Ryan Dailey

Florida lawmakers want to give high school students another pathway to graduation. Two new bills are part of a larger push for expanded vocational education in the state.

Governor Ron DeSantis is proposing changes to the state’s Best and Brightest program that he says will result in sizable bonuses for highly rated teachers. The move comes amid a teacher shortage that has made recruitment a necessity.

Governor Ron DeSantis wants $625 million dollars for environmental spending in the upcoming budget. DeSantis announced a plan Tuesday to fund more than 20 projects in the Everglades over the next five years.

Leon County eighth grade student Charlotte Stuart-Tilley organized a school strike, held last week, to bring attention on the issue of climate change.

Florida is facing a teacher shortage that stakeholders say is a growing problem. State Department of Education data for this school year shows nearly 3,300 teacher vacancies across the state.

Amid the U.S. Government shutdown now going on 20 days, federal employees and their agencies in Florida are feeling it in different ways. Still, the question of when the shutdown will end looms over the minds of many.

Employees of Florida’s federal prisons are asking the state’s members of congress to push for a reversal of the U.S. government shutdown. Workers held a rally in Downtown Tallahassee on Thursday.

In the coming session, Florida’s Legislature will consider a bill aiming to eliminate “gun-free zones” on college campuses. For state lawmakers, the issue has come up before.

Florida’s Department of Education will have a new Commissioner at the helm in Republican former House Speaker Richard Corcoran.

A federal judge has set a trial date for indicted Tallahassee City Commission member Scott Maddox and former Downtown Improvement Authority director, Paige Carter-Smith. Meanwhile, Maddox has been suspended from office by Gov. Rick Scott.

Governor-elect Ron DeSantis has chosen fellow Republican and Former Florida House Speaker Richard Corcoran to head the State Department of Education. Florida’s Board of Education will vote on whether or not Corcoran gets the job later this month.

Legislative advocacy group Florida Conservation Voters is asking new leadership in the State Capitol for a joint select committee on climate change.

Republican State Senator Rob Bradley is leading the charge to keep future constitutional amendments in Florida single-issue. Bradley filed a bill last week, after most “bundled” amendments passed during the Midterm elections.

Florida’s Senate President-elect Bill Galvano hosted members of the Capitol Press Corps Friday, fielding questions about the election, upcoming session and beyond.

The Florida Supreme Court heard oral arguments Thursday in a nine-year-old case on K-12 education standards.

Panhandle schools hit hard by Hurricane Michael are re-opening, and many students are experiencing a “new normal” as they return. Some districts are having to get creative to get all students in the classroom.

Florida State University students gathered by the hundreds Sunday to mourn two of their own, a student and a faculty member, killed in a shooting last week. 

A gunman opened fire at a hot yoga studio on Thomasville Road Friday evening. Police say the man, whose identity they have not yet released, shot six people and pistol whipped another. Of the six shot, two later died at a local hospital. Police say the gunman died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, bringing the death toll to three total.

The shooting took place just after 5:30 in the afternoon at Hot Yoga Tallahassee. Tallahassee Police Department is still investigating whether there is a connection between the gunman and any of the victims.

U.S. Senator Bill Nelson is calling out the Florida Legislature for passing a 2017 bill he says allows builders to strip international building standards from Florida codes.

Democratic Senator Bill Nelson says fears that Panama City’s Tyndall Air Force base might shut down are “unfounded” after Hurricane Michael brought destruction to its hangars.

Tuesday is National Voter Registration Day, marking two weeks before Florida’s deadline to register. Those interested can get registered at a number of locations throughout the day.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Ron DeSantis has released a detailed education platform. The former congressman says he wants 80 percent of K-12 dollars spent in the classroom.

The nonpartisan research group Integrity Florida has released a new study about Florida’s charter schools and the industry’s political influence. The study took nearly a year to complete, and takes a deep dive into how the charter model became what it is today.

The council that governs most fraternities in North America has voted to ban hard alcohol in chapter houses and at events. A Florida State University official is calling that a “step forward.”

As Gov. Rick Scott’s Cabinet meets for its last clemency board meeting before the state’s general election, the conversation surrounding felon voting rights is ramping up. One amendment on the ballot could put a new restoration system in place.

Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum’s campaign has released receipts from trips Gillum took in 2016 with lobbyists to Costa Rica and New York City. The disclosure comes amid the Florida Commission on Ethics’ probe into a complaint about how the trips were paid for.

Governor Rick Scott is directing an additional $3 million dollars to fight red tide in five of Florida’s most-affected counties. That brings grant funding to fight algae to a total of $9 million.

Former Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine greeted Leon County voters casting early ballots Wednesday. The gubernatorial candidate says he’s knocking on doors around Florida during the home stretch to the primary election.

A coalition of former state legislators and other elected officials is urging Floridians to vote ‘no’ on proposed Amendments to the state constitution. They are calling for significant reforms to the Revision Commission’s process, and even entertaining the idea of its abolition.

Those helping victims of Franklin County’s Eastpoint community recover from a devastating fire say all the displaced are having their needs met.