Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis held a news conference in Hialeah on Monday to announce $1.25 billion for teacher salary increases.
DeSantis said the funds for teacher salary hikes are earmarked in the budget over the next five years and pointed out that Florida has ranked tops overall in education by U.S. News and World Report for the past two years.
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As of Tuesday, Oct. 18, all schools impacted by Hurricane Ian are open.
More than $200 million has been granted to schools that have demonstrated student growth and teaching excellence, including $13 million to schools in southwest Florida greatly impacted by Hurricane Ian.
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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) announced Monday that $6.5 million was being designated to launch the Career Pathways for Public Service Initiative. The new program will prepare students for public service and a career in local or state government.
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In the wake of the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, two people have been arrested in Florida in separate incidents related to mass shooting threats.
In Tampa, officials arrested an 18-year-old Florida man after receiving a tip that he threatened a mass shooting at a school in a social media post. Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said in a press release that Corey Anderson’s social media showed him with a handgun, a rifle and a tactical-style vest along with a caption that said, “Hey Siri, directions to the nearest school.”
Anderson was arrested on Sunday, May 29th, and charged with a written or electronic threat to conduct a mass shooting or act of terrorism.
“This type of threat is unacceptable. This man intentionally instilled fear into our community as a sick joke, but be warned, this is no laughing matter,” Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said in a statement on Facebook.
In a similar incident, a 10-year-old Florida fifth grade student has been arrested in Lee County after making a school threat. Investigators learned of the threats made by the boy on Saturday and arrested him, said Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno.
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January Littlejohn knew there was a problem when she picked up her daughter at Deer Lake Middle School in Tallahassee, Florida one September afternoon last year. Her daughter revealed she was interviewed by school officials about gender preference issues. She was asked by officials about changing her name and also about which restroom she preferred to use.
Littlejohn, who is a mother of three children and a licensed mental health counselor, was shocked. Shocked at the fact that the meeting took place without her knowledge.
She had previously informed school officials about the family situation. Her daughter was experiencing stress about her gender at the height of the pandemic and the family was completely caught by surprise. The family found a counselor and began researching the issue.
And now school officials had intervened between her and her daughter over a very personal issue.
She would later explain in a speech to the Florida Family Policy Council how “gender ideology almost destroyed my family.”
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Emails show that the sponsor of the Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) club at Montford Middle School – located in Tallahassee, Florida – advised a teacher that they were not obligated to share information from students related to gender/sexuality issues with their parents.
Stacy Thompson, the media specialist at Montford and GSA sponsor, was asked a question by a teacher after Thompson sought out volunteers to post “Safe Place” flags in Montford classrooms.
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After The Tennessee Star reported on a petition signed by teachers nationwide who vowed to teach Critical Race Theory even if it was outlawed in their respective states, the nonprofit that circulated the petition appears to have pulled it offline.
“Lawmakers in at least 21 states are attempting to pass legislation that would require teachers to lie to students about the role of racism, sexism, heterosexism, and oppression throughout U.S. history,” a Zinn Education Project’s petition said.
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