Florida News Archive

About 2.5 million people in Florida had been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as of Tuesday.

As the “COVID slide” continues to affect learning gains and widen achievement gaps for students nationwide, the Florida Department of Education was moving Wednesday toward requesting a federal waiver for testing accountability measures. The federal government requires 95 percent of Florida students in grades 3 through 8 to sit for math and English-language arts exams.

A 2020 law that required doctors to obtain written consent before conducting pelvic exams caused confusion last summer among Florida physicians. The Senate Health Policy Committee on Wednesday took a step to clarify the law by unanimously passing a bill (SB 716) that says the requirement only applies to female patients and that pelvic exams include examinations of the internal reproductive system.

Gov. Ron DeSantis said Wednesday that he will soon lower the eligibility age to 55 for COVID-19 vaccinations, as demand appears slower for shots even with the eligibility age lowered Monday from 65 to 60.

Despite impassioned pleas from LGBT advocates, a Florida House panel on Wednesday approved a controversial proposal that would ban transgender girls and women from competing in women’s high-school and college sports.

The state this week opened COVID-19 vaccinations to all people ages 60 and older, after earlier focusing on groups such as seniors and health-care workers. Here is a breakdown by age group of the people who had been vaccinated as of a Monday count:

— Ages 16 to 24: 66,473 people

— Ages 25 to 34: 183,684 people

Gov. Ron DeSantis pitched plans Tuesday to use nearly half of the money coming to Florida from a federal stimulus package to bulk up infrastructure, bolster efforts to fight rising sea levels, fix the troubled unemployment system and provide first responders with $1,000 bonuses for their work during the past year.

With dozens of students testifying against the bill, a controversial plan to reduce Bright Futures scholarships for students who pursue degrees deemed unlikely to lead to jobs was approved Tuesday by a Senate committee.

The proposal (SB 86), sponsored by Sen. Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala, advanced from the Republican-controlled Senate Education Committee in a 5-4 party-line vote.

The state released a report Monday showing that Florida’s unemployment rate declined in January to 4.8 percent. Here are county-by-county rates:

— Miami-Dade County: 8.1 percent

— Osceola County: 7.0 percent

Four months ago, Gov. Ron DeSantis bragged that other states should emulate voting procedures in Florida, where former President Donald Trump’s solid Election Day victory over President Joe Biden was done and dusted long before midnight.