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Federal judge allows teacher lawsuit against controversial pronoun law to continue
The judge said plaintiffs ‘plausibly’ alleged the law violates protections against workplace discrimination
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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Chaplains, communism, child labor: Florida education laws that take effect July 1
The 2024 legislative session saw approval of divisive education-related laws, several of which take effect Monday
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Biden administration pushes back on Florida’s effort to block Title IX discrimination rule
Florida last month also filed a separate lawsuit challenging a federal health-care rule that prevents discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation
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Florida parents file federal lawsuit over state’s new book banning policy
Plaintiffs in the lawsuit are two parents from St. Johns County and one from Orange County
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Teachers union criticizes Florida for keeping history standard touting ‘benefits’ of slavery
The backlash centered on a standard that says slaves developed beneficial skills from slavery
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Florida Board of Education replaces word ‘gender’ with ‘sex’ amid federal Title IX dispute
The federal rule, in part, would require that discrimination on the basis of gender identity be included under the broader definition of sex discrimination
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Florida’s home school voucher program is expected to double in size next year
The overall number of home-schooled students has more than doubled in Florida during the past decade
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Florida Gov. DeSantis signs series of school ‘deregulation’ bills
The bills were a priority of Senate President Kathleen Passidomo during the 2024 legislative session
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Chaplains could soon come into Florida public schools, while other red states reject similar proposals
Come July 1, school districts in Florida could authorize volunteer chaplains to provide support and services for students
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Florida Gov. DeSantis signs bill to prohibit ‘indoctrination’ in classrooms
The teacher-training bill was one of the most-controversial education issues of this year’s legislative session
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Florida ranks next to dead last in average teacher pay nationwide, new report shows
This puts Florida at No. 50, behind only West Virginia in a ranking of all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
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University of Florida threatens student protesters with suspension, banishment from campus for 3 years
Campus police circulated a list of prohibited activities late Thursday as about 50 protesters gathered for a second day of demonstrations
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Florida Gov. DeSantis signs bill allowing school chaplains, says satanists need not apply
The governor also predicted the state would prevail if the new law draws a legal challenge over separation of church and state concerns.
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UCF faculty, students rally in support of faculty’s contribution to student success amid salary dispute
The university has been criticized by students and faculty for not offering across-the-board raises for faculty this year.
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Florida Democrats now running billboards to recruit candidates for state office
The party is looking for candidates to compete against Republicans in four state Senate district races and three congressional contests
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Florida Gov. DeSantis signs bill requiring lessons on communism starting in kindergarten
‘We’re going to tell the truth about the evils of communism’
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DeSantis signs Florida education reform bill that limits school book challenges
More than 1,200 objections were filed to school-library books and other materials last school year
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Florida Gov. DeSantis says he’ll sign bill to restrict challenges to school books by nonparents
‘It is done intentionally, and it is part of an agenda, and that’s wrong,’ DeSantis said during a news conference
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Florida AG Ashley Moody joins lawsuit to block Biden’s student-debt forgiveness plan
Along with Florida, the other states that filed the lawsuit are Missouri, Arkansas, Georgia, Ohio and Oklahoma
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Federal judge blocks Florida’s pronoun restriction law for teachers
The challenge alleged the law violates the teachers’ First Amendment rights and runs afoul of a federal civil-rights law