By Michael Moline | Editor in Chief
“Rather than targeting educators online or subjecting them to the court of public opinion, state leaders should focus on strengthening public schools and fostering environments where every student can pursue their dreams.” — Andrew Spar, Florida Education Association
Gainesville High School via Alachua County School Board.
The Florida Department of Education has developed a habit of overreacting to supposed offenses committed by classroom teachers. Take Gainesville High School history teacher Lauren Watts, who allowed one of her classes to label a student the “most likely to become a dictator” during the 2022-2023 school year. When then-Education Commissioner Anastasios Kamoutsas found out, he vowed to “take every necessary action to ensure this teacher never teaches again.” Now an administrative judge is done with the case and has concluded a written reprimand is appropriate and that a suspension was not necessary.
Kathy Castor is one of the Democratic U.S. House members targeted by Gov. DeSantis and the Legislature during their mid-decade redistricting this year. The district went for Kamala Harris by more than 7 points in 2024, but as reconfigured became one that supported Donald Trump by more than 10 points. Even so, national nonpartisan election raters have moved the race from “leans Republican” to “toss-up.”
The DeSantis administration’s drive to undo vaccine mandate is the target of a challenge in state administrative court. The challengers are a school nurse with three young children; a 70-year-old with chronic myelomonocytic leukemia; Jacksonville family physician Danielle Carter, and the Florida Academy of Family Physicians. The challenge argues the Department of Health hasn’t jumped through the necessary administrative hoops. DeSantis wants agency vaccine requirements for school attendance before he leaves office in January.
Correction: Tuesday’s newsletter misreported the subject of a Bernie Sanders quote: “I can’t keep up with this woman. She doesn’t stop.” He was talking about Angie Nixon.
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