Arming teachers: A bid by Florida Senate Democrats to remove the potential arming of teachers provision from the school safety bill has failed. The Senate voted 22-16 Wednesday along party lines against the amendment. Republicans say teachers can represent the last line of defense against a shooter, while Democrats say arming teachers could have unintended, and tragic, consequences. Another amendment that details the approval process for arming teachers did pass. School districts will decide if they want armed teachers in schools, and sheriffs must provide training for the teachers if districts request it. Charter schools may arm teachers even if the district they are in chooses not to. The bill also contains other provisions that have board bipartisan support, such as better reporting on crimes in schools, a standardized risk assessment process for dangerous students, and new guidelines on school-based mental health. Final votes on the bills, S.B. 7030 and H.B. 7093, are expected soon. Associated Press. News Service of Florida. Sun Sentinel. Tampa Bay Times. Florida Phoenix. Florida Politics. WFTV. Politico Florida. Florida Times-Union.
School board term limits: The Senate Rules Committee temporarily postpones a vote on the bill that would ask voters to place a limit on the terms of local school board members. Support for the measure was lagging, according to Republican lawmakers, leading to the delay as they try to shore up support. Some senators are objecting to settling the limit at eight consecutive years, and others are interested in allowing the issue to be decided at the county level. Both chambers will have to approve the bill with a 60 percent majority for it to get on the 2020 ballot as a constitutional amendment. Then 60 percent of voters would have to approve it for it to take effect. Gradebook. Florida Politics.
Teacher ‘walk-ins’: Teachers around the state conduct a “walk-in” into schools Wednesday as a show of solidarity to urge legislators to make more money available for public schools and for teacher pay. Spectrum Bay News 9. WFLA. WFTX. Florida Today. WESH. WJXT. WOFL. Naples Daily News. Bradenton Herald. WINK. Daily Commercial. WMNF. Northwest Florida Daily News. Fort Myers News-Press. Lakeland Ledger. Flagler Live. Panama City News Herald. St. Augustine Record. WTXL.
State of preschool report: Florida’s pre-kindergarten program ranks second in the nation in the percentage of 4-year-olds enrolled, but fails to meet 8 of 10 benchmarks of a quality program, including not requiring teachers to have college degrees and the sizes of classes, and rates 41st in the country in funding, according to a study by the National Institute for Early Education Research. The state spent just $2,177 per child last year, down from $3,079 in 2008 when adjusted for inflation, the study said. Orlando Sentinel.
Reading problems: The Hillsborough County School District has spent millions of dollars and launched program after program to bring students up to their reading grade level. And still, tens of thousands of students struggle to read. Only half of the students who took the state’s reading test last spring passed it, almost one-fourth scored at Level 1, the lowest possible, and 39 elementary schools are on the state’s list of 300 lowest-performing schools. While the district acknowledges the problem, finding a fix has been difficult. Tampa Bay Times.
After the storm: Bay County school Superintendent Bill Husfelt says it’s “50-50” the school district will get the hurricane recovery money it needs from the Legislature. With fewer students because of Hurricane Michael, the district could lose as much as $12.4 million this year and $24.8 million next year since funding is tied to enrollment. “Our challenges are real,” Husfelt said. “I know that some people in Tallahassee don’t understand that. I know some people in Washington, D.C., don’t understand that. But we’ve got to get help for our people in this community.” Panama City News Herald.
Sharing with charters: Palm Beach County school officials are asking residents to lobby their legislators to vote against a bill that would require school districts to share money from voter-approved tax increases with charter schools. If the bill is approved, about 10 percent of the estimated $200 million a year the extra tax would raise in Palm Beach County would have to be given to charters. The school board unanimously approved a resolution that says the bill “potentially overrides the will of Palm Beach County voters, who overwhelmingly approved a ballot measure with explicit language to use their tax dollars for non-charter district schools.” Palm Beach Post.
Academies reject transgender students: The U.S. Naval and Coast Guard academies have confirmed that they will no longer accept transgender students. The other academies, the U.S. Air Force Academy, the U.S. Military Academy and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, did not announce their plans. The moves follow the Trump administration’s new policy enacted last week that bans transgenders from serving in the military. Associated Press.
Consolidating schools: Parents flood a town meeting to protest the Duval County School District’s plan to consolidate Ribault and Raines high schools with middle schools. Parents are worried about the safety of younger students in such a setup, and of the legacies of the high schools. District officials stress the proposal is preliminary, and that community sentiment will be considered before the plan is finalized. WJAX.
School calendars: Parents in Broward County are joining those from Palm Beach County in protesting their school districts’ proposals to start schools earlier in August in the future. In Palm Beach County, the school year would start on Aug. 10 in both 2020 and 2021. No specific proposal has been made for Broward, but the trend has been to start earlier. Sun Sentinel.
District climate survey: A member of the Manatee County School District’s Citizens’ Financial Oversight Committee is suggesting it’s time to conduct a survey to see how residents feel about the district. The last one was conducted in 2015, and Garin Hoover suggests the same one be reissued so direct comparisons can be made. Bradenton Herald.
Dual enrollment program: The Flagler County School Board approves an arrangement with the University of North Florida to provide dual-enrollment classes for free to students who are enrolled in the Future Educators of Flagler flagship program at Flagler Palm Coast High School. Daytona Beach News-Journal.
Student codes of conduct: The Collier County School Board is considering changes in the student code of conduct that would add “simulation use of a firearm or weapon” to the zero tolerance section of school offenses and require all students to wear ID badges on campuses. Naples Daily News. The Pasco County School Board declines to change the student code of conduct to allow those with unexcused absences to make up the schoolwork they missed. Gradebook.
Superintendent’s job: Marie Izquierdo, the chief academic officer for the Miami-Dade County School District since 2013, is named one of three finalists for the position of superintendent of the Boston Public Schools system. Interviews are scheduled from April 22-24. WBUR.
Education podcast: State Sen. Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg, talks about education’s past becoming its future and his bill that would open a mastery-based education pilot program to all school districts. redefinED.
Threat suspect found dead: The south Florida high school student whose threats against Colorado schools closed many of them on Wednesday has been found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Authorities say Sol Pais, an 18-year-old senior at Miami Beach Senior High School, was obsessed with the 1999 Columbine school shooting and made threats against that schools and others that they deemed credible. After a 24-hour nationwide manhunt, Pais was found dead in a recreation area about 60 miles southwest of Denver. Miami Herald. Associated Press. New York Times.
Student wins judgment: A Leon County jury has awarded $99,100 to a former Leon High School student who was hurt during a 2017 black-light pep rally in the school’s darkened basketball gym. Jennifer Huynh sued the school board last year, saying she broke a bone and aggravated a hip injury after being knocked down when a mosh pit broke out in the senior section. Tallahassee Democrat.
School bus driver fired: A Citrus County school bus driver is fired for closing the door with a student’s foot, arms and book bag inside the bus but the rest of his body outside. The Inverness Middle School student had to let go of his bag and yank his arms and foot out of the door to avoid being dragged as the driver pulled away. Driver Michael Hedrick’s “head never moved to look toward the door to ensure that it was clear of passengers or articles as he was trained to do,” according to the district’s report. Citrus County Chronicle.
Opinions on schools: Arming teachers is a dangerous approach that most teachers and school boards across the state do not support, and it would make children less safe in the classroom. Tampa Bay Times. I’m a teacher in the Broward County School District. We all deserve a fair pay raise. Sarah Leonardi, Sun Sentinel.
