Wednesday, October 21, 2026
The president of the Alachua County teachers union is backing a recommended written reprimand for Gainesville High School teacher Lauren Watts, who gave a student a “most likely to become a dictator” award. The case drew state attention after the student spoke before Florida’s Board of Education, prompting a complaint from the state’s former education commissioner. The state Education Practices Commission is expected to issue its own ruling on the matter.
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Sources: WCJB TV20
The University of Florida has grown its AI Across the Curriculum initiative — launched in 2020 — to more than 200 AI-related courses spanning all 16 colleges, along with a university-wide AI Fundamentals and Applications certificate open to undergraduates of every major. UF also hired more than 100 new faculty members with AI expertise distributed across disciplines rather than concentrated in STEM fields, and its HiPerGator supercomputer supports more than 800 research projects, with student access available without grants or funding. An annual AI Days competition, running since 2022, has helped launch ventures including Fire Neural Network, whose co-founder won a $12,000 pitch prize as a student and has since built the company into an international operation.
Sources: UF News
