBCUs today are black men, down from 36 percent 48 years ago. NPR.
Opinions about schools: We can encourage better school attendance and engagement by creating classrooms where students feel a real sense of belonging and are motivated to interact with their peers. Emily McGinnis, Sun Sentinel.
