As Hurricane Ian brought 155 mph winds Wednesday to Southwest Florida and was poised to cause damage across the state, 15 hospitals and 131 nursing homes and assisted living facilities had evacuated patients and residents, while other facilities “hunkered down.” State Agency for Health Care…
Read More Thousands Evacuated From Florida Health Facilities
Arguing that the state has failed to meet funding obligations and other commitments to Florida A&M University, six students on Thursday filed a potential class-action lawsuit accusing state officials of “intentional discrimination” against the historically Black school. The federal lawsuit alleged that the state has…
Read More Florida A&M Students File Lawsuit Alleging Funding Discrimination
Stakes are high in a North Florida contest between a scion of a prominent Democratic political family and a former football star who is a “huge fan” of Gov. Ron DeSantis, in one of the state Senate’s most closely watched races this year. Incumbent Sen.…
Read More Key Senate Race Heats Up In North Florida
Gov. Ron DeSantis took the unusual step this year of campaigning for county school-board candidates and saw most of them win Tuesday night, as the governor and local Republicans seek to elect conservative members to the boards and, at least in some cases, create conservative…
Read More Florida Gov. DeSantis Chalks Up Wins In School Board Races
Gov. Ron DeSantis will propose a slate of bills for the 2023 legislative session designed to bolster school districts’ efforts to recruit teachers, after students returned to classes last week amid a scarcity of educators. During a stop at a New Port Richey high school,…
Read More Florida Ag Commissioner Fried Claims DeSantis Is Trying To “Lower Standards” For Teachers
Florida students began returning to classrooms this week amid a teacher and support-staff shortage, with some counties still advertising positions and exploring “creative options” to fill vacancies. In Bay County, a Panhandle district with roughly 26,600 students, school officials were still looking to hire teachers…
Read More Florida Schools Scramble To Fill Vacant Slots
A federal judge on Monday questioned part of a new Florida law that restricts the way businesses can address race-related concepts in employee training, as he weighed a request to block the measure. The law (HB 7), passed during this year’s legislative session, was a…
Read More Judge Weighs Businesses’ Challenge To Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ Stop W.O.K.E Act
As Florida grapples with nearly 2,000 overdose deaths so far this year, state leaders on Wednesday announced a “massive” effort to address opioid addiction in counties that need it most. The initiative, which includes Florida’s first statewide director of opioid recovery, is based on a…
Read More Florida Targets Opioid Addiction
A heated Democratic primary race for a redrawn South Florida Senate seat is pitting an incumbent legislative leader against a challenger with a decade-long career in local government. Senate Minority Leader Lauren Book, a Plantation Democrat elected in 2016, is trying to hold onto her…
Read More Florida Senate Democratic Leader Faces Challenger In Re-Election Bid
Saying federal guidelines aimed at preventing discrimination against students based on such things as gender identity would “vastly expand the application” of Title IX, Florida Education Commissioner Manny Diaz, Jr. told school officials Thursday to ignore the guidelines. Title IX is a federal law that…
Read More Florida Education Commissioner Disputes Feds On Gender Identity, Sexual Orientation