Legal challenges: Legal challenges to seven of the 13 proposed constitutional amendments are expected to be settled this week. Two amendments, 6 and 8, have already been ordered off the ballot by judges for being misleading, and five others are pending. Amendment 8 bunches three education issues into a single yes or no vote: term limits for school board members, mandatory civics education in schools and the creation of an entity other than local school boards that can approve charter and public schools. The Florida Division of Elections says all issues must be finalized soon because it has to finish printing the ballots by Sept. 22 in order to get them to overseas voters. The election is Nov. 6. Watchdog.org. The state files its brief to the Florida Supreme Court in its appeal of of a judge's removal of Amendment 8, contending the amendment "fully and accurately advises the electorate" about its purpose. The League of Women Voters has until Wednesday to respond. Oral arguments will be heard Sept. 5. Gradebook. Florida Phoenix. News Service of Florida.
School security: Security was tightened at Jacksonville Raines and Lee high schools Monday in response to Friday's shootings at the football game between the schools. One man was killed and two others were wounded in what police are calling a gang incident. Counselors were also brought in to talk with students needing support. Later in the day, Duval County Superintendent Diana Greene announced that earlier kickoff times and different game days will begin immediately for high school football games while school officials work on a permanent plan to address violence at after-school events. Florida Times-Union. WJXT. A school guardian at Kinnan Elementary School in Manatee County is temporarily reassigned while the district investigates his Facebook postings sharing conspiracy theories and his membership in an organization that some call an antigovernment extremist group. Bradenton Herald. The Port Orange City Council postpones a vote on helping the Volusia County School District pay for school guardians after three members say they have a conflict of interest. Port Orange Observer. (more…)
Teacher wins a Tony: Melody Herzfeld, the one-person drama department at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School who saved 65 students during the shooting rampage at the school Feb. 14 by barricading them in a closet, wins a special Tony award for educators. The award is given annually to U.S. teachers who have "demonstrated monumental impact on the lives of students and who embodies the highest standards of the profession." She wins $10,000 and a pair of tickets to the Tony ceremony and gala. Sun-Sentinel. New York Times. Associated Press.
National spelling bee: Two Florida students spell their way into Thursday's finals at the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C, before being eliminated. Simone Kaplan, a 12-year-old 6th-grader from Davie who attends St. Bonaventure Catholic School in Broward County, was eliminated in the ninth round when she spelled the word carmagnole as carmagnol. Marisa Langley, a 14-year-old home-schooled 8th-grader from Tallahassee, was eliminated in the eighth round when she spelled the word hausen as housen. The champion is Karthik Nemmani of McKinney, Texas. The 519 spellers who started the competition included 31 students from Florida. Associated Press. Scripps Howard Spelling Bee. Miami Herald. Sun-Sentinel. Palm Beach Post. TCPalm. (more…)
New superintendent: Diana Greene is chosen as the new superintendent of the Duval County School System. Greene, who has been superintendent of the Manatee County district since 2015, was unanimously approved by the school board. She replaces Nikolai Vitti, who left last summer to take the top job in Detroit. Greene started her teaching career in Duval before moving into administration. At Manatee, she is credited with turning around a difficult financial situation while improving student achievement. In Duval, Greene will immediately have to contend with a $62 million budget deficit. Greene's start date and salary have yet to be negotiated. Florida Times-Union. WJXT. Bradenton Herald. Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
Smooth testing season: Florida Standards Assessments testing ended last week, and Florida Department of Education officials say there were few reports of problems with the test. Students took 4.2 million computerized tests and another 1.2 million with paper and pencil, and the only issues reported were local Internet and power outages. Results are expected in June. Gradebook.
Ad rebuts 47-cent claim: Florida House Republican leaders are fighting back against the claim by educators that the Legislature's funding for schools amounts to just 47 more cents for each student. Calling it the "47 cent myth," the lawmakers contend in a 5-minute online ad that they bumped per-student spending by $101.50, an all-time high, and that they put requirements on some of the increases to stop districts from squandering the extra money. "That's why we put this $100 increase in per student funding directly into the classroom, bypassing the bureaucracy," the narrator of the ads says. "To them [bureaucrats], it's not about kids. It's about control." Gradebook. (more…)
