The big story: The State Board of Education’s pressure on the Hillsborough County school district to immediately and permanently remove books the state considered pornographic or harmful to minors is having effect both locally and around the state.
School officials in St. Johns, Escambia, Orange and Osceola counties took steps to pull some or all of the books on the list handed to Hillsborough, each time citing the riot act that the State Board rained down upon Hillsborough superintendent Van Ayres.
The Florida Freedom to Read Project has found in reviewing other districts’ records that the titles are slowly being withdrawn in other places, too, but without any public fanfare.
And in Hillsborough, the district’s chief academic officer, who received blame from some corners for allowing the book dispute to grow, was transferred without comment to a lower-level job in the human resources department. Members of the public, meanwhile, criticized the administration for capitulating to the state’s directives.
Parent Rachel Doyle called the willingness to meet the state’s demands “a breathtaking Olympic-level display of cowardice and disregard for the parents that you are supposed to serve.” Read more here.
Hot topics
University presidents: Three more state universities will be led by political allies of Gov. Ron DeSantis, after approval by the Board of Governors, Associated Press reports. • More about University of West Florida from the Pensacola News-Journal, Florida A&M University from the Tallahassee Democrat and Florida International University from Florida Politics. • Presidents’ pay is on the rise as politicians take the roles, The Chronicle of Higher Education reports. • Meanwhile, three Republican members of Florida’s congressional delegation — all of whom opposed the University of Florida’s pick for its president — have called for more transparency in the school’s next search, Florida Politics reports.
Tuition: The Board of Governors authorized state universities to increase tuition for out-of-state students for the first time since 2012, Central Florida Public Media reports.
Teacher discipline: Some Manatee County parents are alleging misconduct by their children’s teachers and calling for more victims to step forward, WWSB reports. The two teachers in question, who are under investigation by law enforcement, no longer work for the district.
Start times: How did Florida’s push for later high school start times fall by the wayside? The NY Times reports.
Flooding: Volusia County government and the school district are teaming up to abate flooding that prevents students from getting to their elementary school after storms, WKMG reports.
College athletes: The State University System Board of Governors adopted a rule allowing schools to use millions of dollars in auxiliary funds such as dining plans to pay student-athletes, Florida Phoenix reports.
Charter schools: The Leon County school board was reluctant to approve a lawsuit seeking the return of taxpayer-funded property from a charter school that closed and leased its site to a private school, the Tallahassee Democrat reports.
Budgets: Florida Republican lawmakers say they’re adequately funding public education, but many inside the system say the rhetoric doesn’t match reality, the Miami Herald reports. • Central Florida school district officials anticipate possible job cuts and class size increases as a result of the recently approved state budget, WOFL reports.
Don’t miss a story. Here’s a link to yesterday’s roundup.
Before you go … William Shatner and Neil DeGrasse Tyson say the universe is absurd. Who’s listening?
