Education amendments: A proposal to impose term limits on local school board members moves ahead at the Constitution Revision Commission meeting. Under the proposal sponsored by Erika Donalds, board members would be limited to no more than two consecutive four-year terms. The measure now moves to another committee. If approved by the committee and then the full CRC, it would go on the November ballot and would require 60 percent support to become part of the state constitution. News Service of Florida. Gradebook. Another Donalds proposal, which would allow the Legislature to authorize the establishment of alternative public schools, such as charter schools, is pushed forward by the CRC to the next committee. Right now that authorization power lies solely with local school boards. redefinED. Gradebook. Donalds withdraws her proposal for an amendment to end the election of school superintendents. Gradebook. An attempt to add gun-control measures onto existing proposals before the CRC fails on a technicality. News Service of Florida. Politico Florida. Tampa Bay Times.
School security: Gov. Rick Scott’s offer to place Florida Highway Patrol troopers at every entry point at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School is accepted by Broward County School Superintendent Robert Runcie and Broward Sheriff Scott Israel. Eight troopers will be outside the school today. Sun-Sentinel. Associated Press. Reuters. Politico Florida. Runcie also announces changes in safety protocols for all Broward schools, including a requirement that students use only clear backpacks that will be issued by schools. WSVN. Miami Herald. The Miami-Dade County School District plans to hire 20 armed guards and 100 unarmed ones, and tighten entry points to bolster security at schools. Miami Herald. Every elementary school in Sarasota County would have a resource officer by April 2 if a proposal from Superintendent Todd Bowden is approved by the school board today. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. The Lee County Sheriff’s Department is temporarily shifting 40 deputies, detectives and supervisors to the county’s schools, starting next week, until more officers can be hired. Fort Myers News-Press. The Alachua County School Board votes against training and arming school personnel through the state’s new guardian program. WJXT. Gainesville Sun. At a town hall meeting, St. Johns County parents tell school officials that they do not want to arm teachers. St. Augustine Record.
School shooting survivors: Meet the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students who are leading the March For Our Lives rally Saturday in Washington, D.C., and have become the voices for changing gun laws. Sun-Sentinel. What happens to students who survive school shootings? Many are never the same. Washington Post.
Student smokers: The number of Pinellas County students caught smoking who are sent to a two-night tobacco clinic for punishment and education is up 203 percent this year, from 80 last year to 243 this year. A second class was added by the school district, but classes are still backlogged until May. Tampa Bay Times.
Spending tax money: Manatee voters narrowly approved a 1-mill increase in property taxes to raise teacher pay and extend the school day by 30 minutes. Now the school board will meet to establish a timeline for changing school start and finish times, and to appoint the final six members of the Citizens Financial Advisory Committee. Bradenton Herald. Manatee elections official mistakenly left the phrase “as overseen by an independent citizens’ committee” off the ballot for the tax hike. Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
School traffic safety: About a year after a 10-year-old student was struck and killed by a car on his way home from Odyssey Charter School in Palm Bay, the city and Brevard County School District have added blinking warning lights, new signs, crossing guards and police officers to protect students. Florida Today.
District honored: The Marion County School District is one of just 10 U.S. districts to receive an “Innovative District” designation from the International Center for Leadership in Education. The district was chosen for its push to broaden vocational and career opportunities for high school students. Ocala Star-Banner.
School turnaround: Palm Terrace Elementary School in Daytona Beach has received consecutive D grades from the state, and Tucker Harris is appointed principal to turn it around. Harris is starting with an injection of enthusiasm, giving students “emotional safety and security” and incorporating behavior rules into the everyday routines of students. Daytona Beach News-Journal.
Construction academy: The recently signed state budget includes $866,000 for the construction academy at Leesburg High School in Lake County. School officials will use the money to buy supplies and tools to help train students in such careers as contractors, carpenters, masons, electricians and plumbers. Daily Commercial.
Saving money: The Flagler County School District will save $11,340 a year under new contracts with Spectrum for Internet and phone services. Daytona Beach News-Journal.
District being sued: The father of an autistic boy is suing the Okaloosa County School Board, Okaloosa County School District and Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office and more than 30 individuals for the alleged abuse of his son by a teacher at Kenwood Elementary School in 2016. Northwest Florida Daily News.
Teacher reprimanded: A Hernando County teacher is reprimanded by the Florida Education Practices Commission for dragging a special-needs Moton Elementary School student by her hair two years ago. Susan Caravella Moglia, a 58-year-old special education teacher who still teaches at the school, will be on probation for three years. Tampa Bay Times.
Threats to schools: The Brevard County School District continues to be bombarded with school threats since the Parkland shootings Feb. 14. Most of the threats have been hoaxes, and frustrated district spokesman Matt Reed went on a Facebook rant Wednesday, writing: “People of Brevard, we need to regain sanity and stop losing our #$@% on Facebook every time a bad-but-otherwise-routine thing happens on a school campus.” Florida Today. A 17-year-old William T. Dwyer High School will be charged as an adult for his threat last month to shoot up the school. Palm Beach Post.
Opinions on schools: The school safety legislation Gov. Scott signed on March 9 was a start. But it was just the beginning of the sweeping structural change needed in this country to send our children safely to school each day. Howard S. Krooks, Sun-Sentinel. Tallahassee muttered a lot of mealy-mouthed platitudes about caring about the Parkland victims, and then essentially left it to the school districts to figure everything out. And why not? These folks are too busy raising money and running for their next office to allow themselves to get buried in the weeds of public policy, much less how to pay for it. Daniel Ruth, Tampa Bay Times. Hillsborough County has supplemented its school resource officers with a well-managed program of retired cops at a fraction of the cost. John Romano, Tampa Bay Times. Does Florida really need a constitutional amendment requiring civics to be taught in school? Well, maybe. Joe Henderson, Florida Politics.
Student enrichment: Sharanya Chatterjee, an 11-year-old 6th-grader at Hunters Creek Middle School in Orange County, wins the Orlando Sentinel spelling bee for central Florida to earn a trip to the national competition in May. Orlando Sentinel. The K-8 Bonita Springs Charter School is named a Blue Zones Project school for its emphasis on the environmental and good health and for building leadership skills. Naples Daily News.
