School testing: After a hearing Wednesday, leaders of the Senate Education Appropriations Subcommittee say they expect to present a bill this legislative session that will cut down on student testing. "I think that what you're hearing is that there is a complete consensus among the senators on this committee that there is some common ground that can be reached so we get back to a sense of sanity in this," said Sen. David Simmons, R-Altamonte Springs. School superintendents also asked the committee to return to paper-and-pencil testing, arguing that computer-based testing is too expensive and time-consuming; to allow nationally recognized tests like the PSAT, ACT and SAT to stand in for some state tests; and to give school districts leeway to set up their own evaluation systems for teachers. Sun-Sentinel. Orlando Sentinel. Gradebook. WFSU. Politico Florida. Sun-Sentinel. Tallahassee Democrat. News Service of Florida.

Bright Futures: The Florida Senate releases its plan to revise higher education, and one of the key points is an expansion of Bright Futures scholarships. The proposal would increase the scholarships to include all tuition and fees, plus $300 for books per semester. And those who receive the scholarships would be able to use them for summer classes. The estimated cost is $151 million. Tampa Bay Times. Politico Florida. News Service of Florida. SaintPetersburgBlog.

Teacher absences: Duval County has one of the highest teacher absence rates in Florida and in the nation, according to the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights. More than half of Duval's teachers miss two or more weeks during the 2013-2014 school year - almost twice the national average of 27 percent and well above Florida's rate of 39 percent. Florida Times-Union.

Financial progress: The state auditor general's three-year audit of the Manatee County School District's finances shows far fewer problems than the district had in 2014. This audit found just nine operational problems compared to 32 in 2014. And there were no financial findings this time, compared with nine three years ago. “Where we were three years ago was close to an F, so we are getting closer to an A,” said audit committee chairman Joseph Blitzko. Bradenton Herald. (more…)