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Capital Report: 02-14-2018

First up tonight—a debate. One that’s played out over the course of the 2018 legislative session and got some extended time in the spotlight Tuesday—with House Speaker Richard Corcoran debating Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum over immigration. The two have sparred over the issue via social media and as Regan McCarthy reports, both used Tuesday night’s debate to double down on their positions.    

All day care vans must include a safety alarm, under a bill that passed its first Florida Senate committee earlier this week. As Sascha Cordner reports, the measure stems from the death of a young boy left in a hot van last year for almost half a day.   

Tuesday in Tallahassee was a day for love and awareness. Governor Rick Scott marked the day as Developmental Disabilities Awareness Day. Andrew Quintana reports advocates took it as their cue to ask for their legislative priorities this Valentine’s Day.    

More than a decade ago, Shelly Baer was working with an organization that supports people with disabilities. Somebody suggested making a fundraising calendar: nudes of women with disabilities. The calendar never happened, but the idea lingered with Baer.    

Finally tonight, Florida’s student body has never been more diverse. But the state’s schools are also becoming more segregated. A recent study by the LeRoy Collins Foundation shows a marked increase in intensely segregated schools, spurred by demographic changes and the rise of private and charter academies. To understand why these changes are happening, WFSU looked back at Florida’s attempts at integration. This school year marks the fiftieth anniversary of the closure of Lincoln High School, an all-black school in Tallahassee. Shuttering Lincoln sparked wholesale desegregation in the state’s capital. And it was a reckoning for Leon County’s students, teachers and administrators, black and white. Reporters Kate Payne and Nick Evans bring us some of their experiences, 50 years later.