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IB students from Rickards High School, representative of diverse political perspectives, examine and discuss the local, state, and national political climate.

On tonight’s program: Florida’s budget luck has run out, forcing state lawmakers to start pulling out the long knives when it comes to spending; A bill giving conditional immunity to businesses from COVID-19 related lawsuits passed its first committee stop this week. But not without debate about how that immunity might work; A statewide surge in new coronavirus cases since the start of the year is leading to higher infection rates, especially in Florida’s Big Bend region; Florida health officials said this week they’d received one-point-four million doses of coronavirus vaccine so far. They say they’re working quickly to get those doses out and into the public; And Florida lawmakers are calling for sweeping reforms after a Department of Justice investigation alleged a culture of “systemic” sexual abuse and cover-ups at a women’s prison in Ocala.

On tonight’s program: Governor Ron DeSantis has included environmental protection money is his proposed state spending plan. Advocates are wondering if it’s enough, especially when it comes to fighting climate change; After months of protests against police brutality across the nation, members of Florida’s Legislative Black Caucus are calling for their bills to get a full hearing; Lawmakers say no baby should be left abandoned in unsafe places anywhere in Florida; Florida’s Hispanic residents are getting the coronavirus vaccines at lower rates than non-Hispanic whites. Experts say vaccine hesitancy is contributing to this disparity; And a prominent Florida scientist says new research suggests at least some of the mind-bending drugs that were so popular in the 1960s may not be as dangerous as once thought, as long as certain precautions are taken.

On tonight’s program: The bill combining permitless carry of firearms and school safety raises the hackles of Democrats in the legislature; Proposed higher education reform would NOT ban specific courses, minority Greek organizations or Historically Black institutions under a revamped state senate bill; A bill that limits what pronouns teachers can use for their students is raising concerns for parents of transgender children; A book giveaway at the Capitol stands in opposition to new restrictions on classroom reading guidelines; And further restrictions on undocumented immigration are moving quickly through the Florida Legislature.

On tonight’s program: With passage of a 6-week abortion ban in Florida ever more likely, opponents have launched a last-ditch effort to defeat the measure; A protest in Tallahassee rails against many of the legislature’s priorities; A state lawmaker makes the case that medical marijuana and hemp products are totally different; The size of Tallahassee’s State Capital Complex could be getting bigger; And the state Senate takes up a major priority of House Speaker Paul Renner to prevent government investments based on anything but rate-of-return.

On tonight’s program: The state Senate passes the bill allowing people to conceal carry firearms without a permit in Florida; Another so-called “bathroom bill” is back before Florida lawmakers; And time could be running out for Florida’s public-private partnership entities such as Enterprise Florida.

On this week's 411 Teen, students from Thomasville High School discuss the viability and impact of the death penalty in America.

On tonight’s program: Latino clerics from across Florida come to Tallahassee, begging lawmakers to reject a bill criminalizing those who help undocumented immigrants; Come July 1st, expanded school vouchers take effect in Florida; It looks likely that Florida voters will decide next year whether to adopt a constitutional amendment making all school board races partisan; Hospital workers, and especially nurses, face violent attacks on the job; And a bill creating an official remembrance day for the Holocaust is working its way through the Florida Legislature.

On tonight’s program: A 6-week abortion limit is headed to the Senate floor; All of Florida’s local elected officials could be subject to voter recall if that idea makes it through the legislature; Medicaid will end Saturday for more than one million Floridians. Democrats in the Legislature are urging Governor DeSantis to not let that happen; And both chambers will soon consider later start times for Florida public schools.

On tonight’s program: A move to ban nearly all abortions after 6 weeks is raising alarms; Florida now has greatly expanded school choice. We discuss which students are most likely to benefit; Florida seems poised to add a lot more affordable housing to what’s been a shrinking stockpile; The Florida Legislature tries again to get alimony changes across the finish line; Lawmakers are also giving another go to exempting infant diapers – and now adult incontinence products – from the state’s sales tax; And Medicaid coverage runs out for many Floridians this weekend. And keeping that coverage in force is easier said than done.