The Children's Services Council will hold its meeting on Wednesday. One issue on the agenda will be a Truancy Bill Resolution. The Florida State Legislature passed the Bullying Bill this year after four long years of effort. This will be the third year of efforts to persuade the legislature to pass this companion Truancy Bill. The local Highlands County School Board has passed elements of its school regulations pertaining to bullying and truancy to more efficiently manage conduct on campus, but it is the state law and regulations which need to be updated for all 67 counties, to ensure a safe and suitable environment for students to learn in our public schools. Truancy is one significant consequence of bullying. One only has to note the level and intensity of destructive and violent behavior by students on and off campus, in news reports, to know that our educational institutions are in peril. ...more

August 25, 2008

DNC Dismisses Florida Regarding Joseph Brown's column "Denying Vote Now Part of Party Policy" (Commentary, Jan. 27): ...more

February 3, 2008