House education bill: The Florida House Education Commission approves the 109-page education bill, which includes new scholarships for 3rd-graders who fail the state reading exam, an expansion of school choice, a cutback in computerized state testing and new regulatory accountability rules for private schools accepting tax credit scholarships. Representatives spent considerable time debating the merits of a provision that allows school boards to set up autonomous networks within their districts that would be managed by the highest-rated principals. News Service of Florida. redefinED. Politico Florida. The Senate and House plans for higher education spending differ by hundreds of millions of dollars, but leaders in the chambers say they are optimistic they can strike a deal agreeable to both. News Service of Florida.
Guns and schools: A Senate bill that would allow people to carry concealed weapons in churches and religious institutions that include schools is amended during a hearing Thursday in the Senate Judiciary Committee. Those senators approved the bill only after making a change that would prohibit firearm possession in religious institutions during hours when schools or day-care centers are operating. And two south Florida Republicans are asking the bill's sponsor, Sen. Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala, to provide assurances that he won't continue to push the bill if the amendment is removed. Baxley says he will try to avoid having the bill changed. Orlando Sentinel. News Service of Florida. WFSU.
Public employee unions: The full Florida House passes a bill that would require public employee unions to apply for recertification if their total dues-paying membership falls below half of all those eligible. Unions representing police officers, prison guards and firefighters would be exempt from the bill. Florida Education Association president Joanne McCall says the bill is "an attempt to silence those who dare to speak out and speak up on behalf of our public schools and our students.” The bill's chances in the Senate are uncertain. “The bill hasn’t moved in the Senate this session, and I don’t see it gaining traction,” says Senate president-designate Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton. Politico Florida. (more…)
Bright Futures: Incoming Senate President Joe Negron, R-Palm Coast, says he intends to bolster the Bright Futures program to cover full tuition and fees. When the program started in 1996 it covered full tuition for 179,000 students. By 2015, it covered about half the tuition for 100,170 students. GateHouse Florida.
Education on trial: Closing arguments are made in the civil trial accusing Florida of not fulfilling its constitutional mandate to provide a quality education for all public school students. Attorneys for Citizens for Strong Schools argue that the state's racial achievement gap, emphasis on testing and lack of adequate funding keep it from fulfilling a 1998 constitutional amendment. Attorneys for the Department of Education and the Legislature say the state is a national leader in education and still improving. Circuit Court Judge George Reynolds III is expected to rule within the next several weeks. Orlando Sentinel. Miami Herald. Associated Press. Politico Florida. News Service of Florida.
Charter schools: A state auditor general report shows that the Broward County School District failed to make closing checklists of items such as books, computers and furniture for 5 of 22 charter schools that shut down from 2012-2015. And for 11 of 17 schools with checklists, items on the checklist either weren't returned or weren't documented. Sun-Sentinel. The Bay Haven Charter Academy Board of Directors approves spending up to $300,000 toward a new North Bay Haven Elementary School in Panama City. Panama City News Herald.
School board group: A relatively new school board association is receiving $200,000 in state money to help set up training for members. The Florida Coalition of School Board Members, which champions conservative values, was founded in 2015 as an alternative to the 80-year-old Florida School Boards Association. The FSBA has opposed the Legislature's support for voucher-like programs. Miami Herald.
Pre-K ratings: For a second straight year, no grades will be issued for the 6,200 preschools in Florida's voluntary prekindergarten program. Failures in the ratings process the past two years have prompted the state to skip the ratings for the next two years while officials try to find a better way to rate the schools. Palm Beach Post. (more…)
K-12 budget: The Florida Senate Education Appropriations Committee proposes raising the K-12 education budget by $650 million, to $20.3 billion, which is about $150 million more than Gov. Rick Scott requested. The proposal would increase per-student funding from $7,107 to $7,249. Still to be determined is how much of the money comes from local property taxes. Miami Herald. Politico Florida. News Service of Florida.
School recess: A Florida House education subcommittee unanimously passes a bill that requires 20 minutes of recess a day in the state's elementary schools, in addition to the required physical education instruction. The bill does not allow recess to be withheld for disciplinary reasons. Orlando Sentinel. Miami Herald. Politico Florida. Lakeland Ledger. Pinellas County School Superintendent Mike Grego says starting in August, every county elementary school will have 20 minutes of recess daily, or at least on days when students don't have physical education. Tampa Bay Times.
Prayer dispute: The Liberty Institute, a law firm that specializes in religious liberty issues, is representing Cambridge Christian of Tampa in a dispute with the Florida High School Athletic Association over praying before a football game against University Christian School in December. The Liberty Institute has demanded a written apology from the FHSAA for what it calls a “gross violation” of the law by prohibiting the schools from saying a prayer over the public address system. The FHSAA has 30 days to respond. If it doesn't, the school says it will take the issue to federal court. Fox News. Tampa Tribune. Tampa Bay Times.
School uniforms: After hearing objections from dozens of parents, the Volusia County School Board delays a vote on requiring school uniforms for all K-12 students. The board did make one change to the proposal by adding jeans to the list of acceptable clothing. Daytona Beach News-Journal. (more…)
Ed summit: A three-day education summit called by Gov. Rick Scott ends with broad guidelines on student testing, school grading and evaluating teachers — but uncertainty about where they will lead. Palm Beach Post. Participants make plenty of promises, but don't offer solutions. Associated Press. The summit did little to quell unrest over Common Core or address other recent controversies, but at least it brought parent groups, teachers, school administrators and legislative leaders together. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. And there's a call to change the school grading system. Tampa Bay Times.
Common Core: Mary Jane Tappen, deputy chancellor for curriculum and instruction with the Florida Department of Education, will talk with Osceola parents about the new Common Core standards. Orlando Sentinel.
PARCC: Florida’s continued participation in PARCC is in doubt due to the concern that school districts don't have the computers and Internet bandwidth necessary to administer the online tests and that PARCC exams take twice as long as the FCATs they replace. StateImpact Florida.
Drug testing: The Miami-Dade County School Board will consider a random drug-testing policy following the federal probe into whether Biogenesis of America gave performance-enhancing drugs to student athletes. Miami Herald.
Rosh Hashanah: A St. Lucie County sophomore and his parents are upset that the school district won't allow students to take the day off for the Jewish holiday like some other districts. Instead, he has a test. TC Palm.
Class therapy: A therapy dog helps autistic students in Lake Wales focus in the classroom. The Ledger.
Reading buddy: Ann Scott, the governor's wife, visits a Port St. John elementary school to read to kindergarteners. Florida Today.
Afterschool: Many Collier County parents are still upset about the district's changes to afterschool activities. Naples Daily News.
