Personal learning accounts. The new scholarship option will help special needs children, a parent writes in the Orlando Sentinel. A Florida Channel news brief covers the opening of applications for the scholarship accounts, as well as the recently announced lawsuit challenging SB 850.
Charter schools. A rural charter in Franklin County makes another A in the latest round of school grades. The Times. The application for a charter school at MacDill Air Force Base will be re-submitted, a Charter Schools USA executive writes in the Tampa Tribune, which adds coverage here. Another CUSA official writes in the Orlando Sentinel that improving school grades show charter schools can succeed.
Campaigns. Charter school funding comes up in a forum for Palm Beach County school board candidates. Palm Beach Post. An Orange County group backs a pending sales tax referendum that would fund facilities. Orlando Sentinel. School board candidates in Sarasota debate their district’s tax referendum. Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
Open enrollment. The Marion County school board unanimously backs district-wide open enrollment. Ocala Star-Banner.
Advanced Placement. Scores are up in Hernando. Tampa Bay Times.
Enrollment. A historic Orlando high school struggles to attract students. Orlando Sentinel.
School grades. Low grades bring staff shakeups to Hernando County schools. Tampa Bay Times. They also bring praise to schools that improved. Tampa Bay Times.
Teachers. A study finds attrition in the teaching profession imposes costs on Florida schools. Orlando Sentinel.
Safety. The Escambia school board approves an anti-bullying policy to protect transgender students. Pensacola News-Journal.
Budgets. The Walton school district tries to overcome “forecasting errors.” Northwest Florida Daily News.
Nutrition. Two dozen Alachua schools will offer free meals to all their students. Gainesville Sun.
Demographics. Matthew Ladner looks at factors expected to put pressure on school systems in the coming years on the EdFly.
Retention. A little-noticed provision of SB 850 tweaked the state’s third-grade retention rules. Gradebook.
