Florida schools roundup: Lawsuits, testing, career education and more

florida-roundup-logoLawsuits. A judge decides parents of children on Florida tax credit scholarships can have the status of a full-blown party to a lawsuit challenging the program’s constitutionality. redefinED. News Service of Florida. Palm Beach Post. Times/Herald. The program is administered by organizations like Step Up For Students, which co-hosts this blog.

Career education. A collaborative effort between schools and industry groups is expected to launch new manufacturing career academies in five Northwest Florida school districts. Panama City News Herald.

Tax credit scholarships. The program is a “win-win” for public education, a Sarasota school board member writes in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

Class size. A rule giving schools of choice more flexibility under state class-size mandates helps Brevard schools comply. Florida Today.

Teach for America. The organization plans to bring recruits to Orange County schools next year. Orlando Sentinel.

Testing. State lawmakers are already floating ideas to address concerns about excessive testing. Tampa Bay Times.

Public records. A group that picks hundreds of public-records fights  has targeted charter schools, including one in Southwest Florida. Naples Daily News.

Aspirations. Charter schools and high school sports culture figure into a Tampa Bay Times feature on the football-fueled hopes of children in the tiny town of Pahokee in interior South Florida.

Catholic schools. A Tampa Catholic school student takes part in a mission trip to help Indian tribes in South Dakota. Tampa Tribune.

Discipline. Hillsborough officials wonder if a change to tardiness policies could help ease racial disparities. Tampa Bay Times.

Funding. The Miami-Dade teachers union files a lawsuit arguing that by shortchanging the local value adjustment board, local officials have undermined funding for schools. Miami Herald.

Community involvement. Students mark the anniversary of the attack on Peal Harbor by providing blankets to veterans. Bradenton Herald.

Facilities. Artists paint murals that change the complexion of a Miami middle school. Miami Herald. The St. Augustine Record looks at the five-year work plan for one of Florida’s fastest-growing school districts.

Fundraising. A dealership donates a car that a school is using in a raffle. South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

Security. A student accused in a gang rape case is freed on bond and will start taking classes again. Orlando Sentinel. The Polk County Sheriff’s Office adds a schools division. Lakeland Ledger. Hillsborough deputies target suspects in a high school vandalism case. Tampa Tribune.


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.