Latest news with #DuvalCountyPublicSchools
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Yahoo
‘Prepared to respond:' Duval County law enforcement conducts active shooter training in Mayport
When law enforcement authorities said 20-year-old Phoenix Ikner opened fire on Florida State University's campus earlier this year, killing two and injuring several others, it served as a reminder just how close to home the threat of an active shooter is for schools across Florida and in Duval County. 'Those officers did a great job that day, but it's another reminder of how close to home these things happen and how quickly they can happen,' Duval County Public Schools Police Chief Jackson Short said Thursday morning. 'So it's important that we take them seriously and that we are prepared to respond.' Thursday morning, for the fourth straight year, multiple law enforcement agencies across Duval County conducted active shooter drills in our area schools, to make sure they're prepared in times of crisis. 'They [were] tasked with not only locating the suspects, but also addressing them appropriately,' Chief Short explained. 'In addition, we [also had] students simulating victims that need different levels of first aid, so using concepts such as the rescue task force, which is a partnership between law enforcement and fire rescue, to get those trained medical personnel into the crisis site.' [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department, DCPS Police Department, as well as Jacksonville, Neptune, and Atlantic beach police came together at Mayport Middle and Mayport Elementary Thursday morning, to coordinate the training exercise among beaches schools for the very first time. 'Those three beaches police departments, they work together constantly, they support each other constantly,' Chief Short said. 'Their borders touch each other and it's not uncommon for them to back each other up and back up the sheriff's office that patrols out here in Mayport. So we felt like this location was the perfect opportunity to bring all those agencies together.' During the summer break, police are asking parents and students to familiarize themselves with the student training for active shooter scenarios. You can find a link to those training videos on the Duval County Public Schools website by clicking here. [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
Axios
28-05-2025
- Business
- Axios
Florida's school districts cite funding cuts for meal option changes
State and federal budget cuts — plus the end of pandemic-era relief funds — are changing how school districts across Florida are feeding public school students. Why it matters: Research has long suggested that free meals in schools increase positive outcomes for students. Doing away with programs that support universal free lunches could negatively impact the millions of Florida's public school students who rely on them. Depending on the district, some families will have to pay for lunch for the first time in years. By the numbers: More than 50% of Florida's public school students last year received free or reduced meals while at school, according to the Florida Department of Health. In Miami-Dade, more than 78,600 students, or more than 55%, were eligible. In the Tampa Bay region, there were more than 72,700 students. More than 50% of students qualified in both Hillsborough and Pinellas counties, per the state. The latest: In recent weeks, school districts across Florida have announced they are no longer offering free lunches for all students in the 2025-26 school year and are returning to a previously used application process. Other districts have raised the cost of lunches for students. Case in point: In Broward County, officials in a news release said the district will no longer offer free lunches for all students in the 2025-26 school year, citing "changes in program funding." It's also increasing lunch prices by $1. Duval County Public Schools said it was doing away with free universal lunches for 37 schools, reported News4Jax. Pasco County schools announced it was increasing prices for elementary and middle school lunches by 15 cents and high school prices by 20 cents, WUSF reported. A spokesperson for Hillsborough County schools told WUSF it was not raising lunch prices. How it works: Federal funding is available to schools that qualify for the Community Eligibility Program, which provides free lunches for all students at schools if 40% or more students qualify for free or reduced meals. In recent years, districts have provided free lunches in schools that don't meet the CEP criteria, but budget cuts and the end of stimulus funds have made those alternatives harder to sustain. Miami-Dade County schools still qualify for CEP and will continue offering universal free lunches for the 2025-26 year, but officials told Axios they "are evaluating all options for future years." State of play: Both the Broward and Duval districts had used excess federal relief dollars to offer free lunches for all students at schools that no longer qualified for CEP. Those programs, officials said, can't be supported without the additional federal dollars. In Broward County, free school lunches cost about $9 million annually, according to the Miami Herald. Yes, but: That doesn't mean free meals won't be available. Beginning July 14, families who qualify can apply for their student to receive free or reduced lunches, officials said. And all students can still receive free breakfasts through the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Universal Free Breakfast Program.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
DCPS urges families to register for buses as registration opens for the 2025-26 school year
Duval County Public Schools bus registration is now open for students for the 2025-26 school year. Each year, all students have to be registered for transportation before they are able to ride a bus. Starting this year, it will also include students in self contained Exceptional Student Education (ESE) programs. The first day of school is August 11, and DCPS urges families to register as soon as they can to ensure their child has a bus stop, according to DCPS. For more help, DCPS has a step-by-step tutorial to guide families through the process. Click here for help with registration. [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Duval County Public Schools ending free lunch at 37 schools, breakfast still free for all
Duval County Public Schools leaders said Wednesday that free lunch will no longer be offered at 37 schools starting next school year. The district shared the information through its social media platforms and sent emails to parents. You can read that here: Since 2020, the district has been able to provide free lunch to all students in all schools across the district, regardless of their financial status, because of additional funds allotted to the county through federal pandemic funding. Now, the district said it is no longer sustainable with the county's budget to continue the program. Before 2020, schools with 40% or more students from low-income families were automatically enrolled in the free lunch for all programs. Those schools will continue to receive free lunches next year. Conversely, since this five-year-long program is being reversed, students in those schools that don't automatically qualify will have to apply for free or reduced lunch through the free or reduced lunch application. Listed below are the schools that don't automatically qualify for free lunch starting next school year: Alden Road Exceptional Student Center Alimacani Elementary Anchor Academy Elementary Atlantic Beach Elementary Atlantic Coast High Baldwin Jr/Sr Bartram Springs Elementary Chets Creek Elementary Darnell Cookman Jr/Sr Douglas Anderson High Fishweir Elementary Fletcher High Fletcher Middle Greenland Pines Elementary Hendricks Avenue Elementary J. Allen Axson Elementary Jacksonville Beach Elementary James Weldon Johnson Middle John Stockton Elementary Julia Landon Middle Lavilla Middle Loretto Elementary Louis Sheffield Elementary Mandarin High Mandarin Middle Mandarin Oaks Elementary Mayport Elementary Mayport Middle Neptune Beach Elementary New Berlin Elementary Paxon High Sabal Palm Elementary Samuel W. Wolfson High San Pablo Elementary Sandalwood High Seabreeze Elementary Stanton High [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] District leaders say students at these schools can still apply to qualify for free lunch through the free or reduced lunch program. Students can also pay out-of-pocket to eat school lunch, or bring their lunch to school going forward. Action News Jax talked to Luis Caballero, who said all four of his children attend schools that won't offer free lunch next school year. 'I just don't think it's a fair thing to be doing to kids right now,' Caballero said. [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] Caballero said while his children haven't always taken advantage of the free lunch, it's been nice as a back-up plan when his children would forget to bring a lunch from home. 'If there are days that they forget their lunch and stuff like that, then that impacts them because we're two working parents and you have to be working parents in this economy,' he said. DCPS said it will still serve breakfast for free to all students across the district, regardless of their family income status. Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Yahoo
Sub teacher arrested after guns found in his car blocked from teaching at DCPS schools in future
A now-former substitute teacher was arrested Tuesday after he was found to have several weapons in his vehicle on a Duval County Public Schools campus. Abdiel Alexander Badillo-Martinez, 29, is facing charges of possession of a short-barreled gun, rifle, or machine gun; and carry concealed weapon or firearm in any elementary/secondary school facility, according to a Jacksonville Sheriff's Office arrest report. Around 9 a.m. Tuesday, a Southside Estates Elementary School employee told the school safety officer that Badillo-Martinez told her 'that he was homeless and had to keep his firearm in his vehicle because he had nowhere to keep it,' the arrest report said. The employee said she learned this information Monday when she assisted him with getting a locksmith to open his car when it was on campus, the report said. She saw a gun on his floorboard and told him he couldn't have a gun on his campus. RELATED: Substitute teacher arrested after guns, ammo, knife found in his car on campus, Duval Schools says The school security officer and a sergeant went to speak with Badillo-Martinez and Principal Teresa Dowdell-Brown said in a message to parents that students were 'cleared' from the building while police were investigating and 'limited the movement of students throughout the entire school.' When Badillo-Martinez's car was searched by police, they found 'that the substitute had multiple weapons, an extensive amount of ammunition, and a knife stored in his car,' Brown's message said. Criminal records obtained by Action News Jax show Badillo-Martinez was charged with a misdemeanor for possession of marijuana back in October 2023, and a misdemeanor traffic offense for driving without a license in December 2023. But according to DCPS, a person is ineligible for employment if they have been convicted of two misdemeanors in the last 5 years. [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] We sent DCPS questions asking how long Badillo-Martinez had been employed with the county, and how he was able to bypass the county's background screening. Here is what DCPS said: 'Substitute teachers are not directly hired by the school district. Rather, we contract with a substitute teacher provider, ESS, who conducts hiring for temporary instructional personnel. Here is a link where you can learn more information: 'That said, substitute teachers – just like school district employees – must undergo a stringent Level II employment and criminal background check which includes submitting to fingerprinting that is processed by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the FBI. This is in accordance with state statute and our hiring guidelines. Below is an excerpt from Board Policy 6.08 which outlines the district's policy for employees and contractual personnel, like substitute teachers. 'For additional reference, here is a link to State Statute that outlines the Level II offenses disqualifying individuals from employment in any position that requires direct contact with students in a district school system, a charter school, or a private school." Brown said in her message that 'the substitute will be blocked from working in our school or in any Duval County Public School in the future.' [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] Here is the full message from Brown that was sent to Southside Estates families: 'Hello Southside Estates families, this is Principal Brown calling to make you aware of a concerning situation that played out on campus earlier today. 'It began late yesterday afternoon when one of our staff members became aware that a substitute teacher had a weapon stored in his car. This morning, the staff member reported that information to school police. The police investigated and discovered that the substitute had multiple weapons, an extensive amount of ammunition, and a knife stored in his car. 'While the police were investigating, we cleared the students from building 11, which is where the substitute was teaching and limited the movement of students throughout the entire school. Once the investigation was completed and building 11 was determined to be safe, the students returned to their classrooms. 'The substitute, whose name is Abdiel Badillo-Martinez, was subsequently arrested and faces multiple charges. While it does not appear that he was armed while in the classroom or in the school building, it is illegal to have firearms anywhere on school property. As a result of this incident, the substitute will be blocked from working in our school or in any Duval County Public School in the future. 'In addition, while I am grateful that the staff member made the report this morning, information of that nature should have been reported immediately. I assure you that I am addressing this aspect of the situation as a human resources matter, as well. 'The safety of your children is our first goal, and we all share in the partnership to keep our campus secure. In that regard, I appreciate your partnership in keeping our students and staff safe and for your support of our school. Thanks again. Good-bye.' Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
