The big story: Florida lawmakers are nearing the end of their 2024 legislative session. Many measures they’ve discussed are falling by the wayside, with most committee meetings done.

Still, others roll on. Many have potential effects on children across the state.

Yet some students say they feel like an afterthought as adults pursue problems that teens don’t see as issues.

“They don’t actually see what goes on in our classrooms and what kinds of things we’re experiencing,” Pasco County high school senior Aimee Haggerty said. Read more here.

A proposal to bar children under 16 from social media has drawn particular attention from kids, WUSF reports.

Tallahassee action

Teacher shortage: State lawmakers are pondering changes to teacher retirement rules as they look for ways to get more educators into classrooms, Newsweek reports.

History lessons: A bill to require instruction about communism at all grade levels is being refined as it moves closer to adoption, WMFE reports. More from Florida Politics.

Discipline: An effort to curtail corporal punishment in Florida schools is making slow progress in the Florida Legislature, the Orlando Sentinel reports.

Certification: Lawmakers have proposed creating a special teaching certificate for educators at classical schools, News Service of Florida.

Today in Tallahassee … It’s a day off to recognize Presidents’ Day. Maybe you can participate in the annual Great Backyard Bird Count instead.

Hot topics

Superintendents: In his bid to become Pasco schools superintendent, former state senator John Legg is relying heavily on funds he collected for a 2016 reelection bid he never pursued.

School board races: Candidates for two Hillsborough County School Board seats faced off at a Tiger Bay Club debate. They didn’t see eye to eye on everything.

Safety: The Broward County school district plans to begin using walk-through metal detectors at 10 schools in the 2024-25 school year, the Sun-Sentinel reports.

Reading lessons: Many teachers in training don’t get adequate exposure to evidence-based reading instruction, Education Week reports.

Permission slips: The Miami-Dade County school district told principals to suspend the use of permission slips for participation in Black History Month events, WPLG reports. More on Miami’s permission slip controversy from PolitiFact Florida. • Some central Florida parents say the explosion of permission slips has gotten out of hand, after being asked to sign off on their high schoolers’ attendance at an after-school showing of the movie “Tangled,” WFTV reports.

New College: It’s been a year since trustees appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis implemented a major overhaul at New College. The school barely looks the same anymore, the Herald-Tribune reports.

Measles breakout: Cases of the measles are rising in Broward County schools, the Miami Herald reports. It could be the beginning of a larger outbreak, WFOR reports.

Land for sale: The Pasco County School Board and New Port Richey city commission are at odds over the future of the former Schwettman Education Center, which the board is looking to sell.

Inspired by students: Central Florida teachers of the year say their students keep them going year after year, the Orlando Sentinel reports.

College leadership: Longtime Florida Southern College president Anne B. Kerr announced her retirement, the Ledger reports. She has led the school since 2004.

Capacity concerns: The Duval County school district has proposed merging two gifted magnet programs that serve predominantly Black neighborhoods, Jacksonville Today reports. Officials said both schools are under capacity.

Book challenges: The Hernando County School Board will consider removal of three additional titles from its shelves, Suncoast News reports.

From the police blotter … A Palm Beach County charter school teacher was warned not to give students rides in his personal car shortly before he was arrested on allegations of unlawful sexual activity with a minor student, the Palm Beach Post reports.

Don’t miss a story. Here’s a link to Friday’s roundup.

Before you go … This just popped up in the feed, and it was so incongruous yet captivating it needed to be shared.