BTMS seventh-grade students James Webb and Alexander Mangal turned their most recent performance into a berth into the International SeaPerch Competition being held at the University of Maryland on May 31 and June 1. Their second place finish at the Greater Jacksonville SeaPerch Regional Competition April 13 earned “Team Swift Sharks” one of the coveted spots. BTMS student Luke Chrzanowski will also be attending as an alternate.
Schools
If Approved, Religious Charter Schools Will Shift Yet More Money from Traditional Public Schools
The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments on April 30, 2025, in what could be the most consequential case for public education since the court started requiring schools to desegregate in the years following Brown v. Board of Education. If the court allows churches to operate religious charter schools, the public education system, as Americans know it, will take on an entirely new face and set of financial challenges.
University of Michigan President Santa Ono Is the Sole Finalist to Become President of the University of Florida
Santa Ono, who has led the University of Michigan since 2022, is the sole finalist to become president of the University of Florida, UF announced Sunday. A presidential-search committee recommended that the UF Board of Trustees approve Ono after a search that began last year following the abrupt resignation of former President Ben Sasse. Kent Fuchs, a former UF president, has served as interim president.
Religious Charter Schools’ Fate May Hinge on Justice Roberts
The Supreme Court on Wednesday was divided over a Catholic virtual charter school’s bid to become the country’s first religious charter school. With Justice Amy Coney Barrett recused from the case, the outcome appeared to hinge on the vote of Chief Justice John Roberts, who asked probing questions of both sides but did not make his position clear.
Students Will Be Banned from Using Cell Phones in Florida Elementary and Middle Schools
Florida lawmakers late Friday approved barring students in elementary and middle schools from using cell phones during the school day — and testing the idea in high schools. Current law prevents students from using cell phones during instructional time, but the change would expand that prohibition to throughout the school day in elementary and middle schools. Rep. Demi Busatta, a Coral Gables Republican who spearheaded the proposal, described it as “bell to bell.”
A Gutted Education Department Is Rolling Back Civil Rights and Targeting Transgender Students
The Education Department is being radically reshaped away from education, fairness and equity toward a more prosecutorial arm of the federal government as it negates civil rights investigations and ramps up investigations targeting transgender students and schools that apply more event-handed treatment of students and athletes. Civil rights offices are closed. Workers are fired. Investigating discrimination in schools is practically “impossible.”
Daytona State Rocket League Esports Team Wins NJCAAE Championship for DSC
Daytona State College’s No. 1 seed Rocket League Esports team claimed its second national championship Wednesday night, winning the 2025 NJCAAE Spring Premier Series National Title. The team defeated the No. 4 seed Columbia Basin College Hawks 3-0 in the Grand Finals matchup.
Florida House Backs Off Later School Start Times
The Florida House on Tuesday gave final approval to a bill that would back away from a requirement aimed at starting high-school classes later in the morning. The Legislature in 2023 passed a law that would prevent high schools from starting earlier than 8:30 a.m. to help teens get more sleep.
Florida Will Use Tax Dollars to Sue Its Own Public Schools on Behalf of Parents
Attorney General James Uthmeier said his office is “putting our money where our mouth is” in announcing a state-funded legal team dedicated to enforcing parents-rights laws. Addressing a crowd of fourth graders at Jacksonville Classical Academy Tuesday, Uthmeier said his office is “making sure that we’re walking the walk and setting examples” in enforcing laws related to gender transition, library materials, school surveys, and other topics that have dominated legislative, judicial, and executive conversations in recent years.
Florida Lawmakers Look to Increase Tax-Dollar Shift to Charter Schools
Florida’s Republican-controlled Legislature is moving forward with a series of proposals that would help charter schools, while Democrats argue the measures would chip away at traditional public schools. At least five bills have passed the House or the Senate that could help lead to more charter schools, bolster charter school facilities and, at least in some cases, ensure charter schools get a cut of local tax dollars.
Brendan Depa Appeal: Court Abused Its Discretion By Imposing State Prison Instead of Juvenile Sanctions
The long-expected appeal in the case of Brendan Depa argues that Circuit Judge Terence Perkins abused the court’s discretion last summer when he imposed a five-year, adult prison sentence and 15 years of probation rather than what would have amounted to two years in a juvenile prison. Depa, who will be 20 in August, was a 17-year-old Matanzas High School special education student when he attacked then-teacher aide Joan Naydich after he got angry for being disciplined over the use of a Nintendo game. Surveillance video of the attack circulated around the globe, turbocharging the case’s visibility.
Florida’s GOP Legislature All But Kills Financial Literacy Bill
A bill requiring students to learn about financial literacy and career readiness at public school doesn’t seem destined to pass this Legislative Session. Under current law, students are required to learn about nutrition, personal health, Internet safety, substance abuse and other life skills. A pair of Democrats sought to amend the law to add financial literacy, home economics and career readiness to the list. However, SB 816/HB 737 hasn’t been called to a vote in committee with an important deadline looming ahead.
New College Hides Russell Brand Sleaze Behind Free Speech
Florida attracts sleazeballs, creeps, and the criminally-inclined the way cookie crumbs attract roaches. It’s always been like this: Al Capone wintered in Miami Beach; Richard Nixon escaped to his Key Biscayne compound so he could hang out with his mob-affiliated pal Bebe Rebozo; Charles Ponzi made a name for himself for selling Florida swampland — impossible to build on— to unsuspecting Yankees. Russell Brand almost made it on the list.
Florida GOP Lawmaker to Randy Fine: “Proud To Have Voted Against Your Moronic Campus Carry Bill”
Miami Republican state Sen. Illeana Garcia, who joined with three Senate Democrats in a committee vote last month rejecting a proposal sponsored by then-GOP Sen. Randy Fine (SB 814) to allow concealed weapons on college and university campuses, says she has zero regrets for that vote. But few fellow-Republicans are willing to voice similar assurances even after the FSO shooting.
20-Year-Old Student Kills 2, Injures 6 in Shooting at Florida State University
Two people were killed and six others were injured Thursday after a shooter, the son of a Leon County sheriff’s deputy, opened fire around lunchtime at Florida State University. The shooter, 20-year-old Phoenix Ikner, also was shot after confronting police officers, authorities said during a late-afternoon news conference. News reports identified Ikner as an FSU student. Ikner is accused of using a handgun that was an old service weapon of his mother, a school-resource officer.
Palm Coast YMCA With Olympic Swimming Pool Planned for Town Center
A long-awaited YMCA in Palm Coast’s Town Center will be an arrestingly built 44,000 square-foot, two-level facility with a wellness center, a spin room, a fitness room, a gym with three volleyball courts and an outdoor Olympic swimming pool, among other amenities. The swimming pool will have 18 to 21 lanes and a zero-entry section allowing for a sloped walk into the water, without stairs or ladders. The indoor facility will include a child care center. The plans are brimming, and the YMCA is “ready to get started right away.”
Natalia Aleksiun Delivers Holocaust Lecture on Hidden Survivors of Nazi Occupation at Stetson
Historian and Holocaust Studies scholar Natalia Aleksiun delivers the Stetson University 2025 Holocaust Memorial Lecture on Tuesday, April 22, from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Stetson Room, located inside the Carlton Student Union building on Stetson’s DeLand campus.
Flagler County Library Director Braces for Possible Cuts After Trump Order to End Library Support Agency
Assistant Flagler County Administrator Holly Albanese is preparing the county’s public library system, its Board of Trustees and local officials for possible local consequences of an executive order that seeks to end the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services, a mainstay of library and museum funding across the country. Cuts may be as little as $20,000, which the library system can easily absorb, or could be much larger if grants already awarded are called back.
Why Is the President Undermining Libraries and Museums?
A few weeks ago, President Trump issued an executive order calling for the elimination of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), adding to a growing list of illegal efforts to bypass Congress and abolish entire government agencies. All staff at the agency were placed on administrative leave on March 31. IMLS is an independent federal agency that provides crucial financial support to America’s 125,000 public, school, academic, and special libraries and museums nationwide.
Matanzas High School Student Lands a Punch on Deputy Breaking Up a Fight
N.L., a 16-year-old Matanzas High School student, faces a felony charge of battery against a law enforcement officer after landing what appears to be an inadvertent punch on a school resource deputy attempting to break up a fight between N.L. and another student.
Trump Names Derek Barrs to Transportation Department Post; He Will Leave Flagler School Board
Less than five months after Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed him to a Flagler County School Board seat, where his presence helped restore a level of stability that had been lacking for two years, Derek Barrs will almost certainly leave the board for an appointment as administrator to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
Lawless Persecution of Mahmoud Khalil Is a Threat to Free Speech Everywhere
Without a warrant or charges, plainclothes Department of Homeland Security agents forced their way into Columbia University’s student housing and detained Palestinian student Mahmoud Khalil, who had demonstrated against the Israeli genocide in Gaza. They then shipped him to an immigration jail in Louisiana, impeding his access to attorneys and visits from family. Khalil is a lawful U.S. permanent resident who hasn’t been charged with any crime. Khalil’s fate — and the larger battle over the First Amendment — concerns all of us.
Stetson Opera Theatre Presents Mozart’s ‘Marriage of Figaro’ Friday and Sunday
Stetson University’s School of Music invites the community to experience Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s beloved opera, The Marriage of Figaro. The Stetson Opera Theatre will stage this classic comic opera with performances on Friday, March 21, at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, March 23, at 3 p.m., at University High School in Orange City, Florida.
Anti-DEI Rules Are Gutting Educators’ Free Speech Rights
The Trump administration’s attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion have continued in the form of a “Dear Colleague” letter from the Department of Education to educational institutions – from preschools through colleges and universities.. The directive the letter infringes on free speech, misunderstands the law and undermines education.
Stetson Survey Finds Puerto Rico and D.C. Get Statehood Support, Canada and Greenland Do Not
With the current debate over U.S. expansion, a new survey by the Center for Public Opinion Research (CPOR) at Stetson University finds that Americans remain deeply divided on the prospect of adding a 51st state if it’s not Puerto Rico or Washington, D.C.
University of Chicago’s Tony Banout, Freedom of Expression Expert, Speaks at Stetson March 26
As academic freedom and freedom of expression become flashpoints on college campuses nationwide, Stetson University will host a national expert March 26 to speak about the importance of free inquiry and expression. Tony Banout, Executive Director of the University of Chicago’s Forum for Free Inquiry and Expression, will give a talk entitled “Why is Wrongheaded, Immoral, and Offensive Speech Protected on Campus and Constitutionally?”
Read Across Flagler Event at Central Park Brings Out the District’s Own Student Novelists
The second annual Read Across Flagler at Palm Coast’s Central Park, an event organized by the school district’s media specialists, focused on the district’s own authors , including three high school students who have already published their first novel and are working on their second. There was a petting zoo, a balloon art station and two tables-full of books being given away, but the focus was on the writers.
Defying Science, Florida Lawmakers Prepare to Scrap Later Start Time for High Schools
With school districts across the state expressing support, Florida senators Monday started moving forward with a bill that would repeal requirements aimed at later daily start times in many high schools. Lawmakers in 2023 approved the requirements, citing a need for older students to get more sleep. [The need is supported by extensive research that points to better academic performance and better health.] The requirements are slated to take effect in 2026, but as the deadline has neared, districts have said they are struggling to comply.
Federal Judge Clears Way for Publishers’ Lawsuit Against Florida and Volusia Boards of Education Over Banned Books
With major publishing companies and authors arguing a 2023 state law violates First Amendment rights, a federal judge Friday refused to dismiss a lawsuit against members of the State Board of Education over the removal of school library books. U.S. District Judge Carlos Mendoza, appointed by President Obama, rejected a state motion to dismiss the case, which also names as defendants members of the Orange County and Volusia County school boards.
FTC Launches Accelerated GED Program at Carver Center
In a significant stride toward enhancing adult education, Flagler Technical College (FTC) has unveiled an accelerated GED program at the G.W. Carver Community Center in Bunnell. This initiative is a cornerstone of FTC’s broader mission to expand adult learning opportunities across Flagler County as the adult education component of Flagler County Schools. Classes are already underway, having begun in full swing for the Winter ’25 school semester. Classes are open enrollment, so students may enroll anytime throughout the semester.
No, You May Not Discipline a Teacher for Personal Facebook Posts, Court Rules
A Florida appeals court Friday sided with a now-retired Duval County math teacher who argued his speech rights were violated when he was disciplined for personal Facebook posts. A three-judge panel of the 5th District Court of Appeal overturned a decision by the Duval County School Board to suspend Thomas Caggiano without pay for three days and to issue a reprimand.
DeSantis’s Know-Nothing Assault on Florida’s Public Universities
DeSantis, the lame duck and failed presidential candidate, may have lost much of his hold on the Legislature but, given that he appoints state university trustees, our institutions must still suffer his anti-intellectualism, his spite, and his obsession with “woke.”
Flagler School Board Quietly Settled with Ex-Attorney Kristy Gavin for $160,000, and with Paul Peacock for $100,000
The Flagler County School Board, operating almost entirely out of the public eye, settled disputes and lawsuits with former Board Attorney Kristy Gavin last July for $160,000, with former principal Paul Peacock in October for $100,000, and with former Exceptional Student Education director Martha von Mering in October for $19,500. The School Board at no point openly discussed any of the three cases.
Who Do You Think You Are? Here’s Why You Should See ‘The Niceties’ at CRT
“The Niceties,” which opens tonight at City Repertory Theatre, is familiar to our ideologically poisoned times, raising questions about whether there is such a thing as objective truth. It subverts assumptions about American and Black history, generational divides, and power. It will make you angry only if you’re not honest with yourself as it also subverts your own assumptions about who you think you are.
DeSantis Wants to Move Ringling Circus Museum to New College
In his budget proposal released earlier this month, DeSantis included language that would transfer the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, the Ringlings’ Ca’d’Zan mansion, and the Ringling Circus Museum, located less than a mile from the New College campus in Sarasota.
Paul Renner Is Appointed to Universities’ Board of Governors
Gov. Ron DeSantis named former Florida House Speaker Paul Renner to the Florida Board of Governors, supervising the State University System, his office announced. Renner joins former Speaker Jose Oliva and former lawmaker Manny Diaz Jr. as former legislators on the board.
DeSantis Wants Florida Universities to Join War on Undocumented Migrants
Gov. Ron DeSantis said on Friday that the state’s universities and colleges shouldn’t admit students lacking permanent legal status. Come July 1, university and college students who attended Florida high schools but live in the state without legal permission will have to pay out-of-state tuition under a law, SB 2-C, DeSantis signed Thursday.
‘Impeccable’ 7th Grader Teddy Totten of Christ the King is Flagler County Spelling Bee Champion
A runner-up in the countywide competition two years ago, 13-year-old Teddy Totten, the son of Kyle and Andrea Totten (the Flagler County judge), won the annual Flagler County Spelling Bee after 12 rounds, conquering words like spritzed, gargoyles, respiratory, impeccable, sorbet and appraisal. Victoria Rivera of Bunnell Elementary is the first runner-up.
Senate Proposal Expands Opportunities for Children with Autism and Their Families
The bill (SB 112) filed by Sen. Gayle Harrell, expands a health care grant program established by the Legislature last year to include free screening, referrals, and related services for autism. It also creates two education-related grant programs: one for specialized summer programs for children with autism and the other to support charter schools exclusively serving them.
Judge Refuses to Release 14-Year-Old Girl Accused of Hateful Death Threats as Her Lawyer Claims She’s in Danger
County Judge Melissa Distler today rejected a request by the attorney representing L.H. to release her to her parents, for lack of proof that she is in danger in a youth detention jail in Daytona Beach. The girl, 14, was arrested last week in palm Coast for making death threats laced in homophobic slurs, and for violating her probation. Her attorney argued that the attention the case has drawn, including the posting of her picture, name and address, has led to death threats against her family in Seminole Woods, and threats against the girl in detention.
Bullied Buddy Taylor Student Arrested for Bringing BB Gun to School for ‘Protection’; 4 Student Arrests in a Week
A 13-year-old Buddy Taylor Middle School students became the fourth Palm Coast teen in the span of six days to face a felony charge and arrest, in this case for bringing a BB gun in the shape of a Glock. The student said he did so to protect himself against bullies, knowing that school officials would not protect him.
Want To Be a Health Influencer? Join 2025 MedNexus Innovation Challenge
The University of North Florida (UNF), in partnership with the City of Palm Coast and Flagler Schools and sponsored by AdventHealth, has announced the 2025 MedNexus Innovation Challenge. This exciting competition offers regional high school students the opportunity to pitch innovative solutions to Florida’s evolving healthcare needs while competing for scholarship prizes. This year’s theme, “Becoming a Health Influencer,” challenges teams of four high school students to develop strategies leveraging social media to positively influence adolescent health.
Two FPC Students Arrested for Texting Joking Death Threats Against Each Oher
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office has arrested two students at Flagler Palm Coast High School for sending threats toward each other in a text group chat. The threats were not meant seriously. The felony charges are.
Indian Trails’ Brandy Anderson Is Teacher of the Year, Wadsworth’s Brande Martz Is Employee of the Year
Flagler Schools congratulates Ms. Brandy Anderson of Indian Trails Middle School as the 2024-2025 Teacher of the Year and Ms. Brande Martz of Wadsworth Elementary School as the 2024-2025 Employee of the Year. Both will represent Flagler Schools in the Florida Department of Education State Competition later this year.
U.S. News Ranks Daytona State’s Online Bachelor’s Programs Among Best in U.S. for 13th Straight Year
U.S. News & World Report has ranked Daytona State College’s online Bachelor’s programs among the best in the nation for the 13th straight year. And DSC is again the top-ranked non-university college in the United States.
Should Public Money Fund Religious Charter Schools? Supreme Court Will Decide Constitutionality.
In Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board v. Drummond and St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School v. Drummond, the Oklahoma Supreme Court agreed with the state’s attorney general, Gentner Drummond, that the charter school board violated state law, the Oklahoma Constitution, and the U.S. Constitution when it allowed St. Isidore, a Catholic online school, to become a charter school.
Behind Daniel Fish Losing Head Football Coach Job at FPC: Major Fumbles in Classroom, and 2nd Reprimand in 14 Months
Following an internal investigation that ended in December, Daniel Fish, who was fired last week as head football coach at Flagler Palm Coast High School, was the subject of a letter of reprimand for a series of grave failures in his teaching and administrative duties. It was the second disciplinary write-up for Fish in 14 months. He had been the subject of a “letter of caution” in October 2023 following a violent incident that had started among student-athletes in the football team’s unsupervised locker room. He retains his teaching job.
Vincent’s Clubhouse Spurs Opportunities for People with Disabilities, Bridging Needs Beyond School District
Vincent’s Clubhouse Enrichment Center at Palm Coast’s European Village is an evidence-based program focused on vocational and life skills training, personal development, hygiene, financial skills, marketplace skills, and literacy for adults and younger people. But it was not until late last year, after years of evolution and growth, that Vincent’s Clubhouse’s nomadic years ended with the opening of its permanent home, a 1,600-square-foot facility–what would otherwise be a shopfront–at European Village, with a faculty of five and 20 adult “members” enrolled.
Childhood Vaccination Rates Are Slipping in ‘Health Freedom’ Florida and Other States with Exemptions
Pediatricians in states with high exemption rates, such as Florida and Georgia, say they’re concerned by what they see — declining immunization levels for kindergartners, which could lead to a resurgence in vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles. The Florida Department of Health reported nonmedical exemption rates as high as 50% for children in some areas.
Senator Files Bill to Scrap Later Start Times for High School Students, Putting Transportation Ahead of Student Needs
With Florida school districts facing a 2026 deadline, a Senate Republican on Friday filed a proposal that would repeal requirements aimed at later start times for many high schools. The proposal would benefit Flagler County schools, where officials in 2023 devised a new start times, but in the opposite direction. Supporters of later start times have argued that the changes would help high-school students get more sleep. But the requirements have faced concerns from school districts about issues such as bus schedules.