Zika rules: Broward County school officials are considering changing district policy to fight the spread of the Zika virus. Under the emergency rules, students would be permitted to bring certain insect repellent wipes and lotions to school. The school board will vote on the measure Sept. 7. Sun-Sentinel.
Retention venue: The state and six school districts being sued over the state’s third-grade retention policies have until 3 p.m. today to file arguments to the First District Court of Appeal for a change of venue. The defendants want the case to be decided locally, not in Leon County. Leon Judge Karen Gievers has presided over two hearings, and is expected to rule soon. The parents who brought the suit are arguing that whether a student passes or takes the state test should not be the primary criteria for promotion to the fourth grade. Gradebook.
Corporal punishment: More than 109,000 U.S. students were physically punished at school in 2013-14, according to an Education Week Research Center analysis of federal civil rights data. Twenty-one states, including Florida, still allow corporal punishment. About 2 percent of Florida’s students attend a school that uses physical punishment. Education Week. WTSP and the Associated Press.
Pledge form: Florida Department of Education officials say the Leon County School District went “above and beyond” the legal requirements to notify students that they can opt out of saying the Pledge of Allegiance at school. Tallahassee Democrat.
Closed captioning: The Florida Department of Education will begin offering closed captioning on the Florida Standards Assessments language arts tests for deaf and hard-of-hearing students. starting with the make-up exams in October. Orlando Sentinel.
Computer science: The chairman of the Florida Board of Education, Gary Chartrand, says Broward County is the state leader in teaching computer science. While only 18 percent of the state’s high schools teach Advanced Placement computer science, each of Broward’s 32 high schools offer the course. New Times Broward-Palm Beach.
School upheaval: After recent reports of a teacher’s inappropriate conduct with students at St. Andrew’s School in Boca Raton, the school has hired a new director and team to supervise its dormitories. Sun-Sentinel. Law enforcement officials will review how fondling allegations in 2014 were handled by officials at St. Andrew’s. Sun-Sentinel.
Superintendent jobs: The race for school superintendent of the Nassau County School District is the most expensive race in the county. The two leading candidates, Florida Rep. Janet Adkins and Nassau County school board member Kathy Knight Burns, have raised more than $250,000, with Adkins holding a 2-to-1 advantage. Folio Weekly. Monroe County School Superintendent Mark Porter is one of the seven finalists for the superintendent’s position in St. Johns County. Keynoter. All three candidates for the Escambia County school superintendent’s job are unopposed in Tuesday’s primary. Pensacola News Journal.
School app update: The Hernando County School District has updated its mobile phone app, and more than 2,000 parents and students have downloaded it since the beginning of summer. Tampa Bay Times.
Charter schools: Estero officials are considering a request for a charter school, with soccer fields, in the center of the village. The Athenian Charter Academy of Estero would be a two-story 68,000-square-foot school with two soccer fields that would connect to Estero Community Park. Naples Daily News. Parents complain that a mold problem at the Plato Academy charter school in Largo has not been adequately addressed by school officials and has lingered for months. WFLA.
School vandalized: Vandals cause significant damage at DeLand High School, forcing more than 200 students out of their classrooms. The vandals broke windows and smashed new equipment in the computer labs. WKMG.
Charter bus problem: A woman is pulling her two daughters out of Central Charter School in Lauderdale Lakes after the school put her 5-year-old on the wrong bus and delivered her to a day-care center. WPLG.
Delayed pay: About 200 teachers in Broward County may not get paid this week. District officials say the paperwork on some new hires and transfers was not completed on time. Those teachers will be paid by Sept. 2. Sun-Sentinel.
Laptops for sale: The Duval County School District is selling 500 used laptops for $50 each, and more may become available later as newer equipment arrives. Each enrolled student may buy one laptop on a first-come, first-served basis. Florida Times-Union.
Coach’s suspension: South Fort Myers High School football coach Anthony Dixon was suspended for failing to adequately supervise his student-athletes and for conducting his own investigation of his players’ participation in a sex incident at the school, according to a report . By doing his own investigation, Dixon could have “compromised criminal and administrative investigations,” according to the report. Fort Myers News-Press.
Notable deaths: Jim Newmeyer, a former teacher and coach at South Miami High School and later the founder of Newmeyer Mortgage Services in Coral Gables, has died at age 68. Miami Herald. Margaret Turnbull, a Highlands County School Board member for 20 years, has died at age 84. Highlands Today.
Lawsuit settled: The Orange County School District will pay $60,000 to a former Colonial High School student who injured his back at a summer weightlifting camp for football players. Orlando Sentinel.
Guns at school: A 15-year-old student at Lakewood High School in St. Petersburg is arrested for bringing a loaded gun to school. The 22-caliber pistol was in his waistband when a school resource officer saw it. Tampa Bay Times.
Federal charge: Daniel Morgan, a former math teacher at Centennial High School in Port St. Lucie, is charged with the federal crime of using the Internet to try to lure a student into sexual activity. Officials in the St. Lucie County School District were tipped that Morgan was sending inappropriate messages of a sexual nature to a 17-year-old student. Palm Beach Post. TCPalm.
Opinions on schools: A Palm Beach County teacher explains why he and his wife are opting his 8-year-old daughter out of the state’s standardized testing. Andy Goldstein, Diane Ravitch’s Blog. Brevard County School Superintendent Desmond Blackburn talks about discipline in the district, standardized testing and more. Florida Today. While some people held up the Pledge of Allegiance waiver form incident as an example of what’s wrong with our country, it actually demonstrates what’s right. We’re free. Free to recite the pledge. Free to not recite the pledge. Free to decide on our own what patriotism means. Tallahassee Democrat.
Student enrichment: A STEAM Olympics is held for fourth- and fifth-grade students at Cotee River Elementary School in New Port Richey. Tampa Bay Times. Twenty Boynton Beach football players are given tailored suits after completing an eight-week program called Suits for Seniors, which teaches empowerment, leadership, healthy lifestyles and image. Palm Beach Post. About 35 pairs of shoes and 100 pairs of socks are donated to needy Manatee County students through Regions Bank’s “Share the Good” program. Bradenton Herald.
