Florida roundup: Budgets, charter schools, testing and more

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Charter schools. Orange County approves three charter schools, but rejects two. Orlando Sentinel. Charter school group Academica is rebuffed in an effort to open a school in Colorado. Aurora Sentinel. A Palm Beach virtual charter school leader is accused of steering money to his own company. Palm Beach Post. Indian River school board members reject charter applications. Indian River Press Journal. Students at a Brevard charter grow their own lunches. Florida Today.

Special needs. New resources for special needs children are on both legislative leaders’ agendas. News Service of FloridaSunshine State News. redefinED.

Budgets. Pasco sales tax revenue climbs. Gradebook.

Testing. Opt-out organizers see an opportunity in recent testing controversies. Gradebook.

Acceptance. A “gender-neutral” student is sent home for wearing a dress to school, sparking a movement against bullying and intolerance. Tallahassee Democrat.

Common Core. Hernando parents demand changes to the district’s new curriculum. Tampa Bay Times.

Safety. Miami-Dade’s school board begins to implement a gun violence prevention program. Miami Herald. Hillsborough wants more crosswalks near schools. Tampa Tribune. A man upset about prayer in schools shows up at a state lawmaker’s office and later causes a lockdown at the local school district. Northwest Florida Daily News. A high school student is arrested for posting a threatening image on Snapchat. Panama City News Herald.

Awards. A Hispanic educator wins recognition. Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

Crowding. An Orange County high school campus houses 4,200 students. Orlando Sentinel.

Input. Manatee school officials hear from the community. Bradenton Herald.

Literacy. Students excel in a summer reading contest. Tampa Bay Times. The Police Athletic League brings books to elementary schoolers. Florida Times-Union.

Music. A former ESE teacher becomes a music teacher. Tampa Bay Times.

Calendars. Manatee schools shift start times to Aug. 10. Bradenton Herald.


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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.