The Nassau County School District is closely monitoring smoke conditions and road accessibility amid active fires in and around the county, including potential impacts to school campuses.

The Nassau County Sheriff’s Office said on Wednesday that a former bookkeeper for the Nassau County School District was recently accused of stealing more than $100,000 from Hilliard Middle-Senior High School following a nearly yearlong investigation into financial discrepancies.

The Nassau County School District announced its 2025 Teachers of the Year on Friday.

The Nassau County School District announced on Thursday that applications for free and reduced lunch are now open for the upcoming school year.

A federal lawsuit is accusing Nassau County School officials of violating the First Amendment and Florida’s Sunshine Laws by removing dozens of books from public school libraries behind closed doors last year including the book “Tango Makes Three.”

After a citywide water outage forced the closure of all schools Friday inside the Starke city limits and prompted a boil water notice, classes will resume on Monday, according to the Bradford County School District.

A citywide water outage has forced the closure of all schools Friday inside the Starke city limits, the Bradford County School District announced.

A federal judge has ruled that a Colorado school district can bar a high school student from wearing a Mexican and American flag sash at her graduation after the student sued.

Attorneys representing the family of a Black fifth grader in Utah who died by suicide alerted a northern Utah school district on Wednesday they plan to file a lawsuit seeking damages for their inadequate response to bullying.

Early voting started Wednesday in Nassau County with a question for voters about the future of their schools.

None of the three candidates are seeking this nonpartisan seat on the School Board received 50% of the August primary vote, so the top two -- Curtis Gaus and Albert Wagner -- advance to a runoff in November.

The Nassau County School District on Friday announced COVID-19 testing will be available for students who are symptomatic or have previously tested positive for COVID-19 and would like to return to school, verified by a negative test, before the 10 days of isolation are complete.

The fast-growing school district is now on track to have 97% of its positions filled when the new year begins.

The mask requirement for students and teachers in Nassau County will end Friday after what officials said has been a significant decline in the number of COVID-19 cases.

A second employee of the Bradford County School District surrendered this week on felony charges related to sexually explicit communication with a student, according to the Bradford County Sheriff’s Office.

A second female employee of the Bradford County School District is expected to turn herself in on felony charges, the Sheriff’s Office told News4Jax on Tuesday night.

A coach at Bradford County High School turned herself in on felony charges Monday after sending explicit text messages to a student, authorities said.

Some Nassau County parents are taking matters into their own hands when it comes to tracking the number of COVID-19 cases in their children’s classrooms.

Starting next Monday, students and staff at public schools in Nassau County will be required to wear masks.

Masks are recommended but not required for Nassau County students as they head back to school on Tuesday.

Starting June 5, masks will be optional for all school-related activities, including summer school, the Nassau County School District said Tuesday.

In efforts to help protect educators and prevent the spread of the COVID-19 in Nassau County schools and communities, Winn-Dixie will offer 400 free Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines to all Nassau County School District employees on Saturday. The one-dose vaccines will be administered at Yulee High School in the morning and West Nassau High School in the afternoon as part of the federal retail pharmacy program. Winn-Dixie pharmacists will administer the vaccines to any county school employees of any age including teachers, administrators and staff, including virtual employees and retired educators. Eligible individuals will be asked to stay at their school appointment location for 15 to 30 minutes for a brief observation period after receiving the vaccine. Current educators and school district staff must present their valid Nassau County employee ID and a copy of their pharmacy insurance card at their scheduled appointment time and location.

NASSAU COUNTY, Fla. – The vast majority of Nassau County School District teachers have voted to reject a proposed salary increase that would raise starting teacher pay more than $5,000. Part of the issue, according to Nassau Teachers Association President Jamie Vienneau, is the disproportionate raises for veteran teachers. All incoming teachers with 0-18 years of experience would earn the same starting salary, under the proposal. Many of the minimum salary increases for veteran teachers in area counties are around $1,200. Any salary change would have to be approved by a simple majority of the teachers who vote.

More than 200 West Nassau High School students were quarantined last week after roughly 20 classmates tested positive for COVID-19, the Nassau County School District confirmed Tuesday. “West Nassau did have around 20 students test positive, which resulted in just over 200 students being quarantined,” Assistant Superintendent Mark Durham told News4Jax in an emailed statement. According to figures provided by the district, the district saw 41 new positive tests last week, 34 of them among students. Because of that, 346 students and six staff who had close contact with the infected individuals were placed in quarantine. It’s unclear if the district will close the high school temporarily in light of the rash of new cases.

NASSAU COUNTY, Fla. – With 11 new student cases reported this week, Nassau County school officials said Thursday night that 158 students have been forced to quarantine because of COVID-19 exposure, according School District assistant superintendent. “Transmissions are happening outside of the schools.”It’s the highest number of any week since the school year began. The “current COVID-19 report” on the school district’s website hasn’t been updated since Nov. 6 and lists just 17 students in quarantine. Durham also said five staff members are in 14-day quarantine after COVID-19 exposure, according to a report by the Fernandina Beach News Leader said. Students in quarantine continue their studies through online instruction.

Starting next semester, the Bradford County School District is dropping its Bradford Essentials online learning format and shifting students back into brick-and-mortar classrooms. The Essentials option, which allows students to learn from home, was originally created in response to Gov. RELATED: Bradford County Schools scrambles to launch new learning option“Moving into the second semester, Bradford will not have the Innovative learning option (Essentials) which was created under the Governor’s emergency order for the fall semester,” Alvarez said. “Those students will be moved back to Brick and Mortar,” but may apply for the Bradford Virtual Select program. For the second semester, students will have four options: brick-and-mortar, Bradford Virtual Select, MyDistrict Virtual School and home schooling.

STARKE, Fla. – An arrest report obtained by News4Jax shows a 41-year-old employee of the Bradford County School District is charged with three counts of lewd and lascivious behavior. The district confirmed Dustin Kelsay works as a paraprofessional at Southside Elementary School in Starke and that Kelsay is on administrative leave. According to the report, three girls told detectives Kelsay inappropriately touched them in their home four years prior. The children told detectives the incidents happened while Kelsay was drunk. The school district said it was not able to go into details about the investigation, but that it is taking the allegations seriously.

NASSAU COUNTY, Fla. – The Nassau County School District is laying off 26 teachers and six paraprofessionals in an effort to soften the massive financial hit expected to accompany a much lower-than-expected fall enrollment. The 32 employees were in their first year of employment with the district, also referred to as “probationary status," Assistant Superintendent Mark Durham said. The employees were notified of the layoffs Sept. 11 and their final date of employment is set for Friday. As of Thursday, Durham told News4Jax the district has about 11,800 across the three learning options; traditional-brick and mortar, school-based distance learning and Nassau Virtual. Since that happened, Phillips said, four positions were made available again indicating a possible net loss of two employees.

CLAY COUNTY, Fla. – An Oakleaf High School freshman told News4Jax her first day of classes went pretty smoothly. She didn’t realize until later that her first day inside the school would also likely be her last as a freshman. “It was scary for us, and it was also upsetting because the school never contacted us.”As of Thursday, the Clay County school district was the only large Jacksonville-area school district not publicly disclosing COVID-19 data for students. The Duval County school district has a school-by-school breakdown of COVID-19 cases. The Nassau County School District is posting reported cases to its website.

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. The superintendent of the St. Johns County School District is urging parents to alleviate some of the workloads of teachers engaged in simultaneous instruction. This has been the most challenging start to a school year that we have ever faced, Superintendent Tim Forson said Wednesday in a letter published to the districts website. They are taking the work home with them for hours, they are not spending time with their family and friends.In Forsons letter addressing the issue, he asked parents to understand the challenge those teachers are facing. Your childs teacher is tasked with preparing variations in lessons because students are on two platforms, Forsons letter said. Read the full text of Forsons letter below:

NASSAU COUNTY, Fla. Beginning Tuesday, the Nassau County School District is making a change to its mask policy, which originally gave students the choice of wearing a face mask or a face shield. According to a statement on the districts Facebook page, students who opted to only wear a face shield must now also wear a face mask. At that time we believed that masks or face shields would be acceptable. However, we have since learned that face shields only provide protection for the eyes of the person wearing the shield. Nassau Schools also said the change will not affect students who had an exemption due to a medical condition.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Nassau County’s high schools are planning to hold graduation ceremonies this summer, assuming social distancing rules are lifted by then. On Thursday, the Nassau County School District released a tentative plan to let seniors graduate in person in late June — or mid-July if the first option falls through. Under the tentative plan, the county’s high schools would graduate the week of June 22 with the ceremonies being held at 9 a.m. throughout the week at each school’s football field. Here’s the schedule:June 22: Fernandina Beach High SchoolJune 23: West Nassau High SchoolJune 24: Hilliard Middle-Senior High SchoolJune 25: Yulee High SchoolIf it rains on any of those days, the school’s graduation would be moved to 7 p.m. the same day. The contingency schedule is as follows:July 13: Fernandina Beach High SchoolJuly 14: West Nassau High SchoolJuly 15: Hilliard Middle-Senior High SchoolJuly 16: Yulee High SchoolAdditional details about these events are expected to be released by the schools.

CNN ImagePALM COAST, Fla. - With the threat of Hurricane Dorian still looming for coastal communities, the Flagler County School District has canceled classes for Tuesday. Directors will keep teachers, staff and principals updated on scheduling. Parents are urged to follow the district's website for updates. The county's Emergency Operations Center is urging residents who live in evacuation zones A, B, C and F, as well as those living in mobile homes and low-lying areas, to be ready to leave Sunday morning. Copyright 2019 by WJXT News4Jax - All rights reserved.

CNN ImagePALM COAST, Fla. - With the threat of Hurricane Dorian still looming for coastal communities, the Flagler County School District has canceled classes for Tuesday. Directors will keep teachers, staff and principals updated on scheduling. Parents are urged to follow the district's website for updates. The county's Emergency Operations Center is urging residents who live in evacuation zones A, B, C and F, as well as those living in mobile homes and low-lying areas, to be ready to leave Sunday morning. Copyright 2019 by WJXT News4Jax - All rights reserved.