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Education

  • Gov. Ron DeSantis, above flanked by former military members who tookj part in thew Bay of Pigs invasion in the early 1960s, signed a bill into law Wednesday that had been overwhelmingly approved by State lawmakers during the 2024 legislative session that ended last month. Under the bill, lessons on the history of communism will be added to required instruction in public schools starting in the 2026-27 school year.
    Governor's office
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    WGCU
    Flanked by veterans who served in the Bay of Pigs invasion, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday signed a measure that will lead to the history of communism being taught in grades as low as kindergarten.The governor, standing behind a placard that read “anti-communism education,” touted lessons that will be required under the bill.
  • The Lee County School Board approved a request by Schools Superintendent Christopher Bernie Monday to leave his position as of Tuesday.
    Lee Schools
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    WGCU
    Christopher S. Bernier has lead the 9th largest school district in the state since May 2022. Ken Savage is expected to take over as interim superintendent — again.
  • A behind-the-scenes look of the progress being made on the building of the Mote Science Education Aquarium (Mote SEA). Construction continues and they get closer to an opening date. Members of the local Media were taken on a tour of the first floor of Mote SEA, looking up through the atrium to the second and third floors, and around the exterior of the building. Dan Bebak, Vice President of Mote Education, Aquarium and Facilities, provided up-to-date construction progress and a look into when Mote SEA will be open to the public. From the first floor, a look at the three STEM Teaching Laboratories, as well as the Gulf of Mexico habitat, could be seen.
    Andrea Melendez/WGCU
    A behind-the-scenes look of the new Mote Science Education Aquarium was provided recently as construction continues and the facility gets closer to its anticipated 2025 opening date. Mote SEA differs from other aquariums and attractions since science and education is in its name and is the focal point for all guest experiences.The new facility will embody Mote’s vision of Oceans for All, doubling the number of visitors exposed to marine science each year and providing no-cost opportunities for schools to utilize specialized STEM teaching labs to ensure that every child has hands-on marine science and technology experiential learning opportunities.
  • File
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    WGCU
    A federal judge on Friday heard arguments in a court battle over a law restricting educators’ use of personal pronouns and titles in schools, in one of a series of challenges to Florida policies targeting LGBTQ people.Plaintiffs Katie Wood, a transgender Hillsborough County teacher, and AV Schwandes, a nonbinary teacher fired last year by Florida Virtual School, are seeking preliminary injunctions as part of a lawsuit challenging the 2023 law, passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature and signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis.