Florida schools roundup: bullying, teacher conduct, eyeball scanners & more

Bullying. Gov. Rick Scott signs the anti-bullying bill into law. Gradebook.

florida roundup logoTeacher conduct. A private school teacher in West Delray is under investigation for allegations of sex with a student, reports the South Florida Sun Sentinel. State officials are investigating whether a Collier County teacher verbally abused students, reports the NBC-2. A fired Duval teacher appeals, claiming age discrimination, reports the Florida Times Union.

Gays and lesbians. A federal judge rules in favor of a Lake County middle school student who wants to create a Gay Straight Alliance at her school. Orlando Sentinel.

K-8 schools. Orange County is going to create more of them. StateImpact Florida.

Spelling bee. A home school student from South Florida makes it to the semifinals, reports the Miami Herald. The winner, Arvind Mahankali of New York, is the sixth straight Indian-American to win and the 11th in the last 15 years.

School buses. Polk suspends a pilot program that tracked student comings and goings on buses by scanning their eyeballs. Lakeland Ledger.

Magnet schools. A Lake Wales middle school, not part of that city’s charter network, considers a name change as it becomes part of an integrated K-12 arts program. Lakeland Ledger.

Superintendents. The Lee school board is divided over whether to conduct a national search after just hiring a new super. Fort Myers News Press.


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BY Ron Matus

Ron Matus is director for policy and public affairs at Step Up for Students and a former editor of redefinED. He joined Step Up in February 2012 after 20 years in journalism, including eight years as an education reporter with the Tampa Bay Times (formerly the St. Petersburg Times). Ron can be reached at rmatus@stepupforstudents.org or (727) 451-9830. Follow him on Twitter @RonMatus1 and on facebook at facebook.com/redefinedonline.