In juvenile detention, these students say they're not learning — and it's keeping them incarcerated

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Cayden Gillespie sits on a bench at a local park Saturday, April 26, 2025, in Gainesville, Fla. Gillespie spent months in juvenile detention after pleading guilty to two felony charges. While in custody the state of Florida provided online learning instead of in person classes which students, parents and staff say has been disastrous. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – To earn his freedom, 15-year-old Cayden Gillespie had to complete three school assignments a day. But school had gone virtual for Cayden and other incarcerated young people in Florida. And sometimes, he didn't understand it.

One day last summer, he kept failing an online pre-algebra test. There were too many words to read. He didn’t know how