Dept. of Education in 2025
In terms of funding, Board changes and refurbishment, 2025 poses an uncertain future for Brevard County’s Department of Education.
If, as intimated, President-elect Trump abolishes the U.S. Department of Education, that power would go to individual states.
The federal department oversees many aspects of education, including Title IX and the allocation of Title I funds that help economically disadvantaged students, programs like Head Start, VPK., and funds for disabled students.
Without the federal Department of Education, those funds and their allocation would be left up to the state.In Brevard, the district's 2025 fiscal year budget included a total of $55, million from the federal government. An additional $37 million came from the federal government for food services.
District 4 school board member Matt Susin announced his run for the Florida House District 32 seat, and once a date is set for the election, he must resign his seat, and Gov. Ron DeSantis will appoint a new board member.
The district has also begun working to update Brevard classrooms for the current educational needs of today's students. The process includes establishing a timeline, analyzing data, gathering input from the public, and making recommendations on where updates and improvements can occur.
The future of the Brevard schools book review committee.
Three months after the Brevard Public Schools book review committee was halted, it's still unclear what the future holds for the committee ― and a growing list of books parents have challenged. WFIT’s Rick Glasby has more:
In late September, the district's book review committee was put on hold, with the district citing two vacant positions in the five-member committee. At the time, Tara Harris, assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction, said meetings would be postponed until new members were appointed. But it's not clear when new members will be appointed. Brevard Public Schools did not respond to multiple requests for comment from FLORIDA TODAY.
During 2024, the review committee ― whose job is to review challenged books and recommend them to the school board- reviewed 14 books. Twelve books were restricted to high school only or removed entirely from school shelves.
Florida's economy outperformed U.S. in 2024
According to Sean Snaith, director of the University of Central Florida’s Institute for Economic Forecasting, Florida’s economy continued to grow at a faster pace than the national economy in 2024.
“Our labor market in the state is more robust than the national labor market. Population growth continues to take place and fuel this ongoing economic growth. So, hurricanes aside, we've had a pretty good 2024,” he said.
Florida’s unemployment rate is 0.8 percentage points lower than the national rate and job growth remains at 1.4%. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that Florida’s population currently exceeds 23 million, as the state experienced growth above the national average at 2%.
Snaith says tourism, construction, and healthcare are among the top drivers of Florida’s economy and anticipates this trend of Florida outpacing the nation to last through 2027.
New 'Halo Law' makes protects first responders in Florida
Under Florida's new "Halo Law", Senate Bill 184, individuals must stand at least 25 feet from a first responder while on the job.
This law is meant to avoid people impeding, threatening or harassing first responders, which includes all law enforcement officers, firefighters and emergency medical crews.
Under the "Halo Law," if you fail to comply, you could face a second-degree misdemeanor charge, including jail time of up to 60 days, or a $500 fine.
More: www.floridatoday.com