Thousands in Florida eligible for student loan forgiveness. Hereโs what you need to know
Roughly 57,000 Florida residents paying student loans for decades are on track to walk away from those loans, provided they have been paying on time for 20 or 25 years, according to the Department of Education.
TikTok, adult performances targeted in proposed Florida school rules
The state Department of Education on Tuesday released a series of proposed rules that would outline restrictions on โadult live performancesโ at field trips, prohibit school districts from using the social-media app TikTok and allow parents to control โany deviation from their childโs legal nameโ in schools.
Florida sues Cardona, claims college accreditation rules threaten stateโs federal funding
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis held a news conference in Ybor City to announce a lawsuit filed in federal court pitting the state against U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona and others over Floridaโs free choice, or lack thereof, regarding college accreditation agencies.
OCPS leaders meet with Florida education officials over โproblematicโ safety report
Both the current and outgoing superintendents with the Orange County Public Schools district sat down with Florida Department of Education officials over concerns from a grand jury that the district may have underreported incidents of criminal activity to the state.
Black colleges' funding hopes dim amid federal budget battle
Officials at historically Black colleges thought they might finally have a pipeline for long-term funding from the federal government after the Biden administration included at least $45 billion for them in its multitrillion dollar economic package.
Biden order could change how colleges handle sex misconduct
Biden also signed a second executive order formally establishing the White House Gender Policy Council, which his transition team had announced before he took office. Any effort to rewrite DeVosโ rules would have to go through a federal rulemaking process that can take years to complete. AdRepublicans slammed Bidenโs move and defended DeVosโ rules. The scope of cases that colleges must address is also likely to be expanded again under the Biden administration, he said. Biden is starting the process even as DeVos' policy faces ongoing legal challenges.
NYC schools chancellor exits, citing virus' personal toll
New York City Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza is shown this still image, from New York Mayor Bill de Blasio's media availability, Friday, Feb. 26, 2021, in New York. (New York City Office of the Mayor via AP)NEW YORK โ New York City's Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza announced Friday he will step down, citing the coronavirus pandemic's personal toll on his family. Porter is set to take over March 15, ready to โhit the ground running and lead New York City schools to a full recovery,โ she said. Some elementary school students returned to in-person schooling in December, but upper-grade classrooms have remained closed except for those serving some special-needs students. โFrom day one, Carranza challenged white supremacy in education and called out the inequity, bias and segregation in New York City schools.
Florida teacher accused of insulting students suspended
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. โ A South Florida middle school teacher accused of regularly insulting her students, often about their nationality or intelligence, has had her educator license suspended for six months by Florida education officials. The school district in Palm Beach County had moved to fire Susan Oyer in March, but her termination was never approved by the school board. Instead, she reached a settlement with the state Department of Education in which her license was suspended for six months, according to The Palm Beach Post. Records show Oyer, who taught at Boca Raton Middle School, is no longer employed by the school district. Oyer did not deny the allegations but was not required to admit fault as part of the settlement.
Feds say US colleges 'massively' underreport foreign funding
Since coming under federal scrutiny, the 12 schools disclosed a combined $6.5 billion in foreign funding that was previously unreported, the department said. Yale said it failed to submit foreign funding reports for the years 2014 to 2017 but later corrected the omission. It's not unusual for U.S. colleges to accept foreign funding for research projects or exchange programs, but federal reporting requirements have long been treated as an honor system. That began to change last year, however, after a bipartisan report in Congress raised alarms about collegesโ ties with China. In response to that finding, DeVos began ordering broader investigations into universities' foreign funding.
Florida teachers union begins mediation with state over school reopening
Floridas largest teachers union and attorneys for the state are meeting in Tallahassee Tuesday for court-ordered meditation in an attempt to come to an agreement on how to safely reopen school campuses amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Florida Education Association is suing Gov. Ron DeSantis, Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran, the Florida Department of Education and others to stop Florida brick-and-mortar schools from physically reopening. A few school districts across the state have already welcomed students back. Many school districts have delayed the start of the school year to late August because of the pandemic.
Democrats say White House blocking CDC head from testifying
Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Robert Redfield, speaks during a White House Coronavirus Task Force briefing at the Department of Education July 8, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)WASHINGTON House Democrats are criticizing the White House for blocking the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from testifying at a public hearing on safely reopening the nation's schools. Democrats said they invited CDC officials, including director Robert Redfield, to testify at a hearing next Thursday but were rebuffed by the White House. A committee spokesperson said the panel asked for any CDC official to testify but was rejected. A White House spokesperson said Friday that Dr. Redfield has testified on Capitol Hill at least four times over the last three months.
CDC: No rewriting of guidelines for reopening schools
(AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)WASHINGTON Despite President Donald Trump's sharp criticism, federal guidelines for reopening schools are not being revised, the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday. Redfield commented a day after Trump complained the reopening guidelines were very tough and expensive and the CDC was asking schools to do very impractical things. Speaking of CDC officials, he tweeted, I will be meeting with them.!!!" On Wednesday, at a White House coronavirus task force briefing, Vice President Mike Pence said new CDC guidelines would be coming out next week. I want to make it very clear that what is not the intent of CDCs guidelines is to be used as a rationale to keep schools closed, he said. In his tweet on Wednesday, Trump did not clarify which of the CDC guidelines he opposed.
Florida students now have more time to qualify for Bright Futures scholarship
ORLANDO, Fla. High school seniors who had their last semester disrupted due to the coronavirus pandemic will now have more time to qualify for a Bright Futures scholarship to help them pay for their college tuition. The head of the state Department of Education signed an emergency order Wednesday providing some extra provisions for seniors who had to delay SAT and ACT testing or cancel planned volunteer hours. They will now have until July 31 to get their scores up to par to meet the minimum requirements needed to be awarded the state-funded scholarship. In addition, school counselors can submit paperwork showing the volunteer hours a student intended to complete and that document will count as proof that the student met the service requirement. To learn more about the scholarship program, click here.
Already at-risk Florida students face greatest learning gaps due to coronavirus school closures
School closures have affected at least 3.3 million students across Florida, according to the Florida Council of 100. Parents have carried the greatest burden of the school closures due to the coronavirus becoming a caregiver and teacher, the report shows. High school seniors working toward transitioning to higher learning or career life post-graduation also suffered due to the coronavirus. The state plan recognizes that some families may be hesitant to allow their children to return to campus come August. Many will be unfamiliar with the academic language, routines and expectations of the more formal setting of school, the report reads.
Florida educators want schools to test students for COVID-19
The plan also called on schools to test students for COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, and put procedures in place to isolate infected students to prevent the virus from spreading across campus. The association suggested that some distance learning may be required to ease the strain on schools under pressure to keep staff and students healthy. State officials shuttered classrooms in March, as COVID-19 cases surged and public health officials worked to contain the outbreak. As Florida's public schools look at reopening, we have a significant advantage that we did not have when they were closed: Time. However, the plan urged schools to sanitize facilities daily and reconfigure classrooms to limit contact and crowding among students.