STATE NEWS Florida officially withdraws from National School Boards Association With a bipartisan unanimous vote on Tuesday, the Florida School Boards Association has joined more than 20 other states who have officially cut ties with the National School Boards Association. The vote was taken during the Florida School Boards Association’s 71st annual Joint Conference and Board of Directors’ Meeting going on this week in Tampa. Dr. Steve Gallon III, National Chairman of CUBE and the Vice Chairman of Miami Dade Public Schools, presented a passionate speech calling for the support of principals for public education and repeated time and again how the lack of transparency and accountability has led to his support to separate ties with the national body. According to Brevard County School Board Member Matt Susin, conversations before the vote were centered around the lack of response to a letter FSBA sent to the NSBA with a list of demands that went unanswered.
SpaceCoastDaily.com
NATIONAL NEWS Students killed in Michigan high school shooting A 15-year-old boy is in custody after three students died and eight were injured in a shooting Tuesday afternoon at a high school in Oxford, Michigan. The Oxford High School students killed were Tate Myre, 16, Hana St. Juliana, 14, and Madisyn Baldwin, 17, according to Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard. Eight others - seven students and a teacher - were shot; three are in critical condition with gunshot wounds, including a 14-year-old girl who is on a ventilator after having surgery. A 14-year-old boy is in serious condition with a gunshot wound to the jaw and head, Bouchard said. Three students are in stable condition and the teacher who was shot has been discharged. The 9mm pistol the suspect used during the shooting was bought by his father on Black Friday, November 26. It was loaded with seven rounds of ammunition when police arrested the suspect. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan said in a statement that she was “devastated for the students, teachers, staff, and families” of the school. President Joe Biden also offered condolences to the victims of the shooting.
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New York Times
DISTRICTS Broward reveals significant ransomware attack About 50,000 students and employees are being notified by the Broward school district that their personal data may have been breached during a ransomware attack five months ago. Hackers demanded $40m to access locked files. The school district has been secretive for months about this ransomware attack, which happened between Nov. 12, 2020, and March 6, 2021, often relying on the advice of a lawyer and public relations company it hired. The notice as published says that on June 8, the district determined that some information publicly released included individuals’ names and Social Security numbers. Further analysis on June 29 determined that the data “may include information relating to our self-insured health plan, including individuals’ names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, and benefits selection information.”
Sun Sentinel
Miami-Dade STEAM initiatives inspiring students Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) is working to inspire students in Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics (STEAM) to increase achievement, promote career and college readiness, and ensure that its community has the next generation of inventors, explorers, innovators, artists and leaders. "Maintaining our scientific and technological leadership is essential to our economy, national security and future. It’s not just about science and math; it’s about being ready for college, career and life," a statement says. Currently, more than 175 schools have applied for the rigorous yearly designation.
Miami's Community Newspapers
HIGHER EDUCATION Fewer international students could impact domestic higher education The number of international students enrolled at U.S. colleges and universities fell by 15% – or 161,401 students – from 2019 to 2020. According to new data from the Institute of International Education and the U.S. State Department, and driven further down by the global pandemic, the number of international students in the U.S. has been declining since 2016. The decrease in 2020 is the largest on record based on data dating back to 1948 and enrollments are down across all fields of study at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, which fell by 14.2% and 12.1%, respectively.
The Conversation
LEGAL SCOTUS considers type of damages schools can face in civil rights lawsuits The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday appeared wary about eliminating emotional distress as a form of damages in lawsuits accusing recipients of federal funds of violating major civil rights laws, including those covering race and sex discrimination in public schools. The case before the high court in Keller v. Premier Rehab Keller PLLC (No. 20-219) involves a Texas woman, Jane Cummings, with vision and hearing impairments, who sued a federally funded physical therapy provider - with a claim for compensatory damages for emotional distress - for alleged discrimination under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 after she was denied the provision of a sign-language interpreter. Two lower courts ruled that such emotional distress damages are not available under the Rehabilitation Act, or by extension under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which bars discrimination based on race and other factors in federally funded programs. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, in New Orleans, held that under high court precedent, the remedies available for a violation of a federal law enacted pursuant to the “spending clause” in Article I of the U.S. Constitution are limited to those for which the federal-funding recipient is “on notice” and those “traditionally available in suits for breach of contract.” The logic of the appeals court’s decision when given would also apply to Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which bars sex discrimination in federally funded schools.
Education Week
LEGISLATION Florida considers teaching risks of social media Florida schools would be required to teach students the benefits and risks of social media under a bill unanimously approved Tuesday by the Senate Education Committee. If passed, a curriculum would be developed and school districts would be required to implement it into existing courses. The curriculum would also be made available to parents. “You look at how social media is morphing, and some of the stuff and the content that's coming across is dangerous,” said Sen. Shevrin Jones. The bill has two more committee stops before reaching the full Senate. An identical House bill has yet to be heard in committee.
The Miami Herald
OTHER COVID offers chance to 'rethink education' In a piece for The 74, Jason E. Glass, Kentucky's commissioner of education and chief learner, details some of the ways the COVID-19 pandemic has forced teachers and officials to be more creative in how they engage with students. He discusses the use of technology in active learning, noting that it can increase students’ agency in how they respond to tasks and challenges, and its value as a nearly unlimited resource of content information and a catalyst for learning and collaboration.
The 74
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