Retention lawsuit: Parents who launched a legal challenge against the state's policies on 3rd-grade retention are now asking a court to dismiss the case. They had challenged the policy that required students to take the Florida Standards Assessments reading test to be eligible for promotion, regardless of their academic performance. But they lost that case, and an appeal for the Florida Supreme Court to consider it, largely on the question of venue. The state contended the suits should have been filed in local courts. Gradebook.
H.B. 7069 lawsuit: Leon County school officials won't ask the school board to join the lawsuit challenging the state's new education law, H.B. 7069. The Florida Association of District School Superintendents also says it will not join the suit, saying those decisions are for local school boards. Eleven school boards have voted to join the suing coalition. They say the new law is unconstitutional because the bill covers more than one subject, and it forces districts to share tax money with charter schools while stripping those districts of authority over charters. WFSU.
DeVos visit: U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos tours a private religious school and a charter school during a stop in Tallahassee, and touted the schools as "examples of what schools should aspire to be.” Her trip extends into today, when she will visit another private religious school. News Service of Florida. Tallahassee Democrat. Miami Herald. USA Today. Sunshine State News. WFSU. Leon County School Superintendent Rocky Hanna is critical of DeVos' trip, saying "it’s insulting that she’s going to visit the capital of the state of Florida, to visit a charter school, a private school and a voucher school." Tallahassee Democrat. DeVos gave no indication during her trip if the U.S. Department of Education would be receptive to Florida's request for a waiver from requirements of the federal Every Student Succeeds Act. Politico Florida.
Eclipse schedules: School districts around the state are deciding if their students will be permitted to view the solar eclipse Monday, and if they will be, how they might do so safely. Palm Beach Post. Fort Myers News-Press. Northwest Florida Daily News. St. Augustine Record. Gradebook. WFTX. WJAX. Jackson County Floridan. WCJB. WPEC. Gradebook. Florida Today. Lakeland Ledger. Bradenton Herald. Washington Post. U.S. News & World Report. Fox News. Education Week.
Sales tax revenue: The half-cent sales tax voters approved in 2014 for the Brevard County School is bringing it almost 30 percent more money than projected. The district expected to collect about $78 million from the tax by now. Instead, it has collected $101 million. The money is used for building repairs, security upgrades and technology purchases. Florida Today.
Confederate school names: Duval County School Board members say they have no plans to rename any of the district schools bearing the names of Confederate leaders. A couple of years ago, the board changed the name of Nathan Bedford Forrest High School to Westside High School. Forrest was a Confederate lieutenant general. WJAX. A study by the Southern Poverty Law Center says there are at least 109 schools in the United States named after prominent members of the Confederacy, and many of the schools have a significant number of black students. Cox Media Group.
Back to school: More from districts around Florida that have returned to school or will soon. Naples Daily News. Panama City News Herald. Miami Herald. The kindergarten and 1st-grade wing at Osceola Magnet School reopen today. It had been closed since Monday for mold contamination. Air quality tests on other parts of the Vero Beach school are due Friday. TCPalm.
