MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – Inside Miami Northwestern Senior High School, history is being made by Jaiel Langston.
She is a medical magnet student and volleyball captain.
“We learn different skills we need for our certified nursing assistant test at the end of the year,” she said. “I want to be a cardiothoracic surgeon or general surgeon so I can put my hands in a little bit of everything. You have to have compassion for helping individuals.”
“What led to you loving this work?” asked Local 10’s Christina Vazquez.
“When I was younger, my aunt had heart complications and I had seen how the doctors were helping her get better. I saw the way her mind was jumbled before, but as she was talking to the doctors and started understanding what they were telling her, I was like, ‘I want to be able to do that for other people,‘” said Langston.
She will be the first in the school history’s to earn her first college degree while she is still a junior in high school.
“I will be walking the stage at Miami Dade College to get my AA degree,” she said with a smile.
Langston’s mother, Rhonda Gaines-Miller, is also the principal of Miami Norland Senior High School.
“From a mom’s perspective, I am very proud and excited for my daughter, but also from the financial standpoint, it allows my child to exceed in that area cost effective for me. She will be starting her bachelors program this summer,” said Gaines-Miller.
That program is courtesy of the Dual Enrollment Program, which is one of the education and career advancement programs facing potential state funding cuts.
“The concerns we are hearing are from among all stakeholders groups, students, families, the business community, and teachers,” said Miami-Dade School Board Member Steve Gallon. “Anytime you are proposing a 50% reduction in resources meant to provide additional opportunity to students at a high level, as well as those students who want to be in the world of work, that puts us backward not forward.”
Here are the college and career readiness programs and courses impacted by HB 5101, which was added to Wednesday’s special order calendar on the House floor in Tallahassee:
- Dual Enrollment
- Advanced Placement (AP)
- International Baccalaureate (IB)
- Advanced International Certificate Education (AICE)
- CAPE courses
- Or earn an AP Capstone, AICE, or IB diploma.
The bill seeks to cut in half the money the state reimburses districts for offering these programs, including:
- The purchase of instructional materials, equipment and technology
- Student experiences
- Teacher professional development, salary and bonuses
This could force districts to scale back on offering the programs, impacting a family’s finances when it comes to the intersection of these programs and college scholarships, like Bright Futures.
“I think it is imperative,” said Broward School Board Member Rebecca Thompson. “Paying attention to this bill, it is not only going to cost our district money, it is going to cost our families money.”
MORE ABOUT JAIEL LANGSTON:
ADDITIONAL INFO
BROWARD SCHOOLS STATEMENT: “House Bill 5101 would have a significant impact on Broward County Public Schools funding, amounting to a loss of about $33.5 million. While teachers’ bonuses would not be affected, the elimination of these funds will hinder our ability to recruit and retain the talented teachers who are critical to the implementation of accelerated course materials. It will also affect the professional development of those teachers, the offering of student experiences, and the purchase of instructional materials, equipment and technology.” -John J. Sullivan, Chief of Communications and Legislative Affairs, Broward Schools
HB5101: The bill was filed by Republican state lawmaker Jenna Persons-Mulicka, State Representative, HD 78, Florida House. https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2025/5101/?Tab=RelatedBills
ON WEDNESDAY’S SPECIAL ORDER CALENDAR: The bill, which seeks to strip money related to a variety of education and career training and attainment programs for high school students, has been added to tomorrow’s Special Order Calendar.
Read the bill: https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2025/5101
WHAT DOES IT DO?
"Reduces by 50 percent the value of the add-on weights for FTE students who earn either a passing score on the subject examination or receive a corresponding certificate for Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), Advanced International Certificate Education (AICE), dual enrollment, and CAPE courses or earn an AP Capstone, AICE, or IB diploma.” https://flhouse.gov/Sections/Documents/loaddoc.aspx?FileName=h5101a.BUC.DOCX&DocumentType=Analysis&BillNumber=5101&Session=2025
“HB 5101 robs students of valuable college and career pathways formerly praised by Florida politicians. This Wednesday, April 9, 2025, HB 5101 hits the Special-Order Calendar on the House floor, sending it on a fast track to priority passage.” -Florida PTA https://www.votervoice.net/mobile/FLPTA/Campaigns/124688/Respond#:~:text=HB%205101%20cuts%20funding%20by,IB%20(International%20Baccalaureate)%20programs
TAKING ACTION
How to contact your local officials: https://dos.fl.gov/elections/contacts/elected-officials/
FROM THE FLORIDA PTA:
“We shared the below Take Action related to the House proposals, but we also are concerned with the Senate proposals.
https://www.votervoice.net/mobile/FLPTA/Campaigns/124688/Respond
“Under the proposed budget, essential college and career readiness programs — like AP, IB, dual enrollment, and career and technical education — face up to a 50% funding cut. These programs have helped thousands of Miami students prepare for college or skilled careers.
“What’s worse, the proposal eliminates the $350 million Education Enrollment Stabilization Fund, which has been critical for schools managing enrollment fluctuations in a post-pandemic world. At the same time, school districts are being asked to absorb rising mandatory costs like increased FRS contributions and salary requirements—with no adjustment for inflation.
“Even what may appear as slight increases for a novice reader in overall funding, this budget leaves our largest districts like Miami-Dade stretched thin. It’s a shell game that shifts numbers without truly investing in our students.
“We urge lawmakers to reject these cuts and protect opportunities for all Florida students, and we encourage parents and teachers to tell them why.“
-Jude Bruno, Florida PTA, President-elect