Common Core: Gov. Ron DeSantis says he will sign an executive order “eliminating Common Core and the vestiges of Common Core” in Florida schools. DeSantis made that promise during his 2018 campaign, saying he had heard complaints from many people about the national academic standards for math and language arts that were adopted in 2010. The state adapted the standards with about 100 changes in 2014 and renamed them the Florida Standards. DeSantis says he's instructed Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran to develop new state curriculum standards over the next year that will then be presented to the 2020 Legislature. News Service of Florida. Associated Press. Orlando Sentinel. Tampa Bay Times. GateHouse. Florida Politics. Politico Florida. Fort Myers News-Press. Orlando Weekly. WFTX. WKMG. Some reaction from parents and educators around the state. WPTV. WCTV. WEAR.
Parents, Runcie meet: Parents of students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School unload on Broward Superintendent Robert Runcie at their first face-to-face meeting Thursday. Parents wanted to know why there were no metal detectors at the school, who would respond in the next emergency, how district officials can assure them no student with a gun will get on campus again, and more. Several called on Runcie to resign. Runcie spoke little, and apologized for not meeting with them earlier. The next meeting, with 10th-grade parents, is Monday, followed by meetings with parents of juniors Tuesday and seniors Feb. 11. Sun Sentinel. A Broward County task force reviewing the shootings at Stoneman Douglas reviews a report that urges an upgrade to the county's radio communication system. Sun Sentinel. (more…)
K-12 funding concerns: Chief state economist Amy Baker tells House Appropriations Committee members that the three-year financial outlook for the state won't cover expected budget growth in education and other critical areas. She suggests that the Legislature's decisions on state spending and setting local property tax rates for K-12 education are the key for balancing spending, and is urging lawmakers to be cautious about spending projected surpluses. Gradebook.
School security law: Members of the Senate Education Committee say they expect to tweak the school safety act passed last spring, both to clarify the law and make it more manageable. Several speakers say they oppose any changes that would allow willing teachers to carry guns into schools, as recommended by the state panel that investigated the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School last Feb. 14. Politico Florida. Gradebook. The director of the state's Office of Safe Schools, Damien Kelly, urges more fencing and single points of entry and better security systems for schools during testimony before the committee. Florida Politics. (more…)
College alternatives: Increasingly, rural students in Florida are choosing to learn a trade instead of going to college. Among the reasons for their choices: Practicality, price and even politics. “It’s all about practicality,” says Wakulla County School District Superintendent Robert Pearce. “The mindset is: What makes the most sense?” Tampa Bay Times.
Governor's race: Was race the primary reason Democrat Andrew Gillum lost the governor's race to Republican Ron DeSantis? While many Democrats think so, others aren't so sure. It wouldn't explain why Gillum received only 86 percent of the black vote, well below even the 90 percent white Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson got. One possible reason for the low black total for Gillum may have been his call to end tax credit scholarships, which allow low-income, mostly minority students to attend private schools. Tampa Bay Times. (more…)
School security: As the Palm Beach County School District's police force welcomes a new chief, the previous two chiefs are still on the payroll. Frank Kitzerow was hired as the new chief last week, but the outgoing chief, Lawrence Leon, will remain in the department for at least another year and Jim Kelly, who preceded Leon, has been hired back as a consultant. Also to be sorted is how the district will provide armed officers in all schools. The expanded 160-member police force is at least 75 officers short of covering all schools, and the sheriff has refused to make deputies available on overtime. Palm Beach Post. The mother of one of the students killed in the shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School is being reassigned to the job of director of school safety and security. April Schentrup, mother of Carmen, has been principal at Pembroke Pines Elementary School. Sun-Sentinel. Sheriff's officials don't believe the state mandate requiring an armed officer in all schools applies to summer school, but will provide some coverage. Citrus County Chronicle. The Monroe County School District is proposing to upgrade mental health services to students by hiring two fulltime social workers, expanding a contract with the Guidance Care Center to provide more mental health counselors, and reinstating a Medicaid specialist to seek reimbursements for services. Key West Citizen.
School board elections: School board races are set at districts around the state: Broward County, Miami-Dade, Palm Beach, Palm Beach, Seminole, Orange, Lake, Osceola, Pinellas, Hillsborough, Pasco, Hernando, Brevard, Lee, Sarasota, Manatee, Manatee, Leon, Alachua, Marion, Volusia, Flagler, St. Johns, Martin, St. Lucie, Indian River, Collier, Escambia, Santa Rosa, Walton, Okaloosa, Monroe, Citrus. Duval County School Board chairwoman Paula Wright will challenge incumbent Kim Daniels in the Democratic primary for the District 14 seat in the Florida House. Florida Times-Union.
Charters get payments: Under protest, Broward and Orange school districts distribute about $15 million in local construction funding to charter schools after being ordered to do so by the Florida Department of Education. The districts wanted to hold the money in escrow until their lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the law requiring the payments is decided. DOE officials said the pending decision was not a basis to withhold payment. Both districts allege the state threatened to withhold regular school funding if the payments were not made, a charge the DOE denies. WLRN.
Gay teacher fired: A Miami Catholic school 1st-grade teacher says she was fired from her job after marrying her girlfriend. Jocelyn Morffi was apparently asked to resign after officials at Sts. Peter & Paul Catholic School found out about her marriage. When she refused, she was fired. Now her story is being turned into an issue in the Democratic primary for Florida’s 27th Congressional District, according to Politico Florida. Miami New Times. Miami Herald. Associated Press. WPLG.
Baker Act policy: A widely seen video of a 7-year-old boy being taken away from a school in handcuffs prompts a change in the way Miami-Dade County schools will handle children with behavior issues. School officials have been instructed to exhaust all options in dealing with a student before calling police and using the Baker Act for an involuntary psychiatric exam. When called, police officers also will need clearance from a high-ranking officer before transporting a child under the Baker Act. Miami Herald. Children under the age of 18 were taken for an involuntary psychiatric evaluation under the Baker Act about 32,000 times between the summers of 2015 and 2016, according to a report by the Florida Department of Children and Families. WLRN.
