Charter schools. The Florida Senate may be warming to the House’s Schools of Hope plan, but it has its own designs on how to structure it. redefinED. News Service of Florida. Hinting at a possible compromise, Senate budget chief Jack Latvala likens a deal on the charter school proposal to “eating some dinner that they’ve made for us that doesn’t taste real good.” WFSU. Large school districts push back on the plan. Times/Herald. Florida Politics. WJXT.
Sunshine law. Parents seek charges from prosecutors, accusing a charter school that expelled their son of retribution and hiding public records. Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
Growth. Accommodating a surge of new students could cost the Hillsborough County school district, as it would be forced to take on debt and undergo painful rezoning. Tampa Bay Times.
Leadership. Broward school district chief Robert Runcie says he doesn’t sweat national hot-button political issues. Faces of Education.
Gardiner expansion. A bill to expand special needs scholarships gets bipartisan support in the Senate. redefinED. Step Up For Students, which publishes this blog, helps administer the scholarships.
Teacher shortage. An affluent, high-rated school district complains of recruitment challenges. St. Augustine Record.
Financial literacy. Federal securities officials educate South Florida youth. Miami Herald.
Grief. A Palm Beach school brings in extra counselors after a teacher sought by the feds on child pornography charges is found dead in Nashville. Palm Beach Post.
Absences. Many Pasco students stayed home on Good Friday. Gradebook.
Staff recognition. Pinellas lauds a school resource officer of the year. Gradebook.
Start times. Hillsborough’s won’t change next school year. Tampa Bay Times.
Teacher conduct. Cheating and inappropriate comments land a pair of Boca Raton teachers in hot water. Sun-Sentinel. A sub with a troubled history faces battery charges. Ocala Star-Banner.
