Two South Florida charter schools are challenging a new state rule that raises the academic bar for state facilities funding.

In a complaint filed this week with the state Division of Administrative Hearings,  the Florida Association for Independent Public Schools argues the state overstepped its authority by denying facilities funding to charter schools that received consecutive D grades through the state's A-F accountability system.

Two of the association's members — Aspira Raul Arnaldo Martinez Charter School and the Miami Community Charter Middle School — are joining the complaint. Both received charter school capital outlay funding in the past, including a combined total of more than $200,000 during the 2015-16 school year.

The schools say the state withheld their facilities funding for the 2016-17 school year in anticipation of new rules, approved late last month by the state Board of Education.

Unlike district-run schools, charter schools in Florida rely on annual appropriations by the Florida Legislature to pay for facilities.

Earlier this year, lawmakers overhauled the formula for charter school facilities funding, steering a larger share of money to schools where 75 percent or more children are economically disadvantaged, or 25 percent or more children have special needs. The new law also allows charters to receive facilities funding after two years rather than three. (more…)

Tax credit scholarships. Tampa Bay Times columnist Robyn Blumner doesn't like U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio's proposal for federal scholarships.

Charter schools. Tampa Bay Times columnist John Romano bemoans the number of charter schools that close because of low enrollment (but curiously doesn't mention traditional public schools that don't get closed despite the same problem). The Cape Coral City Council will consider a resolution asking the Lee County School Board to share capital funding with the city's  charter schools, reports the Cape Coral Daily Breeze. More from the Fort Myers News Press.

Virtual schools. Expanding digital education is a top issue in the coming legislative session. The Florida Current.

Jeb Bush. In education, "he has a record of making messes," the Palm Beach Post editorializes (just days after two more credible, independent reports find Florida students leading the country in progress).

Parental engagement. Duval Superintendent Nikolai Vitti wants to import a Parents Academy program similar to one he worked with in Miami-Dade. Florida Times Union.

Education leadership. The Sarasota Herald-Tribune profiles Sen. Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, the chair of the Senate Education Appropriations Subcommittee.

Teacher evaluations. The first year of statewide teacher evaluation data using the complicated the VAM formula shows the big difference in progress for students with the highest-rated teachers versus the lowest-rated teachers. StateImpact Florida.

Teacher testimony. Megan Allen, Florida's 2010 Teacher of the Year,  testifies movingly before Congress about the impact that budget cuts will have on high-needs students. Answer Sheet. (more…)

The Florida House subcommittee on choice and innovation approved its first bill along party lines Wednesday, giving charter schools more freedom to grow but also including new accountability measures.

Lawmakers continue to amend the bill, which would allow charter schools to move into unused district facilities. It would also tighten some contract requirements to deter fiscal mismanagement.

Charter school advocates mostly offered praise for the proposal, which still has a long way to go in the legislative process.

“We think this is a very good bill,’’ said former legislator and lobbyist Jim Horne, who recalled supporting the state’s very first charter bill in 1995.

It didn’t pass that year, but did in 1996. Soon after, the first charter school opened, said Horne, who also served as education commissioner. Today, there are more than 500 charters serving 200,000 students – enough, if they were a school district, to rank as second- or third-largest in Florida and eighth-largest in America, he said.

Yet “we still have over 80,000 students on a waiting list,’’ said Horne, who represents Charter Schools USA. “Legislation like this moves things along.’’

The bill drew its share of criticism from traditional public school proponents. They cautioned the representatives to think about how some of the proposals – especially one that allows charters to move into district schools - might impact the future of public education.

“We have capacity at our schools because of charters,’’ said Colleen Conklin, a member of the Flagler County School Board. “We need to be responsible for reform. We need to have education settings where students don’t want to leave. We need a balance.’’ (more…)

Jeb Bush on FCAT, Common Core, bipartisanship. He tells StateImpact Florida, “Education is one of the few places where you have left-right coalitions that are for reform and left-right coalitions that are against reform. It’s not as monolithic as other areas of policy.”

Orange school board considers more school choice. It’s considering a policy that would allow students at over-capacity schools to enroll at under-capacity schools, reports the Orlando Sentinel.

More on charter school funding. Orlando Sentinel.

Charter school teacher raises. Represented by the Broward Teachers Union, the charter school teachers in the Pembroke Pines system win a raise through arbitration, reports the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

Proposed cut scores. For biology and geometry end of course exams and FCAT science. From Gradebook. From Sentinel.

FEA talks teacher evaluations today. From the News Service of Florida: Members of the Florida Education Association discuss impacts of the new teacher evaluation system that was created as a result of SB 736 setting up merit pay. FEA President Andy Ford and teachers participate.