With all eyes on the University of Florida’s struggles with academic freedom, Janet and Shelley host guests, Ray Arsenault president of the Pinellas County Chapter of the ACLU of Florida; Tim Boaz, Faculty Senate President at University of South Florida and Andrew Gothard, president of United Faculty of Florida.
Parents clash on mask mandates at Pasco County School Board meeting
Read MoreAttorney for parents who sued Florida governor over executive order banning mask mandates in schools
Read MoreJudge uses DeSantis’s own defense to dismantle case for banning mask mandates in schools
Read MorePinellas School Board votes down option to institute mask mandate
Read MoreHillsborough addition means Florida's top three school districts now have mask mandates against Gov.'s wishes
Read MoreFlorida Education Association warns that state has nearly 5,000 teaching vacancies
Read MorePinellas parents rally for mandatory masks in schools as the delta variant continues to hospitalize children
Read MoreMask mandates OK in Florida schools with opt-out system, despite threats from governor
Read MoreHillsborough School board member questions DeSantis' ruling on masks
Read MoreBipartisan bills address environment, education, robocalls and more
Read MoreIn emergency meeting, Hillsborough School Board overturns its decision not to renew charter school contracts
Read More
A Tampa teacher hit an elementary school student with a desk and their principal tried to cover it up
A school advocacy group is calling for more action after it found a teacher at a Tampa elementary school hit a student with a desk and the principal tried to cover it up. The group Teaching for the Culture is calling for more oversight and accountability in the District’s Office of Professional Standards. LISTEN: Bianca… Read more »
College ideology survey is “frightening,” “devastating”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis last month signed into law a bill that would require state universities to conduct an annual assessment of “viewpoint diversity” by surveying students and faculty. Ray Arusenault, emeritus professor of American history and civil rights at USF St. Pete and chair of the Pinellas Chapter of the ACLU, calls that bill… Read more »
DeSantis signs trans girls sports ban on first day of LGBTQ Pride month, protests and legal challenges swiftly follow
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a controversial bill banning transgender girls from Florida school sports into law Tuesday, the first day of LGBTQ Pride Month. Protests and promises of legal challenges swiftly followed the signing. LISTEN: The section of SB 1028 banning trans girls from sports was added to the bill at the last possible moment… Read more »
More than 100 Florida elected officials sign letter opposing trans youth sports ban
More than 100 Florida elected officials have signed onto a letter opposing the recently passed bill banning trans girls and women from school sports. Members of Congress, the state House and Senate, local officials and Commissioner of Agriculture Nikki Fried are urging Gov. Ron DeSantis to reverse course and “let kids play.” LISTEN: Orlando area… Read more »
Legislature revives, passes trans girl sports ban prompting fierce backlash
Florida’s ban on transgender girls participating on girl’s teams died in the senate two weeks ago, but was revived and passed by both chambers late Wednesday as an amendment to a different bill. Members of the trans community now say Florida’s posturing to corporations and catering to a shrinking base is gambling with children’s lives…. Read more »
Activists warn Florida is becoming unsafe for LGBTQ youth
Following the passage of the ‘Parents Bill of Rights’, activists in Florida warn the state is becoming unsafe for LGBTQ youth. LISTEN: Republican Senator Kelli Stargel might’ve quashed her own bill banning transgender girls from girls sports, but the “Parents Bill of Rights” is now on its way to Gov. Ron DeSantis’s desk for… Read more »
Florida bills limiting transgender participation in sports look a lot like an Idaho bill already struck down in federal court
Bills limiting the participation of transgender girls in school sports are being criticized for lacking scientific basis. And they look a lot like model legislation that’s already been struck down by federal courts in other states. LISTEN: Two of the bills being pushed through the legislature are, for all intents and purposes, bans on transgender… Read more »
Radioactivity Thursday: Local Medical Doctor Trained in Cuba Calls for Lifting Trade Embargo
March 25, 2021 Good morning, I’m Rob Lorei and this is WMNF’s Radioactivity program. Our guest today is Dr. Graham Sowa, MD, 35, who practices internal medicine here in Hillsborough County. He has an unusual story. Born in Texas he decided to go to medical school and found that Cuba was offering free training to… Read more »
‘Anti-educator’ bill clears Senate committee as hundreds of Florida teachers and school faculty testify against it
Hundreds of Florida teachers, some representing thousands of union faculty members, headed to Tallahassee Wednesday to protest a bill they call “anti-educator.” The bill cleared Wednesday’s Senate committee meeting anyway, but teachers are not giving up the fight. Listen: As far as Senator Victor Torres is concerned, the message was loud and clear. “There’s no… Read more »
