Clay County District Schools is again recognized as one of Florida’s top-performing school districts out of 67 counties.

With thousands of students getting ready for the school year, the transportation department in Clay County is working to make sure your kids are safe on the ride to school.

Fleming Island’s football team is changing head coaches, an abrupt shift at the top of the program with just two weeks to go before the season kicks off.

When Clay County students head back to school in a little over a month, there will be more cell phone restrictions in place.

The Clay County School District is updating its cellphone use policy for students.

Due to the threat of severe weather, all Ware County Schools will be closed to staff and students on Tuesday, the school district announced on Monday.

An automated call was sent to parents and alerted them of the bus changes tomorrow.

Clay County Sheriff Michelle Cook is ready and willing to take over the School Resource Officer services next school year after the district voted to turn school security back to the sheriff’s office.

Four years after the Clay County School District voted to implement district school police officers following the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High, board members voted Thursday to reverse that decision and turn over school security to the Clay County Sheriff’s Office.

In what would be a dramatic turnaround for the Clay County School District, they may decide to disband the district’s police department. If they do, it would turn security back over to the Clay County Sheriff’s Office.

The U.S. Department of Justice said it has reached a settlement agreement with the Clay County School District after the school system was accused of failing to provide English-learner students with the language instruction needed to become fluent in English and failing to provide non-English speaking parents with important school information in a language they could understand.

Students are returning to the classroom as the area's heat wave continues. Clay County School District officials have plans in place to keep students and teachers cool and healthy.

A warning from a local high school student and his mother. The 16-year-old unknowingly ingested a cookie laced with drugs, and he has had a full week of epileptic seizures.

The Clay County School District could soon have a new policy for reviewing books and other materials, in response to a new Florida law that requires the approval of books in school libraries.

The Clay County School District wants to hear from families as they prepare to adjust school boundaries for hundreds of students.

Local students have been back in classrooms for about a month now, but school districts are still having trouble filling teacher vacancies.

The Clay County School district’s board approved an estimated $1,634,490 to cover its property/casualty/active assailant insurance policies, an increase of $287,305 or 21% over the previous year. Specifically cited among the district’s reasons for the cost increase is the rise in “active assailant premiums.”

A police report obtained Wednesday by News4JAX reveals new details in the arrest of the former Clay County School District transportation director and his wife.

The Clay County School District confirmed to News4Jax on Tuesday that the teen who was stabbed to death during a brawl over the weekend was not a student in the school district.

Hillsborough County is home to one of a growing number of Florida school districts imposing a mask mandate in its classrooms because of skyrocketing COVID-19 cases in its schools.

In a brief Tuesday morning meeting, the board of the Clay County School District unanimously approves its plan for reopening schools for the 2021-2022 academic year, which does not include a mask requirement.

The Clay County School District announced Wednesday that it will hold in-person outdoor graduation ceremonies for the Class of 2021.

GREEN COVE SPRINGS, Fla. – The Clay County School District will launch its controlled open enrollment program for the fifth year, which gives parents the option of choosing a Clay County school for their child that is outside their established attendance zone based on capacity at key schools. The window to apply for Controlled Open Enrollment begins on Friday and ends on April 9. “For us, open enrollment is a great opportunity to market all the great things that are happening Clay County Schools,” district chief of staff Terri Dennis said. “This determination takes into account the rapid growth in Clay County,” the Controlled Open Enrollment Plan said. Applications will be available at the Clay County District Schools’ website.

GREEN COVE SPRINGS, Fla. – After a month-long impasse, Clay County School District leadership resumed talks with representatives of the Clay County Education Association and reached a tentative agreement on how teacher pay raises will be distributed on Monday. According to the union, the minimum salary for teachers will move to $44,867 and all teachers will get a minimum salary increase of $1,200. Starting pay for Clay County teachers was $38,000 for the 2019-2020 school year. The state-funded pay raises are a result of HB 641 which was signed by Gov. It set aside $400 million to raise the minimum salary for teachers and $100 million to provide veteran teachers a pay boost.

NEPTUNE BEACH, Fla. – Most Florida students began their Thanksgiving break Tuesday afternoon, set to return to class Monday. On Tuesday, St. Johns County School District posted the weekly update to its COVID-19 dashboard, normally updated Fridays, showing 73 students and 24 staff were positive for COVID-19, the most of any previous report. St. Johns County School District COVID-19 Dashboard Nov. 22 - 27. (St. Johns County School District)Clay County School District also reported its highest COVID-19 totals of the academic year so far, as 27 students and eight staff members have tested positive over the previous week. Clay County School District COVID-19 Dashboard Nov. 20.

Clay County parents have until midnight Saturday to select their child’s learning environment for the spring semester. There are four learning options available: in-person learning through brick-and-mortar classrooms, virtual learning through OneClay online, virtual learning through Virtual Academy, and a blend of in-person and online instruction through Blended Learning. “We’d like to ensure great customer service for our families and our students out there in Clay County," Broskie said. “We have almost daily communication with the Clay County Health Department. Clearly in Clay County our parents have spoken and our students want to be back with their colleagues.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Eta is bringing heavy squalls with tropical-storm-force winds onshore as it tracks northeast across Northeast Florida. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday expanded a state of emergency and asked President Donald Trump for a federal emergency declaration as Tropical Storm Eta prepared to make landfall Thursday. It will be a weak tropical storm or possibly even a depression as it moves across Northeast Florida. About 5 p.m., Clay County District Schools announced all schools and offices within the district will be closed on Thursday, and all after-school activities will be canceled. The Bradford County School District said it is closing schools Thursday due to Eta.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Clay County School District won’t say how many of its bus operators and monitors are under quarantine or have tested positive for the coronavirus following the death of one its drivers. Gail Brusseau, 66, was a driver for the school district for 26 years. She planned to retire in December with her husband but tested positive for COVID-19 a few weeks into the school year. Last week, the district’s bus operators received a robocall asking them to submit questions for the Florida Department of Health in Clay County. “I’ve been informed the health department over COVID wants to do a Q&A with the transportation department,” Transportation Department Director Derald Sweatt said in a recorded message.

CLAY COUNTY, Fla. – One of the issues on the ballot for Clay County voters is whether to approve a half-cent sales tax aimed at updating and repairing building infrastructure and lessening the Clay County School District’s reliance on portable classrooms. READ | Clay County School District Performance Audit“As the district continues to adjust to new leadership, during the global pandemic, we will work collaboratively with the school board and community stakeholders to manage and resolve the suggested observations and recommendations," Clay County superintendent David Broskie. The auditors found that portable classrooms were deteriorating with age, and costs for maintenance and utilities were rising. The audit team recommended formally documenting the required criteria and justification process to provide decision makers a consistent, organized method for future evaluations. But, they recommended enhanced controls to help the district handle the volume and complexity of the projects envisioned in the surtax resolution.

This aerial photo shows some of the more than 900 portable classrooms in use in the Clay County School District. (Clay County School District)If passed, the county would levy a half-cent sales tax, bringing the county’s total sales tax to 7.5 cents. How Much money is planned for each schoolThe map below plots all the schools in the Clay County School Districts with planned expenditures. The Clay County School District published the individual school plans on its website. Instructions to Voters: ______ FOR THE ½% (0.5 cents) TAX ______ AGAINST THE ½% (0.5 cents) TAX Clay County, FloridaAs of Tuesday morning, 72,695 Clay County voters had already cast their ballots, representing more than 44% of those registered to vote.

MIDDLEBURG, Fla. – Some Middleburg High School students likely lost their appetites after discovering some unwanted guests had decided to join them for lunch: live maggots making themselves at home on students' cafeteria trays. In a statement released through a spokesperson, the Clay County School District confirmed the insects were found in lunches served to Middleburg High School students Oct. 15, calling it an isolated incident. The statement said the school district’s director of food and nutrition, along with the school’s cafeteria staff, took immediate steps to address the incident. “It was disgusting,” said the unnamed student, who added that she will be packing her lunch for a while. “It made me not want to eat any school food.”

To combat this problem, Farm Share has teamed up with Children’s Home Society of Florida, and the Clay County School district to hold a monthly recurring food bank for families. Every third Thursday for the next 8-months families in Clay County can pick up fresh produce, meat, milk, and other food items for free. The food bank is held from 5-6:30 p.m. at Wilkinson Junior High School. It’s meant to help families in food deserts get access to quality food throughout the year. Any food leftover after each giveaway will be stored at the junior high school, through its kitchen shelves program.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. On the third day of school in Duval County, school officials disclosed that two teachers and two students tested positive for the novel coronavirus. Duval County Public Schools (DCPS) was in the process of creating an automated dashboard providing the same school-specific data on COVID-19 cases within the district. But, over a conference call, legal counsel for the Florida Department of Health advised the district that publishing that data would violate state law. On Monday, the Florida Department of Health published a document reporting hundreds of cases of COVID-19 related to schools in August. The Florida Department of Health communications director later said the agency inadvertently published it and it was a draft version.

Despite some questioning the validity of the order, school districts moved quickly to change plans. Duval County is still working out its plan and is expected to release something in the coming days. Young people also report less tobacco, alcohol and drug use in a survey released Thursday by the Duval County Health Department. File PhotoA special fund has been created to help raise the money needed to rename six Duval County schools that are currently named after prominent Confederate leaders. Also from the TU, the Duval School Board approved a recommendation to reassign 30 Duval County Public Schools principals to new schools ahead of the 2020-21 school year.

As part of our Facing the Fall coverage, News4Jax is following all the announcements from local school districts about how they plan to address reopening this fall. Read moreSt. JohnsThe St. Johns County School District is planning to require that students wear masks in classrooms and hallways, according to a revised reopening plan released Friday. Read moreNassauThe Nassau County School Board released its plan for reopening during its meeting Thursday night. The plan details three options for elementary (Pre-K-5) and secondary (6-12) students: brick-and-mortar school, school-based distancing learning and Nassau Virtual School. In its reopening plan posted on the districts website, educators said its guidelines were reviewed by the Baker County Health Department.

As part of what its calling a smart restart, the Clay County School District on Thursday revealed four options it will be offering students for learning during the fall semester. The options include: Traditional brick and mortar (all grades), Clay Virtual Academy (grades K-12), One Clay Online (grades K-6) and blended learning (grades 7-12). Parents and students can make their choice on the Clay County School Districts website. Clay Virtual Academy (K-12)This is a full-time virtual school that the district says is idea for students who need a flexible daily schedule. For example, a student may attend their zoned brick and mortar school four periods a day and two periods of the day at home through Clay Virtual Academy.

CLAY COUNTY, Fla. Clay County District Schools Superintendent David Broskie on Thursday night presented a draft plan to the school board for reopening schools in the district in August. With little to no cases, under the draft plan, Clay County students will return to campus classrooms as they normally would with some new health and safety protocols in place. Under the draft plan, high school and middle school students will go on a hybrid schedule with some classroom learning and some distance learning. Clay County Reopen Draft Plan (Copyright 2020 by WJXT News4Jax - All rights reserved.) It is recommended that parents take the temperatures of students, under the draft plan, and anyone with a fever of 100-degrees or higher is asked not to go to school.

Following that move, News4Jax asked other school districts in Northeast Florida whether theyre considering offering personal protective equipment before students and staff potentially return to their campuses this fall. A spokesperson for the Clay County School District said that school leaders are engaging in a discussion about whether or not to purchase and provide PPE, but noted that no decision has yet been made. The question of providing masks to personnel is also underway in the Nassau County School District. St. Johns County School Districts spokeswoman Christina Langston said leaders are talking about how the district will handle personal protective equipment. News4Jax also contacted Putnam and Bradford Counties school districts for information but did not immediately receive a reply Wednesday.

Keondre Moss was a junior at Oakleaf High School, where students were in mourning Tuesday. Part of a tree, car debris and a growing memorial is all that's left behind at the crash site. "We are deeply saddened to learn that a junior at Oakleaf High School has passed away due to a car accident in the Oakleaf community Monday afternoon. The District will provide grief counseling services at Oakleaf High School to support students, staff and family members during this very difficult time. There will be a balloon release for Keondre at Oakleaf High at 6:45 p.m. Friday before the homecoming game.

CLAY COUNTY, Fla. - Following a legal battle, the Clay County School District moved ahead Thursday night with a plan for voters to weigh-in on a half-cent sales tax resolution in 2020. It will now go before the Clay County Board of Commissioners. That was handled by a court when a judge ruled in August against the Clay County School Board in a lawsuit. More than an hour of the regular board meeting reviewed the upcoming budget and millage rate, with plenty of vocal opposition on paying more. Revenue from the sales surtax, if approved, would fund repairs or the replacement of school facilities.

Following a legal battle, the Clay County School District moved ahead with a plan for voters to weigh-in on a half-cent sales tax resolution in 2020. Copyright 2019 by WJXT News4Jax - All rights reserved.

CLAY COUNTY, Fla. - School resumed Friday morning for students at Oakleaf Village Elementary after Thursday's classes were canceled due to an air conditioning issue. But at 12:45 p.m. Wednesday, according to the superintendent, one of the chillers went down again, causing uncomfortable conditions in many classrooms. Minutes before their tense exchange at the school, Davis acknowledged the communication error but broke down a timeline to reporters. Below is the entire message sent to parents of Oakleaf Village Elementary students:"This is Superintendent Addison Davis with an important update regarding Oakleaf Village Elementary School. At 12:45 p.m., one of the chillers went down again causing the uncomfortable conditions in many of the classrooms and common areas.