Florida schools roundup: H.B. 7069, S.B. 374, charter networks study and more

H.B. 7069: Sources say Gov. Rick Scott will sign the education bill, H.B. 7069, into law Thursday in Orlando, according to the website Florida Politics. The most controversial section of the bill creates a fund to recruit high-performing charter schools into areas with persistently struggling schools. The bill also requires 20 minutes of recess a day for traditional public elementary school students, includes more than $200 million to provide bonuses for teachers and principals, kills the end-of-course Algebra 2 exam and pushes Florida Standards Assessments testing to the end of the school year. Florida Politics. Gov. Scott is also still considering whether to sign S.B. 374, the higher education bill that includes an expansion of the Bright Futures scholarship program. Tallahassee Democrat.

Charter networks: High-profile charter schools companies are improving student achievement, according to a study by charter school researchers at Stanford University. The study by the Center for Research on Education Outcomes also suggests larger charter networks outperform standalone charters, nonprofit charters generally do better than for-profits, and virtual charter school students struggle to keep up. redefinED.

District finances: Volusia County school officials say they’ll collect an extra $4.6 million from the state because of the legislative special session deal on per-pupil spending. The school board meets today to discuss how to close the rest of the projected budget shortfall. Daytona Beach News-Journal. St. Johns County school officials say the extra money from the Legislature is barely enough to keep up with inflation, and doesn’t do enough to support enrollment growth. St. Augustine Record.

Kids Count ratings: Florida ranks 30th in education and 40th overall among the states in the latest Kids Count ratings from the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Lakeland Ledger.

Impact fees: Apartment builders say the proposed Pasco County School District impact fees will place an unfair burden on them and bring multifamily development to a halt. Mark Ogier, who represents the Bay Area Apartment Association, says a builder now pays impact fees of $556,500 for a 300-unit apartment. If the new impact fees are put in place, he says the fees for that same building would jump to $1,588,500. Gradebook.

Charter schools problems: The Manatee Charter School is warned that it has failed to comply with a school improvement plan it had with the school district by not recording students grades on time, and could be forced to close its doors at the end of the 2017-2018 school year. The district has previously cited the school for poor record-keeping and a chaotic learning environment. Bradenton Herald. Collier County School Board members are considering whether to renew a contract with the Mason Classical Academy charter school, which was founded by board member Kelly Lichter. A former board member of the charter school says it’s being mismanaged and has no strategic plan. Naples Daily News.

Hiring freeze impact: More than 20 percent of the teaching jobs affected by the Hillsborough County School District’s hiring freeze deal with students who have special needs, according to an analysis of the 588 jobs open. And in the 39 highest-poverty schools, the rate is about 30 percent. Tampa Bay Times.

Testing results: More reports on results from the Florida Standards Assessments tests. Pensacola News Journal. Tallahassee Democrat. Citrus County Chronicle.

Social media caution: Parents and guardians of Clay County students are urged by Superintendent Addison Davis to help their children learn to use social media responsibly. “We must be diligent in guiding our children on how to maneuver around the pitfalls to become responsible cyber-citizens,” Davis wrote in a letter to parents. Florida Times-Union.

Summer enrollment: Only two-thirds of the students signed up for the Summer Bridge learning program in Pinellas County schools are showing up for class. On the third day, just 66.7 percent of the 17,962 who enrolled made it to school. Gradebook.

Notable deaths: Billy Turner, a longtime teacher and football coach at Hillsborough and Chamberlain high schools in Hillsborough County, died June 9 of cancer. He was 79. Tampa Bay Times.

School board elections: Sarah Fortney, a science teacher at Stambaugh Middle School in Bartow, is running for the Polk County School Board District 3 seat held by Hazel Sellers. The primary is Aug. 28, 2018. Lakeland Ledger.

Opinions on schools: Florida’s leaders need to confront the issue of science literacy with the same energy they’ve put into other school subjects. Brandon Haught, Orlando Sentinel. For my wife, former Campbell Park Elementary School principal Christine Hoffman, eight words in an email to her staff on preparing class lists spoke far louder than a stellar 26-year career educating the children of Pinellas County. Bob Hoffman, Tampa Bay Times. Gov. Rick Scott and the Legislature get a B for their special session boost in education spending, but the grade falls to a C if that boost came with a promise from Scott to sign H.B. 7069. Orlando Sentinel. Too much power is concentrated in too few hands in the Florida Legislature. This year, more than most, showed our system of representative government is broken. Sun Sentinel. When politics gets involved, the seemingly routine chore of selecting school textbooks becomes anything but routine. Brent Batten, Naples Daily News.

Student enrichment: Sreeniketh Vogoti, of Fruit Cove Middle School in St. Johns County, kept his composure even after he didn’t advance beyond the top 15 at the Scripps National Spelling Bee earlier this month. “Just making it to the finals once again had to be my proudest moment,” says the 14-year-old. St. Augustine Record. A summer reading program called Talking is Teaching aims to broaden the vocabularies for children from low-income Sarasota County families. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Sarasota County students teach tolerance through art in the Embracing Our Differences art exhibit at Island Park. WUSF.


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BY NextSteps staff