New in Brief: A State Capitals Roundup

Florida has removed race as a criterion for choosing students for classes for the gifted and talented, eliminating an 11-year-old program designed to attract more minority students that had been the target of litigation.

The new admissions formula was approved May 21 by the Florida Cabinet, a powerful, six- member panel of state elected officials. The revised plan will rely more on factors such as family income and limited English proficiency to attract minority students who have traditionally been underrepresented in the classes.

"All we did was delete the race section," said Adam Shores, a spokesman for the Florida Department of Education. "We're working with the interested parties and experts to find what refining might need to take...