Education Funding

In less than a week the 2025-26 school year opens for most of Southwest Florida.

District officials said every classroom will begin the new school year with a certified teacher at the helm.

Cameras will be mounted outside school buses in Lee County. Motorists caught breaking the law will be fined $225.

The Trump administration has frozen more than $6 billion in federal grants for after-school and summer programs, English language instruction, adult literacy and other initiatives as part of a review to ensure the funding aligns with the White House's priorities. States and schools had expected the money to be released on July 1.Summer school and after-school providers are warning that the funding freeze could lead to entire programs shutting down, including summer day camps that are currently running. The freeze could have wide-ranging impacts on students and families, who rely on these programs for child care during the school year and over the summer break, and on staff who rely on these jobs for their incomes. Every state has programs that could be affected.

FGCU on Friday received the largest philanthropic gift in its history — $22 million. The donation came from the Elaine Nicpon Marieb Charitable Foundation to the Marieb College Of Health And Human Sciences.

he Republican-controlled House voted 86-25 along almost straight party lines to pass the bill (HB 443), after it was approved 30-7 on Wednesday by the Senate. It is ready to go to Gov. Ron DeSantis.The bill is one of a series of measures that lawmakers have considered this year that could help charter schools, which are public schools typically run by private operators and generally not bound by the same regulations as traditional schools. The number of students enrolled in charter schools has increased dramatically over the years as the Legislature has expanded school choice.

A small group of Florida school boards have spent hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars on lobbying in Washington, D.C. — unusual given that the money could be used to pay teachers, bus drivers, maintenance workers and other employees.Hiring outside firms to lobby in the Florida Legislature is relatively common for public school districts, but federal government lobbying among them is almost unseen.Of the 67 districts in Florida, only nine have hired lobbyists to work for them in D.C. over the last 15 years. And three of those — Lee County schools is one of them — have just started paying lobbyists within the last couple of years.

Some people in an underprivileged area of Lee County have raised millions of dollars to build a vocational-technical school for adults. It would train people in medical, construction and culinary occupations that could provide better pay for people in need.

Three area residents -- Kae Moore, Sean Kempton and Jamie Merchant -- have been named to the Early Learning Coalition of Southwest Florida by Gov. DeSantis.

A state voucher program that began in the 2023-2024 school year is on pace to double in size — at least — as applications roll in from families who educate children at home and are seeking funds to make a range of purchases.What’s known as the Personalized Education Program provides voucher funds to students who are not enrolled full-time at public or private schools. The program was established through a 2023 law (HB 1) that massively expanded the state’s voucher programs.