Florida roundup: Tax-credit scholarships, Common Core, school safety & more

Tax credit scholarships. The Miami Herald comes out against the bill to strengthen the scholarship program. Palm Beach Post columnist Frank Cerabino doesn’t like it either. Jewish leaders rallied for tax-credit scholarships last week in Tallahassee, saying they allow more low-income children to attend Jewish day schools, the Jewish Journal reports. The Ocala Star-Banner editorializes lawmakers should pause consideration of the bill.

florida roundup logo

Leadership. Broward Superintendent Robert Runcie receives strong school board reviews after increasing choice options, growing digital learning opportunities and creating “an overall culture of performance and accountability,” the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports.

Savings accounts. Proposals creating new options for disabled students will be hear today. Orlando Sentinel.

Wraparound services. A Central Florida high school prepares to add a physician on its campus, the Orlando Sentinel reports.

Private schools. A Lecanto Catholic school could close after the school year, and parents are weighing their options, the Citrus County Chronicle reports.

Digital learning. Florida school districts see wide variation in their technology infrastructure and broadband capacity. WFSU.

School safety. A Senate panel approved a bill that would allow certain school employees to carry guns on school campuses. Times/Herald. More from the News Service of Florida. Pinellas officials face questions about student arrests. Times.

School grades. A Miami-Dade high school loses its appeal, the Miami Herald reports.

Teacher shortages. As the state Board of Education is poised to certify critical teacher-shortage areas,  FSU professor Paul Cottle challenges officials to address them, perhaps by boosting salaries in math and physics.

Common Core. A publisher defends itself against research that questions its textbooks’ alignment with the Common Core State Standards. Gradebook.

Class size. The Lake County school district hires an auditing firm to investigate violations. Orlando Sentinel.

Athletic transfers. Pasco County’s sports transfer policy withstands a court challenge. Tampa Bay Times.

Unions. Martin County teachers ratify new contracts, including pay raises. Martin County Times.


Avatar photo

BY Travis Pillow

Travis Pillow is Director of Thought Leadership at Step Up For Students and editor of NextSteps. He lives in Sanford, Fla. with his wife and two children. A former Tallahassee statehouse reporter, he most recently worked at the Center on Reinventing Public Education, a research organization at Arizona State University, where he studied community-led learning innovation and school systems' responses to the Covid-19 pandemic. He can be reached at tpillow (at) sufs.org.