After tremendous advocacy from parents and community members across the state, the Florida Department of Education finally submitted its plan on Wednesday to access $2.3 billion in remaining federal education money. Florida was the only state in the union without a plan as it was due in June causing the US Department of Education to…
In May of 2020, the U.S. Department of Education released $770 million dollars to Florida schools to address the impacts of COVID-19. Now, the amount has grown to $15 billion after two additional relief packages were passed. This money has gone largely untapped even though it was earmarked to help mitigate the impacts caused by…
In a story from the New York Times’ reporter, Erica Green, the U.S. Department of Education has begun investigations into five states whose prohibitions on universal mask mandates in schools may violate civil rights laws protecting students with disabilities including Iowa, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Utah. In letters to state leaders, civil rights officials…
The 2021 Florida Legislative Session ended on April 30th. Lawmakers will return on May 17th to discuss details of the gaming compact. No money from the compact is in the current budget and plans are to keep it in reserves until the 2022 session. However if anything related to education funding arises, we will keep…
March 5, 2021 From CBS News: School and childcare workers now have an opportunity to get the COVID-19 vaccine even if they live in one of the roughly dozen states around the U.S. where they have not yet been declared eligible. After a shift in federal policy this week, pharmacy chain CVS Health said it would adhere…
DeSantis says school employees will not be prioritized for COVID-19 vaccine “Emphasizing that his focus remains on Florida’s elderly population, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday said teachers and school staff should not expect to be prioritized for vaccination against COVID-19 — at least for now.” according to the Miami Herald. “The governor’s comments came as…
Florida’s incoming Speaker of the House Chris Sprowls warned of significant budget cuts due to the state’s dire financial crisis. He told participants in an online webinar last week that Florida experienced a “massive financial hit” due to Covid-19 and expects the state to take “three to four years” to recover. School districts are bracing…
BREAKING NEWS- Today, Leon County Judge Charles Dodson ruled in favor of the Florida Education Association in their lawsuit against the state. Read the Ruling here. From the Tampa Bay Times– Saying the state has “essentially ignored the requirement of school safety” in its requirement that campuses reopen in August, Leon County Judge Charles Dodson…