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Amid a debate about whether students should be required to take standardized tests in person as COVID-19 continues to spread, the state Department of Education is giving an additional two weeks for the Florida Standards Assessments and a statewide science test to be administered.
The emergency order points to a “disproportionate numbers of educationally disadvantaged students learning off-campus or not attending school at all" due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Updated Feb. 5
TALLAHASSEE â Gov. Ron DeSantisâ administration announced Friday that it is shaking up the leadership in agencies on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic. Top staffers responsible for fighting the virus, combating the negative social consequences of the pandemic and getting unemployment claims processed are all leaving their current roles.
⢠After two years at the helm of the Department of Children and Families, Chad Poppell is resigning effective Feb. 19, according to a letter he sent to DeSantis.
⢠Shevaun Harris, who is serving as acting secretary for the Agency for Health Care Administration since October, was tapped as Poppellâs replacement.
New Service of Florida
“Shot shopping” by seniors from neighboring areas and uncertainty about COVID-19 vaccine allotments are vexing local officials in rural counties, but the state s emergency management chief blames the problems on supply shortages.
The small counties’ frustration is among a litany of complaints about Florida’s rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, as elected officials in counties of all sizes are flooded by requests from constituents trying to get potentially life-saving shots.
Okeechobee County Commissioner Terry Burroughs said residents of his county which will receive 500 doses this week are being “short-changed” because people from nearby regions are snapping up the highly sought-after inoculations.