Make way for buses — because kids return to Miami-Dade County Public Schools (MDCPS) tomorrow.

Why it matters: It's the third-largest district in the U.S., with around 331,500 students and an $8.25 billion budget.

• The school year begins as the district scrambles to hire teachers and adjust to controversial state-mandated changes.

The latest: MDCPS hired more than 600 teachers last week but still had 280 vacancies as of Friday, NBC6 reported.

Catch up quick: Gov. Ron DeSantis signed several bills in 2022 restricting how race and sexual orientation can be taught in schools and opening up the process of selecting instructional materials to the public. This year, the state:

• Required that media specialists choose books for classroom libraries.
• Rejected an AP course on African American studies.
• Rejected textbooks for mentioning critical race theory.
• Prohibited school employees from asking students their pronouns.
• Allowed material from right-wing media company PragerU to be used in classes.
• Approved social studies curriculum standards stating that Black Americans benefited from slavery because they were taught useful skills.

Meanwhile: Florida also expanded a voucher program allowing families — even wealthy ones — to take state funds earmarked for their child's education from public schools and redirect them toward tuition at a private school.

• MDCPS superintendent Jose Dotres said Friday he would step up marketing efforts promoting public schools as the best choice for families, per the Miami Herald.

What they're saying: Karla Hernández-Mats, president of the United Teachers of Dade union, told Local 10, "All these culture wars are really impacting the morale of our workforce."

Between the lines: Teachers will get 7%–10% raises this year, but Florida still ranks No. 48 in the nation in teacher pay.

• State legislators kneecapped teachers unions this year by stopping dues from automatically being deducted from their paychecks.

Of note: Schools have also been testing air-conditioning units, doing active shooter drills and bracing for a possible influx of migrant children after 20,000 entered the system last year.

The bottom line: Despite the controversies, Miami-Dade is an A-rated school district.

• And all students can receive free breakfast and lunch.

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Historian and activist Marvin Dunn will lead a "Teach No Lies" march today to protest Florida's new K–12 curriculum standards covering Black history and how slavery is taught.

Why it matters: New state social studies standards going into effect this year require that middle school children be taught "how slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit." Experts say that amounts to whitewashing history and the evils of slavery.

• Students will also learn "how slavery was utilized in Asian, European and African cultures" and about the "resiliency" of African Americans.

What's happening: Protestors plan to assemble on the street near Booker T. High School and march to the School Board administration building, where several people will give speeches.

• "Our demand is: Don't teach lies to our students," Dunn tells Axios. "We do not want our children taught lies about enslavement and about Black history."
• Dunn tells Axios he expects hundreds of people to attend, including members of the Teamsters National Black Caucus, who are in Miami for a conference.

What they're saying: Dunn — a former naval officer, retired FIU professor, author and co-founder of the Miami Center for Racial Justice — tells Axios he organized the march "because education is going to hell under DeSantis. Because we're now subject to education gangsterism by this man, and it must be stopped."

• "W​​e are not protesting our school board," he says. "This is about the state standards that we find so offensive."

The other side: Florida Education Commissioner Manny Díaz has said the new standards represent "the good, bad and ugly in American history."

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⚽️ Inter Miami defeated the Philadelphia Union last night, 4–1, to advance to the Leagues Cup final. (Sun Sentinel)

💵 Property insurance companies Mainsail and Tailrow were approved to do business in Florida, bucking the recent trend of insurers leaving the state. (Florida Office of Insurance Regulation)

🐻 Zoo Miami staff have helped keep animals cool from the summer heat by hosing them down and creating 50-pound popsicles for the sloth bears. (Miami's Community News)

On this day in 1965, the American Football League awarded its first expansion franchise to Miami.

• The Dolphins were born after the new team held a naming contest that received nearly 20,000 entries. Just 622 of them chose "Dolphins."

Catch up fast: Founded by attorney Joe Robbie and actor Danny Thomas, the team became part of the National Football League in 1970 after the AFL and NFL merged.

• The Dolphins are now one of the NFL's most storied franchises. The 1972 Fins are still the only team to go undefeated over an entire season and win the Super Bowl.

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We're on the hunt for the best pizza in town.

Over the next few weeks, we'll sample the best pizza Miami has to offer to come up with a list of our city's eight best pizzerias and then pit them against each other in a bracket, where your votes determine the winner.

📬 Let us know: What are your favorite local pizza shops? Do you prefer Steve's Pizza over Mister 01? We may include some of your picks in our March Madness-style bracket.