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Parents, students and a non-profit organization have filed a federal lawsuit against four Florida school districts, challenging the constitutionality of a new state law that restricts instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation in classrooms. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Orlando, seeks to block the school boards in Orange, Indian River, Duval and Palm Beach counties from carrying out the law (HB 1557), which passed during this year’s legislative session after fierce debate. Attorneys for the plaintiffs argued in the 53-page complaint that the law violates First Amendment, due-process and equal-protection rights and improperly chills discussion of issues such as gender identity and sexual orientation. Opponents also have challenged the constitutionality of the measure in a federal lawsuit filed in Tallahassee against Gov. Ron DeSantis, the State Board of Education, the Florida Department of Education, Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. and several school boards. That case is pending.

 

The Hill

Fox 35 Orlando

The Miami Herald

Orlando Sentinel

Twenty-two states have sued the Biden administration over a rule that would cut federal meal funding for schools that don't include LGBT-friendly policies. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), named as a defendant in the suit, announced in May that K-12 schools and other qualifying organizations would need to update their policies to include LGBT protections in order to receive funding from the Food and Nutrition Service. Allegations of discrimination on the basis of gender and sexual orientation must be investigated, and non-discrimination policies must be updated to include gender and sexual orientation protections, the administration said. Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita and Tennessee Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III lead the suit, claiming that the guidelines are unlawful in part because they are “based on a misapplication of U.S. Supreme Court precedents.” The 22 states that signed on to the case include Tennessee, Indiana, Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia and West Virginia.

 

The Hill

Orange County voters will be asked next month if they want to extend a special property tax that for 12 years has helped pay for teachers’ salaries and for arts, sports and extracurricular activities for students. The Orange County School Board hopes they renew the tax for another four years during the August 23 election. If they do, school leaders expect the tax will raise about $818m through the 2026-27 school year. The money will again be put toward paying teachers and preserving programs, officials said.

 

Orlando Sentinel

At least 21 schools in the Palm Beach County School District will have new leaders at the helm as classes begin on August 10. Palm Beach Gardens, Lake Worth and Seminole Ridge are among the high schools that will have new principals on campus, alongside eight elementary schools and 10 middle schools. The schools and their new leaders include Calusa Elementary - Susan Figueroa, Christa McAuliffe Middle - Dwight Graydon, Conniston Middle - James Thomas, Crystal Lakes Elementary - Sheena Blue, Eagles Landing Middle - Dominick Rizzatti, H.L. Watkins Middle - Presley Charles, Highland Elementary - Frances Frye, Independence Middle - Amber Saunders, Jupiter Elementary - Gloria Salazar, L.C. Swain Middle - Isha Reyes, Lake Park Elementary - Carlos Castro, Lake Worth High - Elena Villani, Morikami Park Elementary - Stephanie Coletto, Palm Beach Gardens High - Jay Blavatt, Polo Park Middle - Jennifer Galindo, Seminole Ridge High - Robert Hatcher, The Conservatory School - Derek Schuemann, Tradewinds Middle - Shakeica Robinson, U.B. Kinsey/Palmview Elementary School of the Arts - Alexander Bremby, Waters Edge Elementary - Christopher Schroeder, and Western Pines Middle - Philip Preddy. The number of changes in principals at the beginning of a school year is historically between 10 and 20 across more than 180 Palm Beach County district-operated schools.

 

Palm Beach Post

Panelists at a virtual session of the U.S. Office of Special Education Programs’ Leadership and Project Directors’ Conference last week agreed that efforts to increase pre-K enrollments and quality programming nationwide will require parent-school-government collaborations, data collection and review, and smarter spending decisions. Federal emergency funding has helped prop up early education programs during the pandemic, but as that funding runs out, states and localities will need to look at creative financing, such as braiding together revenue sources, to build momentum and capacity for early education, the panelists said. At least seven states, including Alabama, Colorado and New Mexico, have state cabinet-level staff leading early childhood initiatives, panelists heard, while education leaders in Connecticut are helping local efforts to support children who qualified for services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act’s Part C program for infants and toddlers but were found ineligible for services under IDEA’s Part B program for students ages 3 and older. The pandemic wiped out 10 years of pre-K enrollment progress, according to The State of Preschool Report 2021, published in April by the National Institute for Early Education Research and Rutgers Graduate School of Education.

 

K12 Dive

Florida school districts are now reverting to price schedules for meals from before the pandemic. Of the six counties in the greater Tampa Bay region, half of the school districts are increasing the cost of breakfast and lunch for students compared to the last time students paid for meals during the 2019-2020 school year. In Manatee, Sarasota and Pasco counties, the cost of breakfast and lunch will increase 25 to 50 cents depending on grade level. Hillsborough and Pinellas counties will maintain the same price schedule from the 2019-20 school year, which includes free breakfast for all students. In Polk County, students have received free breakfast and lunch for several years as part of the USDA’s Community Eligibility Program, which offers reimbursement to schools or school districts to provide non-pricing meal options in low-income areas. In 2020, the Department of Agriculture issued waivers allowing schools to serve free breakfast and lunch to all students, regardless of income. On June 30, the federal waivers expired.

 

WUSF

Speakers at a virtual session of the U.S. Office of Special Education Programs’ Leadership and Project Directors’ Conference this week agreed that school systems can strengthen social-emotional wellness in students with and without disabilities by promoting a sense of belonging that helps students feel appreciated, accepted and needed. Kevallyn Drake, a special education teacher in Meridian, Idaho, said even simple approaches such as including students with disabilities in conversations, asking for their perspectives, and greeting students as they walk into the classroom can help them feel welcomed and wanted. Tessie Bailey, director of the PROGRESS Center, a technical assistance center that helps districts provide high-quality programs for students with disabilities, agreed: “Students not only need good instruction, they need to feel like they belong.”

 

K12 Dive

With school starting in two weeks, Leon County Schools is working to ensure all bus routes will be covered. According to Superintendent Rocky Hanna, there are 115 bus routes and only 95 drivers, so he's 35 drivers short of a 130-driver goal. Drivers at present are having to double up and cover other routes to make sure all kids get to school on time. To help fill these positions, the district has increased the starting pay to more than $18 an hour and has waived the fingerprinting fee.

 

Tallahassee News