Florida roundup: Charter schools, budgets, school choice and more

Charter schools. Renaissance Charter Schools will be able to open up to three new schools in the Orlando area in the coming years after reaching an agreement with the Orange County district. Orlando Sentinel.

School choice. From charter schools to career academies, new programs await Palm Beach County students in the upcoming school year. Palm Beach Post.

florida-roundup-logoBudgets. The Pinellas spending plan would add choice programs. Tampa Bay Times. The district gives area superintendents control of a new capital fund. Times. Lee schools plan to tighten spending. Fort Myers News-Press. Hernando school board members look for ways to trim spending or add revenue. Tampa Bay Times. More local budget coverage from the Sun-SentinelNorthwest Florida Daily News. Lakeland Ledger. Naples Daily News. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Ocala Star-Banner. Tallahassee Democrat.

Special needs. Broward schools look to improve ESE services in the wake of a critical report. Sun-Sentinel.

Virtual education. Florida Virtual School adds flexibility to its requirements for collaborative student projects. Gradebook.

Race. Hillsborough officials look to tackle racial disparities in academic outcomes and discipline. Tampa Bay Times.

Campaigns. The Times profiles another Pinellas school board race. Two Lee school board incumbents trail challengers in the money race. Naples Daily News. The Daily News also looks at Collier fundraising.

Reading. Pasco schools extend their school days at some schools but decide students in other schools that fall under the mandate already get enough instructional time. Tampa Bay Times. The extra reading hour draws opposition in Jacksonville. Florida Times-Union.

Math. Giving middle schoolers a double dose of math instruction can raise achievement in the short term, but the benefits fade with time. Sun-Sentinel.

Administration. Brevard delays the purchase of new human resources software. Florida Today.

Dress codes. Alachua schools loosen their dress codes. Gainesville Sun.

Back to school. A sales tax holiday starts Friday. Palm Beach Post.


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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.