Florida Education

A federal judge backed two public school unions in a legal battle over dues deductions. Educators say this is good news, but will continue watching for potential challenges to other parts of the sweeping union law.

A local organization has distributed nearly two million books to children since 2005.

The state university system Board of Governors on Wednesday took a step in carrying out a controversial new law that includes requiring designation of restrooms for “exclusive use by females” and “exclusive use by males.”

Florida’s restrictions on instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity have “effectively banned” an Advanced Placement psychology course throughout the state, according to the organization that develops the college-level courses offered to high-school students.

The state Department of Education on Tuesday released a series of proposed rules that would outline restrictions on “adult live performances” at field trips, prohibit school districts from using the social-media app TikTok and allow parents to control “any deviation from their child’s legal name” in schools.

The state university system’s Board of Governors, which oversees Florida’s network of 12 universities, was slated to weigh approval of a plan that would allow schools to individually raise tuition by up to 15 percent for students who come from other states.But Eric Silagy, the board’s vice chairman, announced last week that the plan was being postponed, saying “additional work” is needed before potentially implementing the tuition increase.

Florida Virtual School has put a pause on hiring and is taking other cautious financial measures amid a drop in full-time students completing courses over the past year.The completion of courses is a key metric for the school, which only gets paid if students finish online classes.

The 700-student Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts has offered students at Florida's New College admission, and is matching their current cost of tuition.

Ahead of the 2023 regular session of the Florida legislature kicks off March 7, we get a preview of top legislative proposals, and what they could mean for Florida residents in a conversation with FGCU Political Science professors Roger Green, Ph.D., and Peter Bergerson, Ph.D.

Ahead of National Public Lands Day we explore the importance of public lands and the need for more comprehensive environmental and climate change education for students and the general public as well as research on the impacts of climate anxiety in a conversation with Jennifer Jones, Ph.D., Director of the Center for Environment and Society at the Water School at Florida Gulf Coast University and Heather-Skaza Acosta, Ph.D., interim Director of the Whitaker Center for STEM education at FGCU.