Accountability plan: Florida is now the only state whose plan to meet the federal Every Student Succeeds Act standards has yet to be approved by U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. Last week DeVos gave the okay to California's and Utah's plans, but Florida's second attempt to comply is still pending. The last action came June 5, when the U.S. DOE said Florida "has not submitted a revised consolidated state plan that meets all the requirements of the ESSA and the McKinney-Vento Act." Florida Education Commissioner Pam Stewart has said the U.S. can't force the state to change its accountability system, and that many of ESSA's guidelines do not match Florida's philosophy. The state is resisting provisions to test students in languages other than English, and the demand for better detailing of demographic subgroup performances. Gradebook.

Acts of unexpected generosity: Passengers on a Southwest Airlines flight from Chicago to Jacksonville who overhear a 1st-grade teacher talking about the low-income students at her Illinois charter school donate $530 to help the students. Teacher Kimberly Bermudez, 27, says she was shocked by the generosity of the passengers -- and that they were carrying that much cash. Washington Post.

Image-sprucing move: The Broward County School District, hit with a barrage of bad news since the Parkland school shooting Feb. 14 that killed 17 people, is looking for a public relations boost by advertising for a chief public information officer who can “champion a favorable public image and brand for the district.” The job will pay between $104,836 and $174,870 a year. Sun-Sentinel.

School boycott urged: The secretary of education under President Obama again urges parents across the United States to boycott schools until they're safe. Arne Duncan tells parents in Parkland Tuesday that a boycott would force Congress to take action on gun reform. Sun-Sentinel. (more…)

New superintendent: Diana Greene is chosen as the new superintendent of the Duval County School System. Greene, who has been superintendent of the Manatee County district since 2015, was unanimously approved by the school board. She replaces Nikolai Vitti, who left last summer to take the top job in Detroit. Greene started her teaching career in Duval before moving into administration. At Manatee, she is credited with turning around a difficult financial situation while improving student achievement. In Duval, Greene will immediately have to contend with a $62 million budget deficit. Greene's start date and salary have yet to be negotiated. Florida Times-Union. WJXT. Bradenton Herald. Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

Smooth testing season: Florida Standards Assessments testing ended last week, and Florida Department of Education officials say there were few reports of problems with the test. Students took 4.2 million computerized tests and another 1.2 million with paper and pencil, and the only issues reported were local Internet and power outages. Results are expected in June. Gradebook.

Ad rebuts 47-cent claim: Florida House Republican leaders are fighting back against the claim by educators that the Legislature's funding for schools amounts to just 47 more cents for each student. Calling it the "47 cent myth," the lawmakers contend in a 5-minute online ad that they bumped per-student spending by $101.50, an all-time high, and that they put requirements on some of the increases to stop districts from squandering the extra money. "That's why we put this $100 increase in per student funding directly into the classroom, bypassing the bureaucracy," the narrator of the ads says. "To them [bureaucrats], it's not about kids. It's about control." Gradebook. (more…)

Arne Duncan. The federal education chief visits the National Urban League in Fort Lauderdale and talks with StateImpact.

Jeb Bush. Former state Board of Education member T. Willard Fair, who helped start a charter school with Jeb Bush, says the governor's support for education reform shows he's a different kind of Republican. Sun-Sentinel. The former governor will talk education in a speech before the Urban League today. The Buzz. Education issues figure prominently in PolitiFact's rundown of Bush and Hillary Clinton's rhetoric on race.

Charter schools. Palm Beach's schools chief wants charter-like flexibility for district schools. Palm Beach Post. A South Florida city sells land for a future charter school location. South Florida Business Journal. Traffic fears stir opposition to a South Florida charter school's expansion. Florida Bulldog.

Poverty. Nearly a third of Miami-Dade County's youngest children live in poverty. Miami Herald.

Disparities. Palm Beach schools grapple with racial divides in punishment and academics. Sun-Sentinel.

Teacher evaluations. The statewide teachers union seeks a rehearing in a case challenging Florida's evaluation system. News Service of Florida.

Teachers unions. The national American Federation of Teachers' takeover of Orange County's union is expected to last a year. Orlando Sentinel.

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Testing. State education officials investigate a denial-of-service attack on the state's computerized testing system, which may have contributed to delays. Times/Herald. Tampa Tribune. Orlando Sentinel. Palm Beach Post. Florida Times-Union. Fort Myers News-Press. Associated Press. Naples Daily News. Daytona Beach News-Journal. U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan talks testing in South Florida and says the state needs to "get its act together." Sun-Sentinel. The Florida House advances its testing overhaul. Miami Herald. Scripps/Tribune. The Daytona Beach News-Journal covers students opting out of state assessments.

Rural schools. Residents in Alachua County's Waldo community say they are prepared to fight to keep their elementary school open. Gainesville Sun.

Labor negotiations. Meetings, paperwork and parent communication may be casualties as Volusia teachers forgo out-of-school work to put pressure on the school district amid negotiations for pay raises and better working conditions. Daytona Beach News-Journal.

Budgets. Alachua schools may cut back on elementary school resource specialists amid a budget crunch. Gainesville Sun.

Education reform. Education historian and ex-Floridian Sherman Dorn discusses former Gov. Jeb Bush's policy agenda and its implications.

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Common Core is okay. But the new, multi-state tests aligned to them may have to go.

So suggests Florida Gov. Rick Scott in documents set for release today.

In a draft executive order, Scott says "Floridians will not accept Federal government intrusion into the academic standards that are taught to our students." The order then says the tests being put together by the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, better known as PARCC, "do not meet the needs of our students or the expectations of state leaders" in terms of cost, test length and testing requirements - and constitute "excessive involvement by the United States Department of Education." It says the state education commissioner shall recommend to the state Board of Education that the board terminate Florida's role as the fiscal agent for PARCC and establish a competitive bidding process for new tests.

In a draft letter to U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, Scott also criticizes PARCC, saying it "has become a primary entry point for the involvement of the federal government" in many state and local education decisions.

But the letter also notes the state BOE adopted Common Core standards in 2010 after a process that began under former Gov. Jeb Bush and continued under former House Speaker Marco Rubio.

"This process resulted in the highest academic standards that could move our students and teachers away from 'teaching to the test' and toward a more independent, analytical approach to reading, writing and math," the letter says.

Here is a copy of the letter to Duncan. Here is a copy of the executive order. And here is a letter to BOE Chair Gary Chartrand.

Statement from Patricia Levesque at Foundation for Florida's Future here. Statements from six of seven BOE members here.

Other coverage: Tampa Bay Times, Tampa Bay Times (editorial), Education Week, Sunshine State News, South Florida Sun Sentinel, Palm Beach Post, Orlando Sentinel, Associated Press, Pensacola News Journal, Gradebook, The Buzz, StateImpact Florida, Daytona Beach News Journal, Fort Myers News Press, Sarasota Herald Tribune, John Romano, The Answer Sheet, Florida Current, NPR, Bridge to Tomorrow, Wall Street Journal.

Parent trigger. Citing anonymous sources, Sunshine State News says Gov. Rick Scott helped kill parent trigger. Five GOP senators tell The Buzz he had nothing to do with it. Arne Duncan sorta kinda maybe a wee little bit endorses the concept of parent trigger, notes This Week In Education. Parents would have been at the mercy of for-profit charters because "parents of students in failing schools don’t necessarily have the skill sets to develop corrective plans," writes Florida Voices columnist Rick Outzen.

Tutoring. Lawmakers, including Sen. Dwight Bullard, D-Miami, try but fail to keep the mandated program for low-income kids after all. Tampa Bay Times.

Virtual schools. Florida Virtual School doesn't get as much as it expected due to funding changes. Times/Herald.

Turnaround schools. An attempt to restaff a struggling Pasco elementary school doesn't draw many applicants beyond existing teachers. Tampa Bay Times.

Private schools. A Christian school in Orlando plans to begin drug testing students. Orlando Sentinel.

Charter schools. The City of Cape Coral Charter School System has a new superintendent. Fort Myers News Press.

Teacher pay. Teachers won't have to wait for raises, reports the Tampa Bay Times and Tallahassee Democrat. Lawmakers ultimately do the right thing, writes the Tallahassee Democrat. (more…)

Parent trigger. Parent trigger is headed to the Senate floor, with growing potential for drama. Coverage from redefinED and The Buzz. The latest from Diane Ravitch's blog.

Charter schools. The Pinellas County School Board agrees to sell the site of a former middle school to a charter school venture started by Cheri Shannon, former head of the Florida Charter School Alliance, reports the Tampa Bay Times. More from the Tampa Tribune. Lawmakers adopt language that would reign in the kind of abuses that happened last year at an Orlando charter, reports Gradebook. The International Studies Charter Middle/High School in Miami is ranked No. 2 in Florida and No. 15 in the nation by U.S. News & World Report's annual ranking of top high schools, reports the Miami Herald.

Teacher quality. A piece of the parent trigger bill regarding ineffective teachers is attached to the teacher eval bill, just in case parent trigger doesn't pass. The Buzz.

Teacher evals. U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan urges Florida to make its teacher eval system better, reports the Associated Press. In an editorial, the Ocala Star Banner agrees but also says: "A full generation of Florida schoolchildren have gone through the FCAT process, and in spite of the many political, mechanical and bureaucratic foul-ups along the way, Florida is making remarkable and steady educational progress. That is largely thanks to its teachers and local school officials."

Teacher conduct. The Hillsborough County School Board reverses an earlier decision to stop posting the names of employees facing suspension or dismissal. Tampa Bay Times.

Turnaround. In an attempt to jumpstart struggling Lacoochee Elementary, Superintendent Kurt Browning is replacing the entire staff. Tampa Bay Times.

Religion. The Hillsborough School Board is again wrestling with what religious materials are okay for students to circulate. Tampa Bay Times. (more…)

Basking in the glow. Interim education commissioner Pam Stewart touts the PIRLS results on CNN. U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan offers praise, notes Orlando Sentinel. More from Fort Myers News Press.

More Tony Bennett. Tampa Bay Times columnist John Romano sees the same old agenda. The Tampa Bay Times editorial board says the BOE pick shows it “values conservative ideology over proven performance.” More from Tampa Bay Times, Florida Times-Union, Palm Beach Post, News Service of Florida, Sunshine State News,

More on testing and voucher kids. According to this Tampa Bay Times story, Gov. Rick Scott will propose that tax-credit scholarship students take the Common Core tests when they replace the FCAT.

DOE errors. Board of Education members criticize mistakes in teacher evaluation data. Gradebook. School Zone. Sun-Sentinel columnist Michael Mayo isn’t a fan.

Florida: Former Indiana education leader Tony Bennett is one of three finalists for the education commissioner job in Florida, with the state Board of Education scheduled to make a decision Wednesday (redefinED). U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., says in a major speech that expanding school choice is a key to revitalizing the middle class and proposes a federal tax credit scholarship (redefinED). Former Republican Gov. Charlie Crist tells the Tampa Tribune he was wrong to support an expansion of vouchers (redefinED), then, in a move many expected as he positions himself for another run at governor, signs paperwork to change his party registration to Democrat (Tampa Bay Times). (Image from healthystate.org)

Louisiana: U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan reiterates his opposition to private school vouchers during a visit to New Orleans (Fox 8 New Orleans). A district judge's ruling on the statewide voucher program also threatens an initiative to provide students more choice by course (New Orleans Times Picayune).

Texas: School districts gear up to fight lawmakers on vouchers (Dallas Morning News). Education commissioner Michael Williams urges charter schools to better inform lawmakers about their work (Dallas Morning News).

Arkansas: A crowded education agenda for lawmakers next year is likely to include school choice proposals, including tax credit scholarships and expansion of charter schools (Arkansas Business Online).

Washington: A new parents group forms to fight the formation of charter schools in the wake of the state's recently passed charter school ballot initiative (Seattle Times.)

North Carolina: The state board of education postpones a vote on rules that would make it tougher for virtual charter schools to open (Associated Press).

California: An appeals court overturns a ruling that potentially gave charter school operators in Los Angeles access to more classroom space (Los Angeles Times).

Connecticut: The Hartford school system gets $5 million from the Gates Foundation to strengthen its relationship with two charter school networks (Hartford Courant). The foundation distributed $25 million to seven cities nationwide (Washington Post).

Indiana: Seven more charter schools are coming to Indianapolis, more than half as many as Mayor Greg Ballard approved in his first five years (Indianapolis Business Journal).

Tennessee: High-performing district schools and charter schools in Nashville offer an opportunity for educators to learn what works, what doesn't (The Tennessean).

New York: Black pastors in Buffalo support the conversion of low-performing schools into charter schools (Buffalo News).

More Jeb Bush summit. Checker Finn’s a fan. EdWeek writes up Arne Duncan’s speech. More from Bloomberg, Stateline, the Getting Smart blog.

New ed leadership. John Legg, the former state rep and new state senator from Pasco is the new chair of the Senate K-20 Education Policy Committee, reports Gradebook. (The post also includes a listing of all committee members.)

Weeding out low-performing charters. EdWeek. StateImpact Florida.

Per-pupil spending by state. A new federal report shows Florida at No. 42, at $8,863 per student in the 2009-10 school year, reports the Orlando Sentinel School Zone blog.

More on $10,000 degrees. The Daytona Beach News-Journal editorial board likes Gov. Rick Scott's idea. The Sentinel's Beth Kassab does not. More from the Lakeland Ledger.

More on low grad rates. Palm Beach Post.

Voucher accountability. A problem private school in Manatee County should prompt more oversight from the state, editorializes the Bradenton Herald.