Public Education

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

The Florida Department of Education has released grades for county school districts for the 2024-2025 year. Lee County maintains its B rating. Other counties listed.

A divided federal appeals court Wednesday backed a 2023 Florida law that requires teachers to use pronouns that align with their sex assigned at birth, rejecting arguments that the law violated First Amendment rights of a transgender teacher in Hillsborough County.A panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in a 2-1 decision, overturned a preliminary injunction that U.S. District Judge Mark Walker issued last year to block enforcement of the law against high-school teacher Katie Wood.

On June 3 Collier County Public Schools broke ground on the site of Ave Maria Elementary School, which is expected to open in August 2026.

Southwest Florida’s contender in the 100th Scripps National Spelling Bee semifinals bowed out in semifinal competition Wednesday afternoon, stumbling during a vocabulary round.

One of two Southwest Florida youths advanced Wednesday to semifinal competition being held Wednesday night in the 100th Scripps National Spelling Bee.

A historic school in Southwest Florida will be remodeled and is expected to reopen in just over two years. That's according to an agreement announced Monday between the Lee County School District and the City of Bonita Springs.

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.”

An effort to keep students off cell phones throughout the school day passed the Florida House on Wednesday, though differences remain with a Senate proposal.The House unanimously approved a bill (HB 949) that would expand a law that prohibits the use of wireless devices at schools during “instructional time.”

Gardens are popping up all over Lee County, thanks to programs like farm-to-school. In February alone the Lee County School District expanded its garden program to 14 schools. Farm-to-school teaches students about healthy eating and also produces fresh food for school cafeterias.