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Ex-Bethune Cookman University employee accuses school of discriminating against white people

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The former nursing school chair at Bethune-Cookman University accused the historical Black university of discrimination and refusing to hire white nursing faculty, according to a new federal lawsuit.

Sameh Ghareeb recently sued the school and raised other allegations about the school’s nursing program after he lost his job last year. The Daytona Beach school did not return a message for comment this week.

Ghareeb, 45, worked up the ranks from an assistant professor in 2016 up to the chair of the nursing school by the time he was forced out last year as he was paid $100,000 annually, his lawsuit said.

His lawsuit quoted his Black boss, the Dean of the College of Nursing and Health Services, making comments to other school officials and staff like,  “We’re going to hire faculty in nursing, but they won’t be white because white instructors will not understand Black students.”

In one case, Ghareeb said he recommended the school hire a white instructor with “extensive teaching experience” for a full-time nursing position. But instead BCU opted to choose two Black candidates with either no teaching experience or limited experience, his lawsuit said.

Other times, the Dean nominated Black faculty for faculty awards, ignoring white faculty that Ghareeb nominated, the lawsuit said.

Ghareeb, a naturalized U.S. citizen originally born in Jordan, accused the Dean of retaliating against him by telling Human Resources in July 2017 he wasn’t eligible to work in the United States — a lie, he said — so his contract wasn’t renewed.

Ghareeb “fought the wrongful non-renewal decision and was successfully re-enrolled in January 2018,” his lawsuit said.

By 2023, Ghareeb and the Dean were at odds again — this time when the school accidentally gave the wrong exam to first semester, senior-level nursing students and the two disagreed how to handle the situation.

The students were supposed to take a customized ATI Nursing Medical-Surgical exam over the material they learned that term, Ghareeb’s attorney Jason Imler said.

However, somehow, the students were accidentally given a different ATI exam with several questions that hadn’t been taught to the students before. 

Faculty later realized the mistake.

Ghareeb met with faculty who wanted to void the test results and give the students the correct exam instead.

“When the Dean became aware of the situation, she chose to uphold the exam results,” Imler said in an email. “My client believes that decision contributed to some students failing the course, which he viewed as unfair to those students.”

By January 2024, Ghareeb also accused the Dean of shutting him down when he brought up his concerns about BCU’s student retention at the nursing school.

“When Plaintiff attempted to address the concerning retention statistics showing a 44%-78% student loss rate after the first semester and only 20 graduates over three years, Dr. Tucker shouted, ‘No No No No No No … We don’t have such a problem. I will not let you say that about our school’ in front of all the faculty members,” the lawsuit said.

Ghareeb blamed the retention struggles on program policies, including grading thresholds and the use of ATI exams, according to his attorney.

“He reports that an 80% minimum passing grade was required for nursing courses, which is higher than is typical at many institutions,” Imler said in an email. “ ATI proctored exams were used as high-stakes requirements—meaning that even if a student passed all coursework, failure to meet a particular ATI benchmark could result in failing the course.”

Both Ghareeb and the Dean would report each other to Human Resources.

After Ghareeb’s formal complaint was filed April 8, 2024, he was notified that month his contract would not be renewed effective June 30, 2024.

Ghareeb said he suffered anxiety, depression and PTSD with panic attacks after losing his job.



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Miles Davis tapped to lead School Board organizing workshop at national LGBTQ conference

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Miles Davis is taking his Florida-focused organizing playbook to the national stage.

Davis, Policy Director at PRISM Florida and Director of Advocacy and Communications at SAVE, has been selected to present a workshop at the 2026 Creating Change Conference, the largest annual LGBTQ advocacy and movement-building convention.

It’s a major nod to his rising role in Florida’s LGBTQ policy landscape.

The National LGBTQ Task Force, which organizes the conference, announced that Davis will present his session, “School Board Organizing 101.” His proposal rose to the top of more than 550 submissions competing for roughly 140 slots, a press note said, making this year’s conference one of the most competitive program cycles in the event’s history.

His workshop will be scheduled during the Jan. 21-24 gathering in Washington, D.C.

Davis said his selection caps a strong year for PRISM Florida, where he helped shepherd the organization’s first-ever bill (HB 331) into the Legislature. The measure, sponsored by Tampa Democratic Rep. Dianne Hart, would restore local oversight over reproductive health and HIV/AIDS instruction, undoing changes enacted under a 2023 expansion to Florida’s “Parental Rights in Education” law, dubbed “Don’t Say Gay” by critics.

Davis’ workshop draws directly from that work and aims to train LGBTQ youth, families and advocates in how local boards operate, how public comment can shape decisions and how communities can mobilize around issues like book access, inclusive classrooms and student safety.

“School boards are where the real battles over student safety, book access, and inclusive classrooms are happening,” Davis said. “I’m honored to bring this training to Creating Change and help our community build the skills to show up, speak out, and win — especially as PRISM advances legislation like HB 331 that returns power to our local communities.”

Davis’ profile has grown in recent years, during which he jumped from working on the campaigns and legislative teams of lawmakers like Hart and Miami Gardens Democratic Sen. Shevrin Jones to working in key roles for organizations like America Votes, PRISM and SAVE.

The National LGBTQ Task Force, founded in 1973, is one of the nation’s oldest LGBTQ advocacy organizations. It focuses on advancing civil rights through federal policy work, grassroots engagement and leadership development.

Its Creating Change Conference draws thousands for four days of training and strategy-building yearly, a press note said.



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Kevin Steele seeks insight from conservative leaders at Rick Scott-led summit

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State Rep. Kevin Steele’s campaign for Chief Financial Officer already enjoys political support from U.S. Sen. Rick Scott. The Dade City Republican attended a summit headlined by the Senator to also gain some policy insight and mentoring.

Steele was among the attendees for the Rescuing the American Dream summit held on Thursday in Washington, D.C. He said it was a quest for knowledge that drew him to Capitol Hill to hear the discussion.

“The way you do things better in the future is by learning from people who have already accomplished something,” Steele told Florida Politics at the event.

Scott gave a shoutout to Steele from the stage. The Governor already endorsed Steele, who is challenging the appointed Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia in 2026. At the summit, Scott both promoted conservative successes in the first year of President Donald Trump’s second term and laid out visions on issues from health care reform to cryptocurrency.

Steele called the panel discussions “amazing” and instructive on tackling affordability issues in Florida.

“If we don’t start addressing those things head first, we’re going to fall behind,” Steele said. “I think we’ve lost several million jobs in the state of Florida over the past six or seven years. Learning from Rick Scott and how to bring jobs back to the state is a good thing. And I think that we need to start tackling some of the big, big things that we need to attack.”

That includes addressing property insurance premiums head on and evaluating the property tax situation.

While he will be challenging a Republican incumbent in a Primary, Steele voiced caution at comparing his philosophy too directly with Ingoglia, a former Republican Party of Florida Chair with a history of animus with Scott.

But he did suggest Ingoglia’s recent scrutinizing of local governments may be starting at the wrong place when it comes to cutting spending.

“We need to start focusing on state down, instead of going to a county and pointing out flaws there,” Steele said. “There’s a lot of issues at the state level that we can address, some of which we are, some of which I’ve submitted different bills to address. I think that there’s a lot of waste and abuse at the state level that we can focus on.”



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Darren Soto refuses to call for Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick’s resignation

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U.S. Rep. Darren Soto is refusing to say whether indicted U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick should vacate her seat in Congress.

Video obtained by Florida Politics shows Soto being confronted on Capitol Hill. “Will you call on Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick to resign?” the videographer asks.

Initially, Soto remains silent, but the questioner suggests that silence shows “support” for someone who “stole $5 million in health care funds for the most vulnerable.” The Kissimmee Democrat then responds but continues walking away from the camera. He then conflates a censure motion against U.S. Rep. Cory Mills, a New Smyrna Beach Republican, and Cherfilus-McCormick, a Miramar Democrat.

“Both Mills and Cherfilus-McCormick, both will have due process. Thank you,” Soto said.

Both Cherfilus-McCormick and Mills remain the subjects of ongoing House Ethics Committee investigations. But only Cherfilus-McCormick now faces criminal prosecution for alleged financial crimes.

A grand jury in November indicted Cherfilus-McCormick on charges she stole $5 million in disaster relief funds to finance her 2021 congressional campaign.

The indictment alleges that Cherfilus-McCormick and her brother, Edwin Cherfilus, secured funding intended for a COVID vaccine distribution program, but when overpayments were made, she routed the spending through several accounts that later donated the funds as campaign contributions.

Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said pursuant to House rules that Cherfilus-McCormick had to give up her ranking status on the Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa. Local Democrats have started to issue calls for the Miramar Democrat’s resignation. But there have been no calls from Democratic members of Congress.

U.S. Rep. Greg Steube, a Sarasota Republican, has said if she won’t resign, he will move for her expulsion.

The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), which lists Soto as a target in 2026, slammed Soto’s unwillingness to criticize a fellow Democrat.

“Darren Soto’s refusal to call on Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick to resign is unacceptable,” said NRCC spokesperson Maureen O’Toole. “Floridians deserve a representative who fights for them, not his taxpayer-thieving colleague.”



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