Education

WASHINGTON—President Joe Biden recently canceled another $7.7 billion in student loans for 160,000 borrowers, bringing the total forgiven to $167 billion. Representative Aaron Bean (R-FL) denounced the erasure of debt in a recent interview with The Floridian, calling it "unfair" and an attempt "to win over young people." Notably, the White House moved forward on forgiving an […]

MIAMI, FL—The Department of Education has launched an official inquiry into the Reviver Academy, a private Islamic school that operates downstairs from where Fadi Kablawi—an antisemitic dentist—works as a mosque leader. "I am glad that the Department of Education has acted immediately at my request and think it shows that Florida has little tolerance for […]

Florida has now been ranked first in the United States in education by US News & World Report. Florida has traditionally caught heat for underpaying teachers and neglecting educational outcomes.  A study conducted on the 2021-22 school year found that Florida pays the lowest average teacher salary when adjusted for cost of living for a […]

GAINESVILLE, FL—Governor Ron DeSantis announced Wednesday that he plans to reactive an executive order waiving certain university application requirements for Jewish transfer students, will approve almost $600 million toward school safety initiatives, and will approve over $300 million in new construction and research projects at the University of Florida. Executive Order: In January 2024, just […]

Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona addressed the House Education Committee on the 2025 budget request, laying out the department's priorities and policies. Representative Aaron Bean (R-FL) took the opportunity to ask and admonish Sec. Cardona about the large number of illegal immigrants overwhelming American schools. Rep. Bean began by highlighting Sec. Cardona's career in education and asking […]

As we witness the pro-Palestine protests on college campuses, worsen, more information comes out that many of those arrested are not students and are instead professional agitators. Representative Cory Mills (R-FL) discussed the revelation in a recent appearance on Fox Business's Evening Edit while also condemning President Biden's brief address on the protests, saying the White House will "continue […]

JACKSONVILLE, FL—Governor Ron DeSantis signed Thursday morning a controversial bill that he says will ban diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives from being taught in educator prep courses. "We don't want these teacher prep programs to become captive to someone's ideological agenda," DeSantis said at a Jacksonville press conference. "We can say no diversity, equity, […]

The media has been buzzing about the pot and abortion amendments that are currently on the ballot in Florida's election this year.  While many activists have been battling over the abortion amendment or marijuana legalization, partisan school board elections under Amendment 1 have slipped under the radar of many Floridians. President Joe Biden (D) has […]

TALLAHASSEE, FL—Prompted by Florida's dwindling medical workforce, a healthcare organization providing specialized training and care announced Tuesday the groundbreaking creation of 721 new graduate physician training slots. “Florida is one of the fastest growing states in the US and we have an urgent need for more doctors to care for our residents," said Safety Net […]

PENSACOLA, FL—At a Pensacola press conference, Governor Ron DeSantis signed Monday a sweeping education package that limits book ban objections from non-parents and addresses poor-performing "turnaround" schools. "You should not be having books in these schools that are sexually explicit [or] that are promoting ideology like gender ideology," DeSantis said, turning to the high proliferation […]

TALLAHASSEE, FL—An education priority of Senate President Kathleen Passidomo has gone mostly unnoticed in the state's budget, providing funding to afterschool programs allowing children to earn money for learned skills, and then donate the money to a charity of their choice. "It's special for the Senate President," Katie Betta, Passidomo's Communications Director, told The Floridian. "It's […]

SARASOTA, FL—Following a now-shuttered sex scandal, the recently deposed GOP Chairman Christian Ziegler and his wife, Moms for Liberty co-founder Bridget Ziegler, have filed a lawsuit to keep text messages they exchanged during the Republican leader's rape investigation out of the public's hands. On March 15, the formerly powerful Zieglers sued the City of Sarasota […]

TALLAHASSEE, FL—Gov. Ron DeSantis has just received 15 new bills to be signed into law, including a controversial workers' union measure and new requirements for prospective Florida State Guardsmen. Propelled through and out of the legislature by Republican Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, SB 1746 alters a union dues law passed last year—also sponsored by Ingoglia. Both […]

TALLAHASSEE, FL—Florida public schools will soon have their doors open wide for religious officials of all denominations to provide counseling, even—Democrats worry—Satanists and Santeria sacrifices. If signed into law, school chaplains would be available beginning this Fall. The measure provides for volunteer clergymen in schools, charging these religious officials with providing mental health and spiritual counseling […]

TALLAHASSEE, FL—Florida schools are one step closer to implementing instruction on the history of, and the "increasing threat" of, communism, due to a bill barreling through the Florida Legislature. "27-30 percent of our children right now believe that communism is something that they'd like to try in this nation. If that doesn't bother you, I'm […]

TALLAHASSEE, FL—Tuesday kicked off Children's Day at the Capitol, with the Progidy Cultural Arts Program for at-risk youth visiting Tallahassee in hopes of earning $3.5 million to continue diversion programs for low-income and struggling families. Partnered with Aetna Health, the Progidy Cultural Arts Program has been around for 23 years and serves eight counties. It's […]

TALLAHASSEE, FL—A bill allowing volunteer religious officials in public schools passed its final Senate Committee Monday afternoon, drawing criticisms over untrained professionals providing counseling to children. "This bill authorizes each school district to adopt a policy to authorize volunteer school chaplains to provide support services and programs to students with parental consent," said Republican Sen. […]

Social Media Ban Puts Parental Rights in Crosshairs The past week at the Capitol has been a flurry of activity, with Lawmakers rushing to turn their bills into Florida law. With only a week and a half left in the 2024 Legislative Session, big bills related to Jeffrey Epstein and—in the most controversial news of […]