Robin Gibson

If Florida public school administrators decide to convert their school to a charter school, they have the law on their side.

An administrative law judge's ruling against the Miami-Dade school district last week was the first-ever ruling under Florida statutes that bar school districts from taking "unlawful reprisals" against employees who support charter conversions. But the question remains: Will those protections prevent school districts from derailing those efforts before parents and teachers can have their say, as happened in Miami-Dade?

According to the ruling by Edward Bauer of the state's Division of Administrative Hearings, the district tried to deter efforts to convert the Neva King Cooper Educational Center to a charter school. When administrators kept at it, the principal and assistant principal were transferred out of their jobs into what their attorney, Robin Gibson, called a "purgatory kind of existence," replacing their administrative duties with menial tasks like sorting crayons and organizing car keys.

Bauer ruled that was against the law, and that Alberto Fernandez, the center's former principal, is entitled to $10,000 worth of bonuses he would have received if he had remained in his old job.

However, the district still managed to thwart the charter conversion. Bauer declined to reinstate the two administrators to their old positions, noting the law requires them to be returned to "equivalent" jobs and that there are new top administrators in place at the school.

Gibson said he will likely contest that part of the decision. For the time being, he said, "the district can privately congratulate itself on still being unscathed."

Gibson said the ruling helps establish that if districts retaliate against employees who support charter school conversions, they'll be breaking the law. Now, "the question becomes, what are they going to do in light of this decision?" (more…)

More on teacher evaluations. Problems with teacher evaluation data this week are the latest in a string of mistakes involving the DOE, writes Gradebook. Lower-profile reports are dogged with inconsistencies, too, though it’s not always the state’s fault, notes StateImpact Florida. Ultimately, the revised numbers released Thursday aren’t much different from the numbers originally released Wednesday morning – or from the out-of-whack numbers under the old system. If nearly 97 percent of teachers are rated effective or highly effective, has Florida made accountability too easy? asks EdFly Blog. More from Tampa Bay Times, Lakeland Ledger, Florida Times Union, Fort Myers News Press, Naples Daily News, Hechinger Report.

Too much reform on the runway? School Zone. (Image from pictureboston.com)

Achievement gaps in vocabulary. Gradebook. School Zone.

Tony Bennett’s views on Florida’s reforms. StateImpact Florida. Testing Is Not Teaching isn’t a fan of the former Indiana state superintendent, reports the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

Charter conversion. Parents of an A-rated school in Miami-Dade are pressing to convert it into a charter so they can more quickly remedy a problem with aging buildings, reports the Miami Herald.