Tax credit scholarships. Duval school board member Jason Fischer writes about the benefits of the program in the Florida Times-Union.
Charter schools. Two South Florida charter schools close suddenly, sending parents scrambling. Sun-Sentinel. As West Palm Beach prepares to open a municipal charter, it can draw lessons from successes and failures elsewhere. Palm Beach Post. The Duval School Board may close a struggling charter school. Florida Times-Union. Bay County charters are hiring drivers for their new bus system. Panama City News Herald.
Lawsuits. The Cato Institute’s Andrew Coulson explores the lawsuit challenging Florida’s tax credit scholarship program in Education Next.
Testing. The Lee County School Board backs away from a decision to “opt out” of all state standardized assessments. Times/Herald. Fort Myers News-Press. (More here). Naples Daily News. Associated Press. Sentinel School Zone. StateImpact. Tampa Tribune. The testing debate moves to Brevard. Florida Today.
Special needs. The Orlando Sentinel visits the Conductive Education Center of Orlando, which provides special services to children with special needs.
Teachers. A Broward teacher wins the national Teacher of the Year award. Sun-Sentinel.
College readiness. A Palm Beach Post columnist provides a grim read of Florida students’ results on college entrance exams.
Growth. Enrollment rises in Pinellas for the first time in a decade. Gradebook. The Manatee school district plans to add 50 teachers. Bradenton Herald.
After school. The Alachua school board supports a program for at-risk boys. Gainesville Sun.
STEM. A grant will help train Sarasota middle school teachers on modernized classrooms. Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
Budgets. Miami-Dade schools prepare to finalize their spending and testing plans. Miami Herald.
Transfers. Pasco schools opt not to revise their athletic transfer policy. Tampa Bay Times.
Employee conduct. Parents rally around a suspended Escambia football coach. Pensacola News-Journal. A former Hillsborough district employee accused of stalking receives probation. Tampa Bay Times.
Security. Parents with a criminal background are barred from volunteering in Sarasota schools. Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
Planning. The Collier school board talks about its strategic plan. Naples Daily News.
