Today's news

GRADUATION SEASON CONTINUES: Eckerd College sees 584 graduates into the real world. U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor reminds them it won't be easy, but "the complicated world needs you now more than ever before." (Times photo, James Borchuck)

COLLEGE CONVENIENCE: Six colleges and universities set up shop within a mile of I-75 in southwest Florida, hoping to make access easier for students, the Fort Myers News-Press reports.

REINFORCEMENT: Many Florida school districts already had anti-bullying programs in place similar to the ones now mandated by the Legislature, the Naples Daily News reports.

WHITHER JOE PICKENS? The powerful chairman of the House Schools and Learning Council is term-limited out of his seat, and the other political plums in his area are taken. That points Pickens toward the probability of leading St. Johns River Community College, the Daytona Beach News-Journal reports.

TALENTED, AND ILLEGAL: Meynardo Garcia, a senior at Broward's Coconut Creek High, is a nationally acclaimed artist who wants to pursue an art career. His parents are illegal immigrants, though, and his awards have gotten the attention of the feds, who want to deport the family, the Miami Herald reports.

THE PRICE TEACHERS PAY: They're role models for today's youth, and while folks in other professions might do some things and get away with them unnoticed, teachers are often held to a higher standard, the Palm Beach Post reports.

BUDGET ROUNDUP: The Leon school district avoids cutting the nursing aides by entering an agreement with the county health department, the Tallahassee Democrat reports. Brevard superintendent Richard DiPatri announces a plan that would slash 180 teaching jobs, Florida Today reports. Meal prices are on the rise for Treasure Coast school cafeterias, the Stuart News reports.

AROUND THE NATION: California schools eliminate most field trips to save money, the LA Times reports. Schools around the country decide students' minimum grade will be a 50, even if they get a zero, to encourage student performance, USA Today reports. IB and AP erode the prominence of honors courses at the nation's top high schools, the Washington Post reports.