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.

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.