he Republican-controlled House voted 86-25 along almost straight party lines to pass the bill (HB 443), after it was approved 30-7 on Wednesday by the Senate. It is ready to go to Gov. Ron DeSantis.The bill is one of a series of measures that lawmakers have considered this year that could help charter schools, which are public schools typically run by private operators and generally not bound by the same regulations as traditional schools. The number of students enrolled in charter schools has increased dramatically over the years as the Legislature has expanded school choice.

A small group of Florida school boards have spent hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars on lobbying in Washington, D.C. — unusual given that the money could be used to pay teachers, bus drivers, maintenance workers and other employees.Hiring outside firms to lobby in the Florida Legislature is relatively common for public school districts, but federal government lobbying among them is almost unseen.Of the 67 districts in Florida, only nine have hired lobbyists to work for them in D.C. over the last 15 years. And three of those — Lee County schools is one of them — have just started paying lobbyists within the last couple of years.

The School Board of Lee County has voted to change the job descriptions of several key positions. The action begins a restructuring of some district operations. The decision came despite opposition from some members of the public, district employees and one member of the board.The board also voted to implement the Safe Start Initiative, which would change school start times district-wide for the 2025-2026 school year. The initiative passed with a 7-0 vote.

Florida’s public universities and colleges have just two weeks to turn over six years’ worth of records on staffing, research and grant funding as part of the first formal information request under Gov. Ron DeSantis’ newly mandated Department of Government Efficiency — a sweeping effort to identify “inefficiencies” in higher education.The DOGE team outlined the first phase of its audit In a letter to university presidents. Institutions were instructed to submit a vast set of documents: every awarded grant application and agreement, all publicly available research or academic drafts and a full accounting of all non-instructional staff positions — including job titles, salaries and whether the roles are in-person, remote or hybrid.

Education has some lessons to learn about what artificial intelligence can and should do, according to one local expert.Santiago Luaces got involved with a study on artificial intelligence in the classroom because he is in the process of earning a doctorate in education, and a part of that is doing a research internship with FGCU faculty.

The Empowerment Farm in Naples offers "open farms" and workshops on Saturdays.

Lee County joins other school districts in bell-to-bell ban on cellphone use during the school day

With school districts across the state expressing support, Florida senators Monday started moving forward with a bill that would repeal requirements aimed at later daily start times in many high schools.Lawmakers in 2023 approved the requirements, citing a need for older students to get more sleep. The requirements are slated to take effect in 2026, but as the deadline has neared, districts have said they are struggling to comply.

A new cell phone ban could go into effect at the start of the next school year should the Lee County school board give an expected nod to the proposal when it meets Tuesday evening.

On Feb. 14, the Trump administration sent out a memo to the nation’s schools and colleges, giving them two weeks to end any race-conscious enrolling, hiring, training, and diversity programs lest they be cut off from federal funding. As the deadline approaches, many schools are reviewing their programs to see if anything needs to be changed.