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Florida education news: Free speech, term limits, Schools of Hope and more

A roundup of stories from around the state.
 
Hundreds of protesters march on Hull Road against white nationalist Richard Spencer's speech on the University of Florida campus in Gainesville on Oct. 19. [WILL VRAGOVIC | Times]
Hundreds of protesters march on Hull Road against white nationalist Richard Spencer's speech on the University of Florida campus in Gainesville on Oct. 19. [WILL VRAGOVIC | Times]
Published Dec. 15, 2017

FREE SPEECH: The pending arrival of white nationalist Richard Spencer sent the University of Florida and the surrounding community into high gear, as people tried to figure out how to keep him away. Now some state lawmakers want to clarify the rules governing the free exchange of ideas at Florida's public universities.

TERM LIMITS: A second committee of the Constitution Revision Commission favorably recommends proposals to limit Florida school board member terms and to end the election of school superintendents.

SCHOOLS OF HOPE: Thirty-three schools apply for the second round of the state's controversial grant program to help up to 25 district schools with poor state grades.

SUBSTITUTE PAY: The Citrus County School Board increases the wages for substitute teachers and support staff, the Citrus County Chronicle reports.

GENDER ISSUES: The lawsuit over whether a St. Johns County transgender teen can use the school restroom of his choice arrives at oral arguments, the Florida Times-Union reports.

IN COURT: A failed candidate for Okaloosa County superintendent sues the school district alleging discrimination, the Northwest Florida Daily News reports. • Lawyers for the Florida Department of Education ask a Leon County judge to dismiss school districts' lawsuit challenging HB 7069, Redefined reports.

BETTER DECISIONS: The Marion County school district launches a new counseling program to help teens caught in the act of consensual sex at school to avoid suspension, the Ocala Star-Banner reports.

TAXES: Manatee County School Board chairman Scott Hopes is faced with promoting a local tax referendum he has vocally opposed, the Herald-Tribune reports.

BAD ACTS: A Collier County teen is arrested on accusations of choking his teacher, the Naples Daily News reports. • A Leon County mom who went into her child's classroom and hit another student gets her daughter's school choice revoked, the Tallahassee Democrat reports.