H.B. 7069 suit tossed: A Leon County circuit judge throws out a lawsuit by 14 Florida school districts challenging the constitutionality of the Legislature’s 2017 education bill, H.B. 7069. The districts argued that the bill is unconstitutional because it takes powers away from local schools boards and forces districts to share local property taxes with charter schools. The state contended the districts had no standing to sue, and that their disagreement with the law was strictly political. The districts are considering whether to appeal. Orlando Sentinel. Tampa Bay Times. Politico Florida. The 74.
School officers’ pay: Resource officers being hired to protect Pinellas County schools will be paid more than many of the teachers in those schools. The new resource officers will be paid $46,410, which is about the same as a Pinellas teacher with 13 years of experience. One major difference: The officers work year-round, while teachers have set vacation breaks and time off in the summers. The district and the sheriff’s office are hiring 156 new officers so every county school can have one, as required by the new school security law. Tampa Bay Times.
Audit raps state DOE: State auditors say Florida Department of Education officials obstructed their review of the state’s administration of millions of federal student loans by restricting access or delaying responses. “This lack of cooperation and responsiveness created redundancies in audit requests, postponed or frustrated the performance of audit procedures, and provided our auditors little assurance as to the completeness and accuracy of some Department-provided information,” auditors reported. Education Commissioner Pam Stewart defends her staff, saying the procedures cited by the auditor are “designed to ensure that responses are timely, accurate, and complete.” Politico Florida.
Graduation rates: The Palm Beach County’s record 85 percent graduation rate in 2017 could fall by 13 percentage points next year, when the state adopts higher passing standards for the Florida Standards Assessments and alternative tests, according to school officials. The school board is drafting a letter of protest to send to the Florida Department of Education. Palm Beach Post. In most U.S. states, including Florida, simply earning a high school diploma does not qualify students to attend a public university, according to a study by the Center for American Progress. The 74.
Amendments proposed: The Style and Drafting Committee of the Constitution Revision Commission finishes its work by proposing 12 amendments be placed on the November ballot. Three education-related ideas — school board term limits, requiring a civics course for graduation and allowing the state to create a new entity to authorize charter schools — are consolidated into proposed committee proposal 6603. The other idea, which would allow high-performing school districts to have the same regulatory flexibility as charter schools, is proposed committee proposal 6608. The full CRC is expected to consider them later this month. News Service of Florida. Politico Florida. Miami Herald.
School security: St. Petersburg Police Chief Tony Holloway tells the city council he plans to reassign 31 officers to city schools to help fulfill the new state law requiring a resource officer in every school. Tampa Bay Times. The Lake County School District posts an online survey asking members of the community if they support having school employees carry guns in schools. The voluntary school guardians program was authorized in this year’s education bill passed by the Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Rick Scott. Orlando Sentinel.
Dual enrollment questions: The new state education law no longer allows dual enrollment agreements to specify that private schools must pay colleges for dual-enrollment courses taken by high school students. But it also doesn’t specifically forbid colleges from passing the costs to private schools, so officials are seeking clarity. Rep. Jennifer Sullivan, R-Mount Dora, said the intent of the law is that private schools would not be charged, but added that “if we need to go in and clarify it next session, we will.” redefinED.
Yearbook questions: The yearbook staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland struggles with the most appropriate way to honor those killed in the Feb. 14 shooting. “It has to be perfect,” says captions editor Aly Sheehy, an 18-year-old senior. New York Times.
Charter school troubles: The Palm Beach County School District says it will not bail out a financially struggling K-8 charter school in Wellington. Eagle Arts Academy has failed to meet payroll and has stopped paying vendors. The district has sent Eagle Arts a 90-day termination notice. WPTV. Palm Beach Post.
Superintendent fires back: Sarasota County School Superintendent Todd Bowden blames recent conflicts with a school board member and the sheriff on their attempts to undermine him. “I don’t think I’m being paranoid when I say I think there’s a coordinated effort to undermine me,” says Bowden. Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
More on Kids Count: Florida ranks 40th in the nation in the overall well-bring of its children, according to the annual Kids Count report. Collier County is ranked 23rd among the state’s 67 counties, while Lee is 36th. Counties are ranked in 16 categories under groupings of education, economics, health and family and community. Naples Daily News.
Students registering: Students across central Florida are registering to vote in large numbers. Osceola County Supervisor of Elections Mary Jane Arrington says she is “amazed” at the number of registrations at county high schools, particularly Poinciana High, with 411 registrations or pre-registrations. That “blew us off the map,” she says. “We’ve never had any kind of numbers like that at a high school.” Orlando Sentinel.
Board member, teacher spar: A Facebook discussion between Hillsborough County School Board member Tamara Shamburger and a teacher about the quality of Memorial Middle School has turned bitter, with accusations of intimidation, threats and retribution. Tampa Bay Times.
A school’s future: The Hillsborough County School Districts is considering three options for Tampa’s historic Lee Elementary School, heavily damaged in a September fire: Preserve the historical facade and rebuild the school, remove the facade and rebuild with some of the original materials, or not rebuild and move all the students and teachers. Gradebook.
Confederate names: About 140 U.S. school buildings still carry names of Confederate leaders, according to an Education Week Research Center analysis of federal education data from the 2015-16 school year. Two-thirds of them are located in five southern states — Florida, Texas, Virginia, Georgia and Louisiana. Florida has 10. Education Week.
Notable deaths: Leon Rogers, Marion County school superintendent from 1977 to 1985, has died at the age of 86. He’s credited with creating the first district’s magnet school and developing career and adult education programs. Ocala Star-Banner.
School workers fall ill: Seven cafeteria employees at Orchard Villa Elementary School in Miami go to a hospital after complaining that they were ill. School officials attributed the sicknesses to exposure to carbon monoxide that built up because an exhaust fan was not turned on. Miami Herald.
School dress code: Braden River High School officials ask a 17-year-old student to put bandaids over her nipples when she came to class without a bra. School dean Violeta Velazquez says Lizzy Martinez was causing a distraction, and that the bandaids solution was an attempt to enforce the school dress code, though the code does not specifically require bras or even address them. Martinez and her mother accuse school officials of harassment and sexism. Bradenton Herald. Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
Gun at school: A Miami father is arrested for sending his 8-year-old son to school with a handgun in his backpack. Police say Ramon Nuiry, 53, put the gun in the backpack and forgot about it. Then he went to the school, got school staff to bring the boy and the bag, retrieved the gun, put it into his waistband and left. He’s accused of possessing a weapon on school grounds, improper exhibition of a weapon and possession of a concealed firearm. Miami Herald.
Opinions on schools: Clear backpacks won’t stop as many bullets as a ban on assault weapons. Andy Reid, Sun-Sentinel. Leon County Superintendent Rocky Hanna’s recent remarks regarding charter schools are clearly showing that his personal beliefs are preventing our community from having options to best serve our students. Jaime Carbonell, Tallahassee Democrat. Financially strapped Martin County has a tough choice to make: Does it ask voters to hike property taxes to provide money for teacher raises and resource officers, or does it go for a sales tax hike for school construction and repairs? Gil Smart, TCPalm. When Tampa’s Chamberlain High School lost its yearbook adviser, and completion seemed impossible, students from Strawberry Crest and Newsome high schools stepped in to help complete it. Joe Henderson, Tampa Bay Times. The Lee County School Board should consider joining the Collier County Commission in suing to block a new state law that requires a performance audit to be performed at least 60 days before any local sales tax hike goes on the ballot. Naples Daily News.
Student enrichment: The Glades Education Foundation receives a $40,000 grant from the Southwest Florida Community Foundation to continue its AVID (advancement via individual determination) About Success program. AVID is a research-based program that helps students develop career and college-readiness skills and plan for college. Glades County Democrat. Fourth-graders in Tammy Chutes’ class at Chumuckla Elementary School in Pensacola are using robots to learn how to code. WEAR.
