In the Legislature: A bill that would make the one-year expansion of Bright Futures scholarships permanent gets the approval of the Senate Education Committee. S.B. 4 was filed by Sen. Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, and would provide full and partial college scholarships to more than 100,000 students. Sunshine State News. Politico Florida. Miami Herald. News Service of Florida. The committee also approves a bill that would require schools to teach the signs and dangers of human trafficking as part of health classes. WFSU.
Makeup days: Miami-Dade County school officials are proposing to convert two teacher professional development days into instructional days and changing three early-release days into full days of classes to make up time lost to Hurricane Irma. The school board will consider the proposal Wednesday. Miami Herald.
Contract negotiations: The Brevard County teachers union rejects a 1 percent pay raise proposal, and asks the district to match the 5 percent raise Superintendent Desmond Blackburn was recently given. District officials say a 1 percent raise for the 4,600 teachers would cost about $2.9 million, and it cannot afford a 5 percent raise. Florida Today.
Schools honored: The state Department of Education is naming 640 schools in 44 counties as "Schools of Excellence" on Wednesday. Schools earn the designation by receiving an A or B grade from the state in each of the past three years and by being among the top 20 percent of the schools at their level in the grading system. These schools are rewarded with flexibility on several state rules: They may calculate class size by a schoolwide average, set daily start and finish times separate from the district, ignore the state's minimum reading requirements, earn points toward certification renewal, and have greater latitude on hiring and budget decisions. Gradebook. About 700 schools around the state win Five Star School awards from the Florida Department of Education for their family involvement, volunteerism, community service by students, partnerships with the community and businesses, and the school advisory council. WJHG. Coral Springs Talk. Parkland Talk. Pensacola News Journal. Bradenton Herald. WJXT. Gradebook. Fort Myers News-Press. Florida Today. Space Coast Daily.
