Request for retrial of suspended UF protester

The big story: As Florida’s universities crack down on protesting students, a civil rights organization is asking for compassion and leniency for at least one of those students.

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression has called on University of Florida President Ben Sasse to lift the suspension of doctoral student Keely Gliwa, who was also denied her master’s degree.

The group explains the context of Gliwa’s arrest at a pro-Palestinian rally in April, saying she stayed after police ordered everyone to leave because she had stopped to help another student who was having a panic attack.

University officials said everyone was warned well in advance that an arrest would result in suspension. Read more here.

Hot topics

Board Ethics: Broward County School Board member Allen Zeman has accused fellow board member Torey Alston of violating state ethics laws by advocating for payments to charter schools even though Alston’s wife had a financial interest in the payments, WTVJ reports.

Book Challenges: A Palm Beach County resident is asking the school board to add warning labels to three books he says contain sexual content and are inappropriate for high school students, the Palm Beach Post reports. A school board has rejected the appeals.

Early education: Forty-four states, including Florida, offer some type of universal preschool program, but “universal” doesn’t always mean all children have equal access, reports Stateline.org. Florida has the highest participation rate at 67%.

Choose: Two Broward school board candidates have resigned from their jobs with the school district because questions arose about how they were running their campaigns during work hours, the Sun-Sentinel reports.

Growth: Schools in Santa Rosa County are struggling to keep up with booming population growth, WEAR reports.

Principal: The MAST Academy in Miami-Dade County is getting a new principal, Islander News reports.

Security: Brevard County schools are preparing to deploy armed school employees as security guards this fall, Florida Today reports. Teachers are not allowed to participate in the program and the security guards remain anonymous.

University Presidents: Florida A&M University President Larry Robinson has announced his resignation, but the timing of the resignation will be determined by trustees, the Tallahassee Democrat reports. Students said they will miss Robinson, WFSU reports.

From the police report… A Seminole County science teacher has been arrested for child abuse, WOFL reports.

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

Before you go … Couldn’t make it to the Pensacola Beach air show this weekend? Check out these Blue Angels highlights.