TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A brand new school year, a brand new training commissioner and a number of other new legal guidelines await Florida’s 2.9 million public school students.
Many of them returned to class Wednesday after a controversial legislative session the place training and parental rights stood entrance and heart.
Not solely did lawmakers approve a raft of recent insurance policies, however they took steps to handle the nationwide teacher scarcity. To some, it’s the greatest concern within the classroom this year.
According to the Florida Education Association, the state could have 60,000 extra students however about 14,000 academics (8,000) and workers (6,000) vacancies this year.
President of the union, Andrew Spar, thought-about it amongst Florida’s high issues, and he stated it’s getting worse.
“Last year, there were approximately 5,000 teacher vacancies at the beginning of the school year,” Spar stated. “This year, there are 8,000 teacher vacancies.”
For three years Gov. Ron DeSantis has supported boosts to minimum teacher pay as an incentive to recruit and retain more educators. Florida’s latest budgeted increase — $250 million — put the state in the top 10 for average starting wages, according to the governor’s office.
Lawmakers also unanimously approved a new program fast-tracking military veterans into teaching positions. Candidates must meet minimum teacher certification criteria but don’t need a bachelor’s degree.
Florida’s new commissioner of education, Manny Diaz, recently defended the plan on Fox News. It came after concern teaching quality would suffer.
“It permits our faculties to achieve out and use this asset in our classroom,” Diaz, a former Republican state senator, said. “They include abilities like dedication, dedication, time administration, self-discipline — so, it is a good slot in a number of locations.”
Diaz will also be charged with implementing highly-controversial policies sought by Republicans this year. The goal, they said, was to fight “woke-ism” and indoctrination in the classroom.
“We should not going to make use of your tax {dollars} to show our youngsters to hate this nation or hate one another,” DeSantis earlier than signing HB 7 into regulation in April.
HB 7, what DeSantis calls the “Stop WOKE Act,” puts new rules on race education in classrooms and workplace training. It prevents teaching things like “white privilege” or inherent racism.
HB 1557, dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” invoice by critics, prohibits instruction on sexual orientation and gender id in kindergarten via third-grade lecture rooms or in a fashion “not age-appropriate.”
Both legal guidelines took impact in July and at the moment are dealing with authorized challenges. Spar believes they seem to be a large a part of Florida’s hiring troubles.
“When the governor goes around the state vilifying teachers and staff in our schools — and, let’s face it, that’s what he’s doing — he’s sending a message to teachers and staff that you don’t matter,” Spar stated. “They are then leaving the profession.”
Florida lawmakers and the governor additionally authorized two much less controversial training insurance policies this year.
One ends Florida Standards Assessments testing and replaces it with progress monitoring. The other new regulation bolsters school security, bettering school officer coaching and requiring districts have emergency reunification plans.