Florida attorney general to enforce parent rights in schools, government
The big story: Saying government does not know best when it comes to child rearing, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier on Tuesday unveiled his new Office of Parental Rights.
Touting it as a first in the nation initiative, the AG said he aims to assist families who seek justice from school districts or local governments that 'seek to 'treat,' indoctrinate or collect data from students without parental involvement.'
He made the announcement surrounded by activists from several groups that have advocated for a greater authority for parents in children's education, health care and other aspects of life.
Asked about the potential cost of launching taxpayer-funded lawsuits against government entities, Uthmeier responded, 'There is no cost to protecting the rights of parents and families.' Read more from Florida Politics.
Turnarounds: Pasco County's Cox Elementary faces the specter of a state-mandated takeover if its student test scores don't improve. The school community is working hard to make sure Cox stays local.
Teacher pay: Florida teachers are leaving their jobs as the state's average salary drops to the lowest in the nation, WEAR reports.
Taxes: The Florida House launched a special committee to investigate the possibility of eliminating most property taxes, a key source of public education funding, News Service of Florida reports.
State colleges: Hillsborough Community College is in line to lose 'community' from its name, as the state continues to rebrand its colleges.
Start times: Florida lawmakers moved to undo their mandate that middle and high schools have later start times after hearing concerns from local district officials. The bill now heads to Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Relief: A Pasco County man stands to get a $1.2 million settlement from the Pasco County school district nearly 20 years after being severely injured in a school bus accident.
Migrant education: Hillsborough County schools are celebrating one of its largest classes of migrant students who are graduating.
Mental health services: School officials in Sarasota and Manatee counties say student mental health needs outpace the funding available to help, Suncoast Searchlight reports.
Early education: Florida's prekindergarten program is one of the nation's largest, yet it remains inaccessible to some families, TC Palm reports.
Diversity, equity and inclusion: Four Florida public universities are holding graduation ceremonies to honor LGBTQ+ graduates, but rebranding them to comply with the state's anti-DEI laws, Campus Reform reports.
Cellphones: Florida schools and the Legislature continue to debate the use of cellphones in the classroom, Fresh Take Florida reports. Some parents have strong reservations about banning the devices. • A Lake County middle school administrator was reassigned amid an investigation into claims she inappropriate grabbed a student while trying to confiscate his phone, WOFL reports.
Advanced courses: Duval County school district officials say proposed funding reductions should not threaten the district's advanced and career programs, WJAX reports.
From the police blotter ... Police have found weapons inside Broward County's Miramar High School on two consecutive days, the Sun-Sentinel reports. • The Escambia County Sheriff's Office is investigating a student accused of bringing a gun to school, the Pensacola News-Journal reports.
From the court docket ... Cambridge Christian School will take its decade-old lawsuit over being denied the right to pray on the public announcement system at a state championship football game to the U.S. Supreme Court, News Service of Florida reports.
Today in Tallahassee ... The Senate convenes at 10 a.m. with HB 443 on charter schools up for final passage, and several education-related measures available on special order. The House convenes at 1 p.m. with five education-related bills available on special order including SB 140 on charter schools and SB 1470 on school safety.
Don't miss a story. Here's a link to yesterday's roundup.
Before you go ... The rage these days is the great moose migration in Sweden. The live stream is a Swedish source that's supposed to run through at least May 4. Here's a story about it.
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Atlantic
an hour ago
- Atlantic
The Protests Are Just Starting
This is an edition of The Atlantic Daily, a newsletter that guides you through the biggest stories of the day, helps you discover new ideas, and recommends the best in culture. Sign up for it here. For months, as Donald Trump has hollowed out the executive branch, defied courts, and worked to suppress dissent, his critics have rightly worried about the lack of visible public opposition. Democratic Party leaders are still obsessing over the 2024 election; outside organizations are fatigued; and mass protests such as those seen in the early months of Trump's first term have been missing. That began to change over the past few days, as demonstrations arose in Los Angeles over immigration-enforcement operations by federal agents. As they begin to spread to other cities, these protests look like the first mass movement against the second Trump administration. And with events scheduled this weekend to serve as counterprogramming to Trump's birthday military parade, they have the potential to grow. Yet as this moment begins, some members of the anti-Trump coalition worry that these demonstrations will bring about disaster. Protests are messy; even when the majority of participants are peaceful, just a few bad actors can produce instances of violence, and big protests always draw a few bad actors. Observers have also worried about the optics of protesters carrying Mexican flags, lest the protests be seen as unpatriotic or anti-American. One overriding concern is that even minor missteps by Trump's critics will give him an excuse to overreach further. 'Trump is expecting resistance,' my colleague Tom Nichols wrote over the weekend. 'You will not be heroes. You will be the pretext.' These concerns are understandable, and they are offered in good faith by dyed-in-the-wool Trump critics, who don't hesitate to call him a budding authoritarian. They're correct that Trump is welcoming confrontation. Trying to convince anti-Trump allies about the most effective tactics can feel much more productive than appealing to Trump to respect protests or the rule of law, especially because his actions are frequently erratic and irrational. But the focus on specific tactics, or on trying to predict how the president will respond, overlooks how effective large protests have been—not just historically, but also during Trump's first term. The same could be true now. None of this is to excuse violent protests, which are dangerous and destructive, and also usually politically counterproductive in America. Actual violence in Los Angeles appears to be limited and small in scale, and Trump's decision to federalize thousands of National Guard members and deploy hundreds of U.S. Marines is, as I wrote yesterday, both legally dubious and wildly disproportionate. The most heralded victims so far have been some Waymo driverless taxis, and local authorities blamed scattered violence on provocateurs who are tangential to the protests. Most protesters appear to be on the streets simply to witness and to speak out against the administration's immigration raids. Take the president's word for it: Even Trump says the situation is ' very well under control.' The existence of large demonstrations, which are spreading into other cities, is itself a sign of Trump's vulnerability. His turn to the military to try to enforce his will, less than six months into his term, is a gesture of authoritarianism, but it's also an indication of his weak sway over the public. Plenty of experience shows that Trump almost always folds. Besides, Trump definitely wins if people disperse because they don't want to provoke him. Peaceful protests can be very effective at changing policy and public opinion, and the biggest win for Trump might be for people to be so scared of what he'll do next that they do nothing at all. As the journalist Asawin Suebsaeng noted on Sunday, you would be hard-pressed to find Americans counseling protesters in repressive nations—such as Iran or Burma or Hungary—to stop protesting just because their leaders might be spoiling for a fight. Furthermore, gaming out strategy and predicting how things might end here (or anywhere) is very difficult. This applies to everyone involved. Some advising caution are worried that protests will give Trump cover to intensify a crackdown, but he hardly needs an excuse, and his reactions are unpredictable. Meanwhile, people around Trump are very confident that they're in a winning position on immigration. 'We couldn't script this any better,' someone 'close to the White House' told Politico. 'Democrats are again on the '20' side of an 80–20 issue.' But why should anyone believe them? The story of Trump's career is overreach followed by public opposition—including on immigration—and sometimes that opposition sways him. During his first term, Trump reversed his family-separation policy in summer 2018 because of widespread horror. Trump and his advisers were also convinced that protests against police brutality, which turned violent in cities such as Kenosha, Wisconsin, and Portland, Oregon, were going to win them the 2020 election, and they were proved wrong about that. The backlash has come even faster this term. Although Trump won the election with a campaign that focused intensely on immigration enforcement, Americans have been less enthusiastic about the results now that they're experiencing their effects. Lots of people support deporting criminals, but they don't like it when beloved community members such as Carol Hui, the woman whose story became a rallying point for a conservative Missouri town, are removed. (She has since been released. TACO.) In April, a Washington Post / ABC News / Ipsos poll found that a majority of people disapproved of Trump's immigration policies. A CBS News / YouGov poll taken before the L.A. protests found him slightly higher—but at just 50 percent approval. The data journalist G. Elliott Morris finds that coverage of the improper deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia to El Salvador hurt Trump's approval ratings. YouGov polls conducted since the protests began have found that pluralities of Americans disapprove of Trump deploying both the National Guard and the Marines. None of these polls should be taken as gospel, but they should give pause about drawing conclusions as to how the public at large will view what's happening in Los Angeles. They are also a reminder that public opinion is not immutable—it's dynamic and can be shaped. The anti-Trump movement can much more easily figure out what it stands for than it can predict what Trump might do next, or how other people will react. Today's News The Pentagon doubled the number of California National Guard members in Los Angeles and deployed about 700 Marines to the city's protests yesterday. A shooter killed at least 10 people at a high school in Graz, Austria, according to police. The State Department ordered diplomatic missions on Friday to resume processing visas for Harvard University students and exchange visitors. Evening Read The Wyoming Hospital Upending the Logic of Private Equity By Megan Greenwell After years of trying to improve his hospital in Riverton, Wyoming—first as a doctor, then as a board member and volunteer activist—Roger Gose was ready to give up … 'You want to leave a place better than you found it,' he told me. And for a long time, he felt like he had. But that was before LifePoint Health, one of the biggest rural-hospital chains in the country, saw his hospital as a distressed asset in need of saving through a ruthless search for efficiencies, and before executives at Apollo Global Management, a private-equity firm whose headquarters looms above the Plaza Hotel in Midtown Manhattan, began calling the shots. That was before Gose realized that, in the private-equity world, a hospital was just another widget, a tool to make money and nothing more. More From The Atlantic Culture Break Watch (or skip). Ballerina, the new John Wick spin-off (in theaters now), succeeds as a piece of junky fun —but it also shows the trap of the cinematic side quest, David Sims writes. Examine. As Donald Trump prepares to host the musical Les Misérables at the Kennedy Center, a Victor Hugo scholar explores the real message behind the novel.
New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
Jewish leaders condemn John Liu for endorsing Zohran Mamdani for mayor
Jewish leaders and activists have signed an open letter condemning Queens state Sen. John Liu for endorsing staunch Israel foe Zohran Mamdani for mayor, The Post has learned. The letter, signed by more than 60 mostly Jewish residents in the borough, called Liu's endorsement a betrayal. It is set to appear as an ad in local Queens Jewish publications, said the letter's organizer, Michael Nussbaum, a board member of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York and former head of the Queens Jewish Community Council. Advertisement 3 New York City Jewish leaders condemned state Sen. John Liu for endorsing Zohran Mamdani for mayor. Brigitte Stelzer 'Mamdani has made it clear that he is a virulently anti-semite in words and deeds… As a leader in our county, and a representative of a large Jewish population, we consider your endorsement a slap in our face,' states the missive, which shows the Israeli flag with the Star of David in the top right corner. 'Given the history of hateful acts against our community, this support will not go unnoticed,' it says. Advertisement Liu's 16th District in northeast Queens has a significant Jewish population and his endorsement was a coup for Mamdani. Mamdani supports the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement against Israel and has opposed its right to exist as a Jewish state. Liu, a former city comptroller and councilman, is an Asian-American trailblazer who is widely respected. 3 Liu endorsed Mamdani despite saying they have a 'big disagreement' on Israel. X / @ZohranKMamdani Advertisement Nussbaum told The Post he has known the state senator for decades and respects him as a gifted politician and good public servant — and that's why he was shocked that Liu was backing the most anti-Jewish and Israeli candidate in the race. 'Why would he attach his name to someone who is an enemy of Israel and the Jewish people?' Nussbaum asked. During his June 2 endorsement of Mamdani, Liu noted that he had a 'big disagreement' with the Democratic socialist assemblyman on the 'the issue of Israel and how the Jewish community needs to be viewed in this social climate.' Nussbaum said he didn't 'buy Liu's explanation' for backing Mamdani. Advertisement 3 The letter to Liu from Jewish leaders. The wellbeing of the Jewish people is the defining issue in this race given the rise in antisemitism, he said. Other signatories of the letter include former CUNY trustee Jeffrey Wiesenfeld, Yaniv Meirov, CEO at Chazaq Organization; cantor Alan Brava of the Free Synagogue of Flushing, Zev Berman, executive vice president of the Queens Jewish Community, retired judges Jeremy Weinstein and Jeff Leibowitz, and David Aronov of the UJA Federation of New York. In closing, the letter quotes scripture: 'Even my close friend whom I trusted, he who shared my bread, has lifted up his heel against me.' Liu, in a statement on Tuesday, defended his endorsement of Mamdani but also said he would continue to stand with the Jewish community. 'This public rebuke – and the many private protestations – come from respected individuals and organizations with whom I've worked for many years, and I accept them and the consequences they will bear,' Liu said. 'Notwithstanding the deep disapproval of my endorsement, I will continue to stand with and up for the Jewish community.'
New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
House panel demands records of over 200 NGOs that nabbed billions of taxpayer dollars to ‘fuel' border crisis
WASHINGTON — A House Republican panel is demanding records from more than 200 non-governmental organizations that nabbed billions of dollars in taxpayers' money to settle migrants in the US under ex-President Joe Biden. One of the targeted groups is among those embroiled in the anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles. House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green (R-Tenn.) and Subcommittee Chairman Josh Breechen (R-Okla.) fired off letters to the 215 organizations Tuesday, accusing each of having 'helped fuel the worst border crisis in our nation's history.' 5 House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green (R-Tenn.) fired off letters to 215 non-governmental organizations Tuesday accusing them of having 'helped fuel the worst border crisis in our nation's history.' Bloomberg via Getty Images The powerful Republican chairman and Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee leader said the groups created a 'pull factor' in providing taxpayer-funded transportation, translation, housing and other services to migrants, most of whom were released into the country after crossing the border illegally. 'The Committee remains deeply concerned that NGOs that receive U.S. taxpayer dollars benefitted from the border crisis created by the Biden Administration, and stand ready to do so under future Democrat administrations,' Green and Breechen wrote, citing a 'near-total lack of accountability' for how the money was spent. They also noted that they are investigating how much the funding incentivized 'human trafficking and smuggling' operations as well as whether the 'NGOs are now actively advising illegal aliens on how to avoid and impede law enforcement officials.' 5 The ICE crackdown in Los Angeles rounded up convicted sexual abusers, drug dealers and gang members to put into removal proceedings, federal officials said. REUTERS One of the groups, the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), took nearly $1 million in DHS grants to 'offer both citizenship instruction and naturalization application services to lawful permanent residents' starting in 2021. Its last tranche of funding was yanked by the Trump administration in March. CHIRLA organized a rally Thursday to denounce the ICE arrests of illegal immigrants in Los Angeles before protests devolved into full-blown riots that destroyed property and led to the assaults of federal law enforcement. 'We have not participated, coordinated, or been part of the protests being registered in Los Angeles other than the press conference and rally,' a CHIRLA rep previously told The Post in a statement. The group did not respond to a Post request for comment Tuesday. The ICE crackdown in the city rounded up convicted sexual abusers, drug dealers and gang members to put into removal proceedings, DHS officials said. 5 'The committee remains deeply concerned that NGOs that receive U.S. taxpayer dollars benefitted from the border crisis created by the Biden Administration,' Green wrote. REUTERS Southwest Key Programs, another group being probed by Green's panel, was the largest housing nonprofit for unaccompanied migrant kids who entered the US and took around $3 billion in taxpayer funding from Biden's Health and Human Services — before Trump officials pulled the plug in March. Between 2021 and 2023, Southwest Key's top five executives saw their salaries inflated on average from $420,000 to $720,000 — even as the organization outspent its revenue by millions of dollars. The Justice Department sued Southwest Key Programs in July 2024, alleging that some supervisors and employees had committed 'severe' and 'pervasive' rape and sex abuse against kids between 2015 and 2023. The civil suit was dropped by the DOJ in March 2025, the same month that Trump's HHS cut off federal funding for the organization. 5 Green led the GOP charge in the House to impeach former Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. AP Southwest Key 'strongly denied the claims relating to child sexual abuse in our shelters,' a rep previously said. The group did not respond to a Post request for comment Tuesday. Of the more than 550,000 migrant kids who entered the country between February 2021 and January 2025, at least 291,000 were released from federal custody to domestic sponsors — thousands of whom have since been flagged as sex abusers or gang members — and 32,000 went missing entirely, according to an August 2024 report from DHS's inspector general. On average, 2.4 million immigrants entered the US every year between 2021 and 2024, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Roughly 60% crossed the border illegally, a Goldman Sachs analysis found. DHS subagencies such as ICE and the Federal Emergency Management Agency were tapped to 'coordinate with nonprofit organizations that provide services such as food, shelter, and transportation' for those non-citizens who were released, according to a Government Accountability Office report in April 2023. 5 President Trump pulled taxpayer funding for many immigration NGOs after returning to the White House. AP A March 2023 DHS Office of Inspector General audit revealed that 'more than half' of FEMA funding that went to NGOs couldn't be accounted for, Green notes in his letter. The GOP leader has previously called out $81 million in possibly 'illegal' funds that helped cover migrant stays in luxury New York City hotels. Conservative immigration groups have previously estimated that the influx of migrants cost New York City residents as much as $10 billion and bilked US taxpayers up to $150 billion in 2023, the year when illegal border crossings reached their highest level in recorded history. Green led the GOP charge in the House to impeach former Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for allegedly failing to comply with federal immigration law and lying to Congress that the border was 'secure.' The Republican missive requests the total dollar amount of federal grants, contracts or payments received by the NGOs between Jan. 19, 2021, and Jan. 20, 2025. It also demands to know whether any organization sued the feds and what services it provided to migrants. Influential left-leaning groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union, Amnesty International and the Southern Poverty Law Center have all been asked to respond to the queries.
