Florida schools roundup: School choice, guns, Common Core and more

florida-roundup-logoSchool choice. Bills before the Florida Legislature would create universal open enrollment for public schools. Miami Herald.

Guns. A bill allowing certain school employees to carry guns gets approval from a state Senate panel. News Service of Florida. WCTV.

School closures. Parents at a rural Alachua County community continue to push back on a plan that would close their community elementary school. Gainesville Sun.

Special needs. Programs give special needs students a chance to take college classes. StateImpact.

Common Core. The Common Core State Standards remain a contentious political issue. Scripps.

School Boards. Manatee’s school board cancels a special meeting on bid tampering allegations. Bradenton Herald.

Testing. Students who opt out of state assessments could be retained, Columbia County’s superintendent warns. GradebookA Florida Senator with a penchant for provocative proposals seeks to temporarily halt the consequences of school accountability. Gradebook.

Wealth. A New York Times column suggests a Palm Beach County high school’s polo team is a sign of a growing gap between haves and have-nots. More from the Palm Beach Post.

Parent involvement. Manatee schools aim to involve students in more decision making. Bradenton Herald.

Student conduct. A high school student is accused of making a fellow student run naked across a school stage and take nude pictures. Stuart News.

Teacher conduct. Can better hiring practices curb cases of teacher misconduct? Gradebook.

Philanthropy. Orange County schools receive more than $12 million from private donors. Orlando Sentinel.

Our Florida Schools roundup brings together news, opinion  and blog posts related to education and Florida. It appears Monday through Friday before 7:30 a.m.


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.