Florida's Latest News

DeSantis says he’ll ‘fortify’ parental rights in Florida schools

Surrounded by select parents, lawmakers and law enforcement officers, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday declared his intention to “fortify” parental rights when it comes to dealing with the public schools.

He took particular issue with the plan by President Joe Biden’s administration to have federal law enforcement review threats made against school board members. Citing an increase in harassment, intimidation and threats of violence against board members, teachers and other school employees, the U.S. Department of Justice earlier this month announced it would monitor the situation.

The National School Boards Association sent a letter to Biden raising concerns about “domestic terrorism” targeting boards. Although the association did not mention parents, and the Justice Department did not call for investigations, DeSantis and others have framed the issue as a federal attempt to curtail parental rights.

Guardianship changes on legislators’ table

State lawmakers were told that Florida collects little data on guardianships during a Wednesday committee meeting.

A task force is recommending changes, but there are still large holes in the system.

Doug Franks spent years trying to free his mother from guardianship. He succeeded just weeks before she died.

Franks had tough words this summer when he spoke to the state’s guardianship task force.

“Our legal system is broken. And it rewards people who want to extract money from the elderly. There is no oversight. There is still none,” said Franks.

Florida House panel looks into ways to battle health care staffing shortages

A staffing crisis currently plaguing hospitals, nursing homes and community health centers likely has no short-term solution, a panel of industry leaders told state lawmakers Tuesday.

Florida Hospital Association President and CEO Mary Mayhew told the House Health & Human Services Committee that eliminating burdensome paperwork and “anything that is detracting from the care at the bedside” could help make health care jobs more appealing to future generations of workers.

“One of the things that we’ve been blessed by in health care is that generally there’s significant interest among middle school students, high school students, to pursue health care careers and for many to become nurses,” Mayhew said. “And we want that to remain a fulfilling and rewarding career. So we have to constantly reexamine how care is delivered, how it is managed, how it is overseen.”

17 Florida school districts implement Raptor Technologies for school panic alarms and parental communications

Raptor Technologies, a leader in school safety software, announced on Wednesday that Raptor Alert is being implemented within 17 Florida school districts as their panic alert provider for compliance with Alyssa’s Law.

Florida districts implementing Raptor Alert for the current school year include Baker, Bradford, Calhoun, Charlotte, Duval, Gadsden, Hamilton, Hardee, Holmes, Indian River, Marion, Nassau, Polk, Sarasota, Seminole, Sumter, and Washington County Public Schools, with many having already installed the alert system. Additionally, over 30 Florida charter, private, and state schools have also signed agreements to utilize Raptor Alert.

In total, 25 percent of all Florida districts and nearly 20 percent of all Florida schools have agreed to utilize Raptor as their panic alert solution for the 2021-2022 school year.