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The Florida Roundup is a live, weekly call-in show with a distinct focus on the issues affecting Floridians. Each Friday at noon, listeners can engage in the conversation with journalists, newsmakers and other Floridians about change, policy and the future of our lives in the sunshine state.Join our host, WLRN’s Tom Hudson, broadcasting from Miami.

School districts plan closures, impact of state immigration laws and Florida’s Wildlife Corridor

FILE - Desks are arranged in a classroom at an elementary school in Nesquehoning, Pa., March 11, 2021. The COVID-19 pandemic that shuttered classrooms set back learning in some U.S. school systems by more than a year, with children in high-poverty areas affected the most, according to a district-by-district analysis of test scores shared exclusively with The Associated Press. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)
Matt Slocum/AP
/
AP
FILE - Desks are arranged in a classroom at an elementary school in Nesquehoning, Pa., March 11, 2021. The COVID-19 pandemic that shuttered classrooms set back learning in some U.S. school systems by more than a year, with children in high-poverty areas affected the most, according to a district-by-district analysis of test scores shared exclusively with The Associated Press. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)

This week on The Florida Roundup, we discuss how districts are considering school closures due to shrinking enrollment, the impact of Florida’s anti-immigration laws one year later, a series of reports about Florida’s Wildlife Corridor and the 2021 Law to conserve millions of more acres.

Some school districts plan closures amid enrollment loss

Some of the largest school districts in the state are dealing with shrinking enrollment, leadership changes and fighting over state money.

The school districts in Broward, Hillsborough and Duval counties are considering closing more than three dozen schools combined. But a school district in Central Florida is planning on adding more than a dozen new schools in the next decade.

Guests:

  • Megan Mallicoat, education reporter for Jacksonville Today.  
  • Marlene Sokol, education reporter for The Tampa Bay Times.  
  • Kate Payne, education reporter for WLRN News. 
  • Angie Gallo, Orange County Public Schools (OCPS) Board Member and Vice Chair of the Florida School Boards Association (FSBA). 

Impact of state immigration laws a year out 

It’s been one year since Florida passed one of the toughest laws cracking down on undocumented immigrants. We hear about the impact on Florida’s agricultural industry.

Guest:

  • Jasmine Garsd, Immigration correspondent NPR and writer, host of The Last Cup

Florida’s Wildlife Corridor 

The Florida Wildlife Corridor is not a singular passageway but actually millions of acres held together across the state. About half of the areas are protected and a 2021 law aims to conserve millions more.

The Florida Trident, Oviedo Community News, WGCU and Central Florida Public Media teamed up for a deep-dive look at the Wildlife Corridor.

Copyright 2024 WLRN 91.3 FM

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