Education lawsuit dismissed: A nearly 10-year-old lawsuit alleging that the state has failed to live up to its constitutional duty to fund a "high quality" K-12 public education system has been dismissed by the Florida Supreme Court in a 4-3 decision. The court majority upheld a lower court ruling that the phrase "high quality education" is not defined in the constitution, and what it does mean is a political question, not a judicial one. The court “lacks the institutional competence — or the constitutional authority — to make the monumental funding and policy decisions that the petitioners (the plaintiffs) and the dissenters seek to shift to the judicial branch. And there is not a hint of any manageable judicial standards to apply in making those decisions," wrote Chief Justice Charles Canady. The group Citizens for Strong Schools filed the suit in 2009 and lost at the circuit court and appeals court levels. News Service of Florida. Associated Press. Tampa Bay Times. Orlando Sentinel. Florida Phoenix. Politico Florida.
Choices for Florida BOE: Andrew Pollack, whose daughter Meadow died in the Feb. 14 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, is one of two people appointed by Gov. Rick Scott to the Florida Board of Education. The other is Thomas Grady, a Naples lawyer and former state representative. Both will serve until Dec. 31, 2022. They were among 76 appointments Scott made last week on his way out of office. Sun Sentinel. Associated Press. Gradebook. Politico Florida.
Education court challenge: Florida Supreme Court justices heard oral arguments Thursday in a nearly 10-year-old case that claims the state's education system is inadequate and therefore a violation of 1998 constitutional amendment that calls for "uniform, efficient, safe, secure, and high quality system of public schools.” A trial court and an appeals court have rejected the challenge. Now lawyers for the plaintiffs, Citizens for Strong Schools, want the case sent back to the trial court. “We had 670,000 children that are failing reading," said attorney Jodi Siegel. "So this is not a child or two. This is a systemic failure.” Rocco Testani, an attorney for the state, says the state has made significant improvements in the past 20 years. “It has been successful, it has worked,” he said of the public education system. “It is not a system that anyone should be concerned is broken.” The justices gave no indication when a decision might be issued, though they often take months. You can watch the arguments here. News Service of Florida. Gradebook. Orlando Sentinel. Politico Florida. WFSU.
Sharing with charters: Eight Florida school districts will be receiving an influx of revenue after voters approved sales tax or property tax increases. But will the district share any of it with charter schools? And if they do, how much? About half the districts say they will share, though they aren't saying how much. Charter officials believe their schools are entitled to some of the funds, since they're part of the public districts. They also worry that the proposed salary increases from the extra money will make it harder for them to compete for the services of good teachers. redefinED. (more…)
School choice wins: A clear winner in Tuesday's elections in Florida is school choice, according to the founder of the state's tax credit scholarship program. "When given a clear choice between a candidate who supports empowering parents to choose K-12 options for their children and a candidate who wishes to restrict those choices, voters prefer the candidate who supports educational choice," says John Kirtley, whose Florida Federation For Children donated about $1.6 million to school choice supporters in 39 key races around the state. Step Up For Students, which hosts this blog, helps administer the tax credit scholarship and several others. Gradebook.
Education challenge: The Florida Supreme Court hears oral arguments today in a 2009 case that claims the inadequacy of funding for education is a violation of the state constitution. Citizens for Strong Schools, the plaintiffs, lost at trial and in an appeal as judges ruled that the constitutional amendment requiring a "high quality education" uses political terms that can't be objectively measured. Another plaintiff, Eunice Barnum of Jacksonville, says her then-elementary aged children "were failing in math, failing in reading, even though they were there every day. The constitution clearly says that it’s the paramount duty of the state to provide a high quality education. And, you know, when I went to school, ‘F’ was never considered high quality. It just wasn’t.” WJCT. Orlando Sentinel. (more…)
Schools and guns: U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is reportedly considering a plan that would allow school districts to use federal funds to buy guns. The proposal would use money from the $1 billion Student Support and Academic Enrichment program, which was set up to help the country's poorest schools by improving school conditions and technology. If the proposal goes into effect, Education Department officials believe it would be the first time a federal agency has allowed the purchase of weapons without a mandate from Congress. Educators and some politicians react with criticism. New York Times. Politico. Association Press. The 74. Education Week.
School security: Marion County School Board members say the district delayed informing parents about a school threat this week for four hours "under guidance from Ocala Police Department." They're urging district officials to meet with the police to reach an agreement that allows the district to notify parents sooner without disclosing details. Board member Kelly King says the district should be permitted to send a message such as: “All students are safe. More details later.” Ocala Star-Banner. (more…)
Amendment 8 off ballot: A Leon County judge rules that proposed constitutional Amendment 8 should be removed from the November ballot because it "fails to inform voters of the chief purpose and effect." The amendment would allow the Legislature to create an entity to authorize charter schools. It would also set term limits for school board members and require civics education in schools. Judge John Cooper agreed with the plaintiffs, the League of Women Voters, that the ballot language was misleading and that the Citizens Review Commission bunched the three separate proposals to boost its chance of passage. The state is expected to appeal the decision. News Service of Florida. Associated Press. Tampa Bay Times. Orlando Sentinel. Florida Phoenix. WFSU. Southern Poverty Law Center. Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi files a response to the Supreme Court to a separate challenge from former chief justice Harry Lee Anstead, who contends six amendments are unconstitutionally bundled and should be removed from the ballot. Bondi argues that only the ballot proposals put forward by the public through petitions need to adhere to the state's single-subject rule because they don't have the oversight that the Constitution Revision Commission and Legislature have when creating and adopting proposals. Gradebook. Florida Politics.
Education lawsuit: Each side in a nine-year-old lawsuit over the way the state funds education will get 20 minutes Nov. 8 to make their cases before the Florida Supreme Court. The group that filed the suit, Citizens for Strong Schools, claims the state is failing in its constitutional duty to provide a "high quality" public education system. The state argues that the constitutional language is aspirational and can't be measured. Two courts have already sided with the state. Gradebook. WFSU. News Service of Florida.
Videos won't be shown: After parents questioned plans to show elementary and middle school students videos of what to do during a school shooting, Pinellas County school officials change course and say the videos won't be shown to elementary students. Instead, the district will put the videos on its website so parents can decide whether to show them to their children. WTVT. Tampa Bay Times. WFLA. Parents in St. Johns County also object to videos the school district plans to show students about what they should and should not do during a school shooting. The district plans for all students to watch the videos by Sept. 15. WJXT. (more…)
Lead in schools' water: The Hillsborough County School District knew for 16 months that there were high levels of lead in the water at many schools before it informed parents. Deputy superintendent for operations Chris Farkas and communications chief Grayson Kamm acknowledge the district should have told parents sooner. The district still hasn't released the results of most of the tests, and schools start next week with the scope of the problem still unknown. The district has tested about 20 percent of its schools, and lead has been found in the drinking water in every one. Tampa Bay Times. Hillsborough parents can search a database to see if their child's school has been tested for lead. Tampa Bay Times.
Turmoil in Broward: A group of parents whose children died in the shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School blasts the Broward County School Board for its "lack of decisiveness," and is urging voters to remove all incumbents in the primary elections Aug. 28. Five of the nine board seats are being contested. The group also is critical of Superintendent Robert Runcie's actions, but stopped short of calling for his removal even as others were making that case. Sun-Sentinel. Miami Herald. News Service of Florida. WLRN.
Charter school rulings: The state's Charter School Appeal Commission unanimously agrees that the Leon County School Board had no evidence to support its denial of a charter school's application in April. The commission's recommendation now goes to the Florida Board of Education for a vote, though Leon school officials say they accept the recommendation and will allow the K-8 Tallahassee Classical School's application to move forward. Tallahassee Democrat. redefinED. An administrative law judge backs the Orange County School District's decision to deny capital funding to a low-performing charter school in Ocoee. Kid’s Community College Charter School Orange County Inc. challenged the state rule prohibiting capital funds to go to charters that receive a grade below C for two consecutive years. News Service of Florida. (more…)
Trump at Tampa school: President Trump talks about workforce development during a roundtable discussion at Tampa Bay Technical High School on Tuesday. Trump said the just-signed Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act would give states the freedom to issue up to $1 billion in grants to help students in high school career and technical programs and at community colleges and technical schools. “Now more than 11 million students and workers will have greater access to better training and more jobs,” Trump said. “When we invest in our workers, we are investing in our people.” WFTS. WFLA. WTSP. Tampa Bay Times. Education Week. PBS. YouTube. Washington Post.
Budget decisions: Polk County School Board members approve a budget of $890 million, almost $63 million higher than last year's. School officials attribute the hike to the additional 3,150 students it expects this year. Lakeland Ledger. The Sarasota County School Board approves an $828 million budget, about $40 million more than last year's, but is cutting its reserves back to 7.68 percent, the lowest percentage since 2002. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. The Broward County School Board approves a budget that includes $15 million in cuts in staffing and fuel costs. Sun-Sentinel. Northeast High School in Oakland Park will be renovated at a cost of $41.2 million, the Broward school board decides. When the project was approved in 2014, it was expected to cost $14.2 million. Sun-Sentinel. Pasco County School Board members are unhappy that the proposed budget does not include money for raises, and are challenging themselves and school officials to come up with ideas to find money for them. Gradebook.
Lead found in schools: Twenty-one of 50 Hillsborough County schools tested in the past year have lead in their water, according to district officials. Plumbing components that could have caused the contamination have been replaced. "We will continue testing the drinking water sources in our schools for lead until we have checked all 270 facilities in our district," parents and staff have been told in an email from the district. Tampa Bay Times. WFLA. (more…)
Dueling groups in suit: Two groups of Florida's 1997-1998 Constitution Revision Commission have gotten approval to file supporting briefs for opposite positions on the question of what the commission meant when it put a constitutional amendment on the 1998 ballot requiring the state to provide a high-quality system of public schools. Voters approved that amendment. One group, calling themselves "framers" of the amendment, asked the court to allow it to file a brief in support of those bringing the suit that claims the state is failing in its constitutional duty. Another group got approval last week to file a brief that supports the state's position, the two previous court rulings against the plaintiffs, Citizens for Strong Schools, and argues that the Supreme Court should not consider the opinions of individual members of the 37-member CRC. News Service of Florida.
Teacher recruiting: The Orange County School District is confronting teacher shortages with an innovative program that puts University of Central Florida graduates with science degrees but no education coursework or training in a veteran teacher's classroom for a semester to learn how to manage a classroom and make lesson plans. School officials hope the paid apprentice prepares those graduates for success. Adam LaMee, the teacher-in-residence at UCF’s Physics Teacher Preparation Program, calls the program "fantastic" and hopes other districts will copy it. Orlando Sentinel. The Hillsborough County School District now has just a couple-dozen teaching jobs open at its 50 lowest-performing schools, down from 200 a week ago. Tampa Bay Times. (more…)
Framers may weigh in: The so-called "framers" of the 1998 constitutional amendment that requires the state to provide high-quality public schools will be allowed to file a brief in a court challenge of a state education law, the Florida Supreme Court rules. The group Citizens for Strong Schools is suing the state, claiming it is not fulfilling its obligation to provide a "uniform, efficient, safe, secure, and high quality system" of public schools. Ten of the members of the 1998 Constitution Revision Commission had asked to be allowed to file a brief on their intent in the phrasing of the amendment, in support of the suit. The state objected, and will still be allowed to challenge the brief. News Service of Florida.
Union threatens lawsuit: The Florida Education Association says it will file suit today against the portion of H.B. 7055 that allows teachers unions to be decertified if they can't maintain more than half the eligible membership. "This is about equity and fairness, and being targeted and singled out," says FEA president Joanne McCall, who says the law applies only to teachers unions. Gradebook.
Broward bond projects: A watchdog group says it's time for the Broward County School District to outline a plan for fixing decaying schools or admitting it can't be done before the deadline it set. Florida TaxWatch, which was hired by the district to monitor the progress of the work scheduled under an $800 million bond referendum approved in 2014, found that only 10 percent of the identified projects have been completed and only 12 percent are under construction. “We are desperately behind and we need to know why," says board member Heather Brinkworth. Sun-Sentinel. A timeline of the bond program. Sun-Sentinel. (more…)
Education lawsuit: The group suing the state over its funding of public education is asking the Florida Supreme Court to send the case back to lower courts for another review. Both a trial court and an appeals court have rejected the arguments made by the plaintiffs in the Citizens for Strong Schools v. Florida State Board of Education case, ruling that the language used in the constitutional standard for funding a high quality public education is not measurable. The plaintiffs disagree, saying the court's traditional duty has been to interpret constitutional terms and decide if the other branches of the government have acted constitutionally. Gradebook. redefinED.
School safety commissions: The federal school safety commission set up after the shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School will not consider the role of guns in school violence, U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos tells a Senate subcommittee. “That is not part of the commission’s charge per se,” DeVos said. “We are actually studying school safety and how we can ensure our students are safe at school.” Associated Press. NBC News. Politico. Washington Post. Meanwhile, the chairman of the state commission looking into the shootings at Parkland acknowledges that its investigation and recommendations won't stop school shootings in Florida. "Nobody should be mistaken about this: It's not a question of if this is going to happen again," says Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri. "The question is when and where, and most importantly, what has been done to put things in place to mitigate the impact." TCPalm. (more…)
