FAMU President unsure about band’s future – The return date of the Florida A&M University band is still to-be-determined. Interim President Larry Robinson told the school’s board of trustees Wednesday that he’s not ready to announce when the band will return. FAMU has four finalists for the new band director position, including three with ties to the band, which was suspended in the aftermath of the death of drum major Robert Champion. The Gainesville Sun via The Associated Press
Fla. worker dumbfounded to find foster girl gone – Department of Children and Families employee Dora Betancourt testified Wednesday that she could not find clues to the whereabouts of missing foster child Rilya Wilson. Rilya’s caretaker Geralyn Graham is on trial for allegedly killing the girl in late 2000. Graham insists she is innocent and claimed an unknown DCF employee had taken Rilya away in early 2001 for mental tests. Tampa Bay Times via The Associated Press
Florida highway agency may be headed to court over license plates – County tax collectors and other groups are arguing that Florida is breaking the law as it moves to pay private companies to make and distribute the state’s new license tags, which are services that have been done by state workers for decades. The Florida Department of Highway and Motor Vehicles failed to settle the dispute Tuesday and may be headed to court. The Miami Herald via The Associated Press
Fla. teachers score well in new state eval system – Critics are questioning the validity of scores released Wednesday by state officials that rate nearly 97 percent of Florida teachers as “effective” or “highly effective.” The scores, which were determined under a controversial new evaluation system, varied widely among school districts. Under the new system, each school district was allowed to determine its own scoring based on curriculum and students’ learning and performance growth. State education officials did not immediately respond to an email asking about the possible inaccuracies in the data. Tampa Tribune via The Associated Press
