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UCF president welcomes DeSantis’ promise to cut ‘wasteful spending’ through Florida DOGE
UCF is Florida’s largest public university by enrollment, with an operating budget of $2 billion.
Education
Information and analysis on Orlando schools, Florida universities, Orlando teachers and staff, education legislation, K-12 schools in Orlando and more.
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Florida bill would require elementary students to learn cursive
‘Cursive writing plays a crucial role in everyday life,’ bill sponsor Toby Overdorf told the committee
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‘Unconstitutional’: Florida Democrats blast Republican efforts to eliminate Department of Education
DeSantis advocated for leaving education policy up to the states, repeatedly referring to the federal department as a ‘bureaucracy’
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Florida lawmakers want ‘transparency’ in search for university presidents
The bill also would make a series of other changes about leadership of the higher-education system
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Florida lawmakers advance measure clarifying what makes school books ‘harmful to minors’
It builds on a 2023 law granting school boards authority to remove books parents challenge as being ‘pornographic’
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Florida house panel advances bill to require schools to show anti-abortion group’s video in classrooms
Critics say the video is misleading and contains medical inaccuracies
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Parents, teachers blast Osceola County schools for policy changes affecting students with disabilities
Exceptional student education will be offered to fewer students at fewer schools beginning next school year
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Stricter phone ban in Florida schools gets unanimous support in House committee
‘When you say, “It’s the law,” it just kind of ends the conversation there’
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Florida Senate moves forward with bill to repeal later school start times
School districts have said they are struggling to comply because of issues such as needing to buy buses and find bus drivers
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After passing bill requiring later start times for Florida schools, lawmakers now want to repeal it
The requirements are slated to take effect in 2026, but as the deadline has neared, districts have said they are struggling to comply
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Florida school book lawsuit gets green light from federal judge
The case also names as defendants members of the Orange County and Volusia County school boards
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UCF students organize events for Black History Month since the university won’t acknowledge it
The University of Central Florida has publicly celebrated Black History Month in the past. Not this year
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Rick Scott has yet to comment on DeSantis repealing in-state tuition for Dreamers
The law is now scheduled to go into effect on July 1
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DeSantis says Florida universities shouldn’t admit immigrants living in the state illegally
‘For those students who are currently enrolled, the vast majority of them — they will drop out of school,’ predicted Orange County Democratic Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith
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Orlando students barred from GOP Rep. Susan Plasencia’s office
Orange County sheriff’s deputies greeted activists protesting a proposed tuition hike for undocumented students
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Orange County Public Schools to provide three weeks paid maternity leave for staff
The leave offer was a priority of the Orange County teachers’ union during last year’s contract negotiations
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Florida public schools drop in reading and math performance, federal report says
Education Commissioner Manny Diaz argues private schools should have been included in the data
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Orlando area Rep. Maxwell Frost among Democrats denied entrance into the Dept. of Education building
President Donald Trump has called for closing down the department
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Florida Gov. DeSantis’ education budget targets teacher pay, maintains low tuition
The budget proposes nearly $30 billion for K-12 education and a $222 per student funding increase for next school year
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Florida universities prepare for $22.5 million annual costs from NCAA settlement
State Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. said an ‘arms race’ is underway as some universities outside Florida have already started to address the pending changes
