Florida universities and colleges close campuses ahead of Milton’s Landing | Florida Trend Education – Florida Trend

Florida universities and colleges close campuses ahead of Milton landfall

Colleges and universities across Florida closed their campuses this week as Hurricane Milton barreled toward the Florida coast. Campuses from Miami to Tampa to Gainesville and Daytona Beach were closed. Some universities have switched to distance learning. More from Diverse Education and CBS 12.

Florida Board of Education is asking the Legislature for $27 billion

The Florida Board of Education has voted to ask the Legislature for $27.2 billion in next year’s budget. The board met Sept. 25 to discuss funding requests for the 2025-26 operating and capital expenditure budget. The meeting lasted about 15 minutes and the board unanimously approved the Department of Education funding request. The request is approximately $165 million above the fiscal year 2024-25 appropriations. [Source: Tampa Bay Business Journal]

Federal judge dismisses Florida lawsuit challenging accreditation system

A federal judge last week dismissed Florida’s lawsuit challenging the U.S. Department of Education’s accreditation requirements, although the ruling allows the state to revise its complaint. Florida sued the Department of Education last year, arguing that federal accreditation requirements violate the Constitution by giving private agencies “uncontrolled authority” to set educational standards at colleges. [Source: Higher Ed Dive]

Florida aims to improve preschool quality with new preschool assessments

Florida has been criticized for decades for assessing the quality of its preschool program based on a “readiness test” given to young students after they enter kindergarten. Critics argued it was a system that disadvantaged preschools that served the most struggling children – often those from low-income families. Now the state is rolling out a new grading system that will give more recognition to these young students’ progress throughout their preschool years. More from the Orlando Sentine and the Tampa Bay Times.

The Florida Department of Education is extending various deadlines in response to Hurricane Helene

The state of Florida has issued guidance for schools affected by Hurricane Helene, which will also help schools soon to be affected by Hurricane Milton. The guidance addresses coverage in Survey 2, which was impacted by Helene-related school closures and will be further impacted by Milton-related closures. Survey 2 is a demographic survey that collects student and staff attendance data for use in various planning metrics. [Source: Florida Politics]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Moms for Liberty is challenging Brevard’s limits on speakers at school board meetings in court [Orlando Sentinel]
A federal appeals court on Tuesday sided with a group from the group Moms for Liberty in a constitutional challenge to Brevard County School Board policies that placed limits on speakers at board meetings. A panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said policies targeting “offensive,” “obscene,” and “personally directed” speech violated the First Amendment.

› Sarasota School Board approves new AI policies, advances curriculum guidelines [Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
As the impact of a new public comment policy took shape, the Sarasota school board quickly conducted business in a meeting last week and took steps to approve new policies related to artificial intelligence and curriculum guidelines. The meeting lasted about an hour and a half with fewer than ten public commenters: a marked difference from previous meetings where public comments alone lasted several hours.

› Jacksonville University College of Law is expanding its faculty [Jacksonville Daily Record]
Now in its third year, Jacksonville University College of Law is provisionally accredited by the American Bar Association. It has expanded its faculty to include five professors, a consultant and a law librarian. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Scott Makar joins the faculty as an adjunct professor, bringing years of appellate practice experience to the curriculum.

› Broward could shrink rather than close low-enrollment schools [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
With little interest in closing schools, the Broward school board is now considering a new approach to dealing with low-enrollment campuses: shrinking their size. School board members discussed Tuesday the possibility of a “partial closure” of schools with high vacancies. This would mean schools remain open to students, but additional space would be used for district offices or given to a local government or community agency for other purposes.

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