COVID-19 and school

While some districts statewide are pausing out-of-state travel, one Tampa Bay area district is making all field trips voluntary for students.

In Pasco County, there were 649 teacher vacancies on Monday, with most related to COVID-19. It has forced the district to double up classes, or pull in staff members with teaching backgrounds to fill in.

Thousands of kids in Florida are testing positive for the coronavirus. Doctors say hospitals are seeing about as many patients as they did during the delta surge.

Florida Education Association president Andrew Spar says a "massive exodus" of teachers is contributing to the shortage.

The U.S. Department of Education dropped a cease-and-desist order after the state returned money it had been withholding from school districts that had since reversed their mask mandates.

The judge upheld the emergency rule and said decisions to opt out of student mask requirements are at the “sole discretion” of parents or guardians.

Lawmakers are facing questions about how public schools should be funded with more students taking classes online.

The U.S. Department of Education has asked an administrative judge to block the state from slashing federal aid money sent to the Broward and Alachua school districts over their mask mandates.

It's in response to the state saying it will withhold the salaries of school board members in counties that have issued mask mandates.

After hearing testimony for two days, Judge Brian Newman said he could issue his ruling on the case involving six school boards in the next two weeks.

Six school districts are suing the state and say the Department of Health’s basis for issuing a rule giving parents the right to opt out of mask mandates is wrong.

A Tampa pediatrician will make a presentation to the Food and Drug Administration’s advisory committee when it meets on Tuesday to recommend whether to approve a COVID-19 vaccine for young children.