Charter schools. More could be closing in Broward. South Florida Sun Sentinel. Miami Herald.

Tax credit scholarships. Did top Step Up For Students officials need to register as lobbyists? Times/Herald. (Step Up co-hosts this blog.)

Testing. Florida Education Commissioner Pam Stewart picks AIR to develop the new wave of tests tied to Common Core. News Service of Florida. StateImpact Florida. Tampa Bay Times. Orlando Sentinel. Palm Beach Post. Associated Press. EdWeek. WFSU. Naples Daily News.

STEM. Manatee County schools focus on growing its science and math programs. Bradenton Herald.

Teacher unions. Allegations of inappropriate behavior with students dogs some candidates for union president in Pinellas. Tampa Bay Times.

Bullying. Polk Sheriff Grady Judd says parents need to be a bigger deterrent. The Ledger.

Budgets. Brevard parents hope to stave off school closures as money gets tight at the school district. Florida Today.

Textbooks. Lawmakers advance a bill that would remove the state from the textbook adoption process advances. Orlando Sentinel.

Tax credit scholarships. The Orlando Sentinel editorializes against the proposed expansion, largely using the editorial written by its sister paper, the South Florida Sun Sentinel. Tampa Bay Times columnist John Romano calls it a continuation of the "systematic decimation of Florida public schools." The Tampa Tribune gives it a thumbs up, writing: "Supporting school choice is a smart policy that by no means diminishes the Legislature’s responsibility to adequately fund public schools, which will remain the first choice of most families." (Full disclosure: the program is administered by Step Up For Students, which co-hosts this blog.)

School choice. In an Associated Press rundown of Florida education legislation this year, the Florida PTA takes aim at bills to expand charter schools and tax credit scholarships, saying they amount to "chunks being broken away from our public school system."

Charter schools. The Orange and Seminole school districts consider whether to continue to try and fight the opening of four proposed Charter Schools USA schools in their districts. Orlando Sentinel. Broward Superintendent Robert Runcie ushers in a "new era of collaboration and cooperation" with charter schools. Education Week.

Catholic schools. Several schools in the Diocese of Venice system are looking for new principals. Fort Myers News Press.

School grades. Pasco Superintendent Kurt Browning pitches a more complicated system, not a simpler one. Gradebook.

School boards. Gov. Rick Scott fills a vacancy on the Broward board. Miami Herald. South Florida Sun Sentinel.

Superintendents. Interim super Hershel Lyons throws his hat in to the ring for the Alachua opening. Gainesville Sun.

Legislature. The Sarasota Herald Tribune highlights the major ed issues for the session that starts Tuesday. In their roundups, the Miami Herald and Tampa Bay Times erroneously report (as other outlets have in recent weeks) that lawmakers are for the first time proposing that tax credit scholarship students take standardized tests. (They've been required by law since 2006 to take state-approved standardized tests.) (more…)

Florida now has more charter school teachers than eight states have public school teachers, period.

The number of charter school teachers and other instructional personnel in the Sunshine State rose to 12,362 this school year, according to recently released Florida Department of Education data requested by redefinED. That's up from 11,446 last year, or 8 percent.

As we've written before, the growth is no surprise given Florida's fast-growing charter school sector. And the numbers are still a fraction of the state's 190,000 public school instructional personnel total. But they're worth keeping tabs on.

Charter school teachers are for the most part non-unionized. And as the charter sector grows, teachers are increasingly weighing whether moving there is worth the trade-offs. (Last month, we wrote about one charter school teacher's thoughts on that subject here.)

Six Florida school districts now have more than 1,000 charter school teachers within their borders, with Miami-Dade and Broward topping 2,000. This DOE spreadsheet shows the breakdown by district and by personnel category.

Virtual schools. Florida Virtual School is developing an online course for teachers about online teaching. Getting Smart.

Magnet schools. Raising re-segregation concerns? ActionNewsJax.com.

Career academies. Alachua holds its annual forum. Gainesville Sun.

Charter schools. A charter school in Palm Beach County is starting a STEAM Academy. Palm Beach Post.

Common Core. So PARCC maybe sorta kinda isn't really out of the running after all. Education Week. Common Core critics continue to push. Gradebook. Some conservative groups aim to channel Common Core opposition into school choice support. Politico.

Turnaround schools. State officials see good and not-so-good in Pinellas. Gradebook.

School spending. Manatee puts together a comprehensive plan to address fiscal errors identified in audits. Sarasota Herald Tribune.

School facilities. Parents at a Sarasota elementary say something at the school is making their kids sick. Sarasota Herald Tribune.

Principals. A Florida TaxWatch analysis lists the six best in the state, based on math and reading gains. Five are in Miami-Dade. Miami Herald. The Buzz. The Florida Current. One's in Pasco. Gradebook. (more…)

Tax credit scholarships. A growing option for families in Pinellas. Tampa Bay Times.

Charter schools. The proposed charter school at MacDill Air Force Base sparks a debate over charter school governance. Tampa Tribune. Polk State College aims to help high school dropouts with a new charter school. The Ledger.

School choice. The Pinellas County School District kicks off its application process this week for district school choice programs such as magnets and career academies. Tampa Bay Times.

Virtual schools. Florida Virtual School and other quality online providers are innovative, accountable and getting good results, writes FLVS President & CEO Julie Young in an op-ed for the Fort Myers News Press.

Testing. What's going to replace the FCAT? Education Commissioner Pam Stewart is expected to shed some light on that this week. Florida Current. More from the Tampa Bay Times.

Common Core. Common Core critic Sandra Stotsky is right that Common Core won't prepare students for college majors in science engineering and math, writes FSU Physics Professor Paul Cottle, but saying it shouldn't be implemented because of that is "like saying that you shouldn’t purchase an automobile because it can’t fly." Bridge to Tomorrow. Common Core is among the top issues to watch in 2014. News Service of Florida (via The Buzz).

Tony Bennett. How the charter school grading story unfolded in Indiana. Indianapolis Monthly. (Hat tip: StateImpact Florida).

Teacher pay. The Pasco County School District gets criticized by state auditors, again, for failing to establish differential pay for teachers and administrators. Gradebook. (more…)

Common Core: The new national education standards are attracting opposition and causing a rift among Republicans. Miami Herald. Parents can expect more project-based homework, group work in class and less multiple-choice tests thanks to Common Core State Standards. Sun Sentinel. More from the Miami Herald. Parents: This school year will be the last time your student has to take the FCAT. Probably. Palm Beach Post. Treasure Coast educators say the curriculum this year will be a blend of current and new standards. TC Palm.

Charter schools: Florida's auditor general calls for increased oversight of charter schools after report shows an increase in the number operating at a deficit. In Broward County, 17 of 73 charter schools ended the 2011-12 financial year in the red. In Palm Beach County, it was four out of 35 schools. Sun Sentinel. Pembroke Pines considers selling a highly-contested 43-acre property to Discovery Schools to build a charter school. Sun Sentinel. Duval County's charter schools have tripled from seven in 1999 to 21 today with enrollment jumping from 609 in 2003 to more than 7,500. Florida Times-Union.

Parents: The Tampa Tribune looks at what some education experts say has the biggest impact on a child's academic success.

Scheduling snafu: An open house at Olsen Middle School in Dania Beach leaves parents and students waiting long hours in line to fix class schedules. Miami Herald.

Special needs: Unicorn Village Academy opens in West Boca and caters to students with autism and other learning differences. Sun Sentinel. Federal funding cuts hit home for Polk County's ESE students. The Ledger.

Bus battle: A blind Lake County mom wins her battle to get her visually impaired 5-year-old son on a bus to his district school. Orlando Sentinel.

International learning: Students from China are attending the Community School of Naples in Lee County, part of an international education program. Naples Daily News.

School security: Hillsborough County students and parents are greeted with tightened security as they head back to class, with controlled access about to be the norm at all 215 district schools. The Tampa Tribune.

Conduct: Manatee County Superintendent Rick Mills says the district still does not have a plan to replace three assistant principals charged with felonies in a recent investigation. Bradenton Herald. (more…)

Libraries: Five Miami-Dade County technical school libraries will open to the public starting the first day of school to offset expected budget cuts. Miami Herald.

Back pay: An arbitrator tells the Broward school district it owes high school teachers hours of back pay for teaching an additional class period last school year. Sun Sentinel.

Higher ed: Florida’s next higher education Chancellor will inherit a job that requires a soft touch, keen political savvy and the dexterity to manage many bosses. Miami Herald.

Tony Bennett: His last-minute changes to Indiana's school grading formula benefitted 165 Indiana schools. StateImpact Florida.

School support: Hernando County parents support Eastside Elementary as it works to improve its F grade from the state this year. Tampa Bay Times.

Teachers: StateImpact Florida looks at why teachers leave the classroom.

Business help: Polk County schools Superintendent Kathryn LeRoy pushes businesses to get involved with improving district schools. The Ledger.

School board: Former Duval County School Board member Betty Burney is cleared from any wrongdoing in a vote benefitting a company that once employed her sister. Florida Times-Union. (more…)

Common Core: Protesters gather at a Broward County School Board meeting to show they don't support the new Common Core education standards. Miami Herald. State Rep. Janet Adkins, R-Fernandina Beach, organizes a panel to talk about education reform and Common Core. Florida Times-Union. Step Up For Students' vice president of student learning talks about why private schools are signing on for the measures. Education Week.

Bennett and school grades: Former Florida Sen. Paula Dockery shares her thoughts about Tony Bennett and school grades, asking "Isn't it time for an honest conversation on doing away with a school-grading system that is costly, divisive and unreliable?'' The Ledger.

Conduct: A Rodgers Middle School assistant principal fights for his job after the Hillsborough County school district fired him following the death of a special-needs student at his school. Tampa Bay Times. More from The Tampa Tribune.

Debit cards: Leon County joins other school districts that won't be offering teacher debit cards issued by Gov. Scott. Tallahassee Democrat.

Extended day: Broward County joins the list of districts where low-performing schools will offer students an additional hour of class time. Sun Sentinel. Palm Beach County will spend $7 million to add an hour to the school day at four low-performing schools. Palm Beach Post.

School funding: The half-cent sales tax is the only funding source the district has for capital projects, writes Shannon Nickinson for the Pensacola News Journal.

Charter schools: Pasco County gets its first virtual charter school, Florida Virtual Academy of Pasco. Tampa Bay Times. (more…)

Parent focus: Lincoln Park Elementary Principal Cassandra Smith plans to work closely with parents at the turnaround school in Escambia County. Pensacola News Journal.

School spending: Manatee County School Board members meet tonight to consider a 2.16 percent increase to this year's tax levy to help bring in more money for the district. Bradenton Herald. Palm Beach County teachers will get raises and elementary schools will get 24 new police officers under a tentative $1.6 billion budget. Sun-Sentinel. And Palm Beach school board members don't like that an advisory committee didn't get to review the entire budget. Palm Beach Post. Teacher raises, and new buses and computers are on tap for Broward County schools. Sun-Sentinel. Miami-Dade school board members discover that despite Gov. Rick Scott's pledge for a $2,500 raise for every teacher, the figure is really more of a suggestion. Miami Herald.

Overhaul: Renovations at North Palm Beach Elementary continue with the Palm Beach County school set to open next fall featuring a new choice program, the Children’s Orchestra and Performing Arts (COPA) project. Palm Beach Post.

Charter schools: The Hillsborough County school district formally closes GATES High School after the charter school's leaders failed to obtain land for expansion. Tampa Bay Times.

Athletics: Hillsborough County school officials continue working on a new policy concerning student participation in district school sports. Tampa Bay Times. Booker High School football players finish up with a Summer Athletic Academic Enrichment and Life Skills Program to bolster their academic and social skills. Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

Cutbacks: Lake County students will lose their bus ride to afterschool programs due to the district slashing $1.4 million from its transportation budget. Orlando Sentinel. (more…)

Charter schools. A new charter school began readying a building for use before checking with the city of Lauderdale Lakes, which doesn't want a school on the site and is in the process of rezoning it. South Florida Sun Sentinel. Let's strive for good schools, charter or traditional, and either improve or shut down those that aren't cutting it, writes charter school supporter Tom Watkins in the Miami Herald. The principal of a district-run charter in Miami-Dade strongly denies a former employee's allegations of cheating. Miami Herald. A new charter school in Fort Myers will focus on career education. Fort Myers News Press.

Rick Scott. Rep. Karen Castor Dentel, D-Maitland, tells the governor he should take the Republican Party of Florida to task for using teachers - who were praising him - in a political video without their permission. The Buzz.

Stand Your Ground. South Florida Sun Sentinel: "A middle school student who got into a fistfight with a girl on a Broward County school bus should have been allowed to use the Stand Your Ground law to defend his actions, an appeals court ruled Wednesday."

School grades. ExtraCredit catches up on the DOE simulation showing falling grades. Too-frequent changes are taking their toll. Tallahassee Democrat. The state Board of Education decision was a battle over competing hoaxes. Palm Beach Post.

Teacher conduct. Newsome High School teacher in Tampa is charged with 20 counts of possession of child pornography. Tampa Tribune. From the Sarasota Herald Tribune: "Four school administrators facing allegations of failure to report child abuse and a football coach who has been accused of groping a teenager could face further scrutiny — regardless of whether law enforcement chooses to prosecute them." More from the Bradenton Herald. (more…)