Bathroom privileges: Several Florida school districts will be watching closely when the U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments in the case of a transgender Virginia student who was denied the option of using the bathroom of the gender with which he identifies. Those arguments will be in February or March. The Marion County School District requires students to use the bathrooms of the gender they were born with, and Sarasota County officials have called a federal directive outlining bathroom use by transgender students "government overreach." WUSF. WLRN.
Discipline for teacher: A state administrative law judge says a teacher should be disciplined, but not fired, for urging a student not to come out as transgender. The Lee County School Board had recommended last year that Angel Villanueva, a Junior ROTC instructor at East Lee County High School, be fired for his remarks to the student and about students' sexual preferences. The issue now goes back to the Lee County School Board for review. News Service of Florida.
Sit-in protest: Several students hold a sit-in protest at Terry Parker High School in Jacksonville to demand that an African-American studies course be expanded to a full year and be worth a full credit. The course now lasts a semester and is worth a half-credit. Superintendent Nikolai Vitti says the district is considering the requested changes, and the protesting students will not be disciplined. Florida Times-Union.
New superintendent: The Lake County School Board approves a four-year contract with newly hired Superintendent Diane Kornegay. She will be paid $195,000 a year, and could earn another $35,000 based on her performance and student achievement. Kornegay's goals for her first 100 days are to improve the relationship between the school board and the superintendent, build public trust, and evaluate the district's financial, instructional and operations plans. Daily Commercial. Orlando Sentinel. (more…)
Teacher bonuses: Almost 7,200 Florida teachers will receive bonuses of about $6,800 under the state's Best and Brightest Teacher Scholarship Program, the Department of Education announces. That's 1,800 more than the number who got the bonuses last year, and represents 4 percent of the state's teachers. First-year teachers can qualify if their SAT or ACT scores were in the top 20 percent, and experienced teachers need a highly effective evaluation too. The formula for qualifying has been criticized, and may be revised in the legislative session that starts in March. Orlando Sentinel. Bradenton Herald.
Testing targeted: Methods, times spent on assessment tests and the number of tests are all on the agenda as the Senate Education Appropriations Committee meets for the first time in 2017. House leaders say they're open to an "honest conversation" about streamlining testing, but they're focused more on school choice. Tampa Bay Times.
Bullying decline? An analysis of reports of bullying in Florida schools indicates just 0.1 percent of students were bullied in 2015, compared to 22 percent nationally. Just 3,000 incidents were reported, down from 6,200 in 2010. Experts and even some local school officials say the numbers are greatly underreported. In south Florida, for instance, almost 600 schools reported no incidences of bullying, Sun-Sentinel.
Fitness test bill: State Rep. Ralph Massullo, R-Lecanto, files a bill that would end a personal fitness test as a substitute for the required Health Opportunities through Physical Education (HOPE) class. Instead, students could fulfill the requirement by being on a varsity or junior varsity team for two full seasons. Gradebook. (more…)
Education legislation: About a dozen education-related bills have already been filed for the next session of the Legislature, which begins in March. Among them: an end to in-state college tuition for immigrant students who don't have full legal status, a requirement of 20 minutes of recess a day for elementary students, a rework of the teacher bonuses program, allowing computer coding to satisfy foreign language requirements, and allowing people to bring guns on college campuses. Sun-Sentinel.
Sexually abusive teachers: A publishing company's year-long investigation finds that 100 teachers who sexually abused students are continuing to work in U.S. classrooms because schools are covering up evidence and keeping allegations secret. The investigation also rated the states on teacher background checks. Florida received a grade of C, rating highly for making information on teacher discipline available online and for its strong mandatory reporting of teacher misconduct, but lower on the state's screening system and on sharing information about teacher misconduct with other states. USA Today.
New superintendent: The Lake County School Board hires Diane Kornegay as its new superintendent. Kornegay, who is deputy superintendent at the Clay County School District, was the clear favorite of the board and the only one of the six finalists to be asked back for a second round of interviews. She will replace the retiring Susan Moxley. Kornegay will be paid $196,000, but she can make up to $34,000 more in incentives for student performance. Daily Commercial. Orlando Sentinel. (more…)
Gun violence prevention: The Miami-Dade coalition Together for Children announces that it has $14 million available for youth gun violence prevention programs. The coalition includes the Miami-Dade County School District, the Children's Trust, Miami-Dade County, the Office of the State Attorney and the U.S. Attorney’s Office. In the past 10 years, at least 19 children under the age of 13 have been killed by guns, and the coalition has identified 2,000 others who are at risk. Miami Herald. An 18-year-old Homestead High School student is shot in the face as she was walking to her school bus stop. Jennavi Small, 18, suffered a broken orbital bone and could lose her right eye. Her ex-boyfriend, Darius Chaney, 19, was arrested. Miami Herald.
Bill for charter students: A bill is filed that would allow charter school students to take part in extracurricular activities at private schools. The bill filed by Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Naples, would expand on the law that already allows charter students to participate in extracurricular activities at public schools. News Service of Florida.
Norovirus outbreak: The Viera Charter School closes today, a day earlier than scheduled due to an outbreak of Norovirus that has sickened more than 40 children and kept 400 away from school this week. Florida Today.
School boundaries: The Pasco County School Board tentatively approves new school boundaries. Three zones were changed to ease overcrowding. Two of the plans drew opposition, and Superintendent Kurt Browning's decision to replace the recommendations of a zoning advisory committee with his own also drew criticism. Another hearing will be held Jan. 17. Gradebook. WFLA.
Teachers honored: The St. Johns School District announces nominees for teacher of the year and rookie teacher of the year. The winners will be announced Jan. 23. Florida NewsLine. The Clay County School District announces nominees for teacher of the year and school-related employee of the year from each of the district's 41 schools. The winners will be announced Jan. 24. Florida Times-Union. (more…)
Senate's education agenda: Senate President Joe Negron's agenda includes more school choice for K-12 and more money for the state's universities. The Republican from Stuart also affirms his support for school testing and accountability. WUSF.
Graduation rates: South Florida schools' graduation rates have been rising steadily for five years, and hit records highs this year. Sun-Sentinel. WLRN. St. Lucie County high schools have one of the best graduation turnarounds in the state. TCPalm. The Bay County School District sees a 10 percentage point increase in its graduation rate in the past year, and its rate is now higher than the state average. Panama City News Herald. Graduation rates in Citrus County schools are up 19.2 percentage points from 2004. Citrus County Chronicle.
Teacher honored: Sandy Waite of Southside Elementary School in Sarasota is named the Florida elementary school literacy teacher of the year. The award, given by the Florida Reading Association, honors teachers who are innovative in teaching reading, Waite incorporates music, art and lots of movement into her reading lessons. Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
Teacher's Satan display: A Palm Beach County teacher is within his rights to erect an "In Satan we trust" display in Boca Raton's Sanborn Square, according to Palm Beach County Superintendent Robert Avossa. Preston Smith just needs to keep his religious views out of his English classes at Boca Raton Middle School, Avossa says. Palm Beach Post. WPTV. (more…)
Graduation rate up: The state's high school graduation rate for 2016 was a record 80.7 percent, according to the Department of Education. That's 2.8 percentage points over the 2015 rate. Fifty-five of the state's 67 districts showed improvement. Florida Department of Education. Orlando Sentinel. Miami Herald. Palm Beach Post. Gradebook. Florida Times-Union. Florida Today. Space Coast Daily. TCPalm. Bradenton Herald. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Daytona Beach News-Journal. Orlando Sentinel. WJXT. WPLG. WTLV.
Socioeconomic segregation: The Bay County School District is becoming segregated along socioeconomic lines, with richer, high-performing students increasingly moving to charter schools. That's the summary of an analysis of the district's charter school population. "I don't think anyone got a surprise here," school board chair Ginger Littleton said. Panama City News Herald.
Classroom learning: How much time students spend learning in classrooms will be the focus of the new chairmen of the Senate and House K-12 education committees. “We want to take a deep dive and make sure that we’re getting every penny that we can to that classroom across the board, whether it’s a traditional public school, a magnet, a charter,” says Rep. Manny Diaz Jr., R-Hialeah. Miami Herald.
Bullying in school: Faced with statistics that bullying in schools is up, and several recent examples, Broward County School Board members say they plan to take a closer look at what they can do to cut down on bullying and the violence that often accompanies it. Sun-Sentinel. (more…)
Education goals: The head of the Senate’s K-12 appropriations subcommittee wants to raise teacher pay by changing the state's teacher bonus plan, cut standardized testing and keep offering longer school days to the state's lowest-performing schools. State Sen. David Simmons, R-Altamonte Springs, outlined his 2017 legislative session goals during the subcommittee's first meeting. Politico Florida. News Service of Florida. WOFL.
Budget problems: Voters just approved a sales tax increase that will provide the Palm Beach County School District $1.4 billion over the next 10 years. But school officials say it isn't enough to offset cuts in funding from the state, and they expect to have to cut budgets for at least the next three years. Sun-Sentinel.
Pot dispensaries: Florida legislators should protect children by adopting laws that ban medical marijuana dispensaries within 2,500 feet of schools, forbid any products that look like candy, and ban the products on school property without supervision, members of the Miami-Dade County School Board say. Miami Herald.
Superintendent favorite: Diane Kornegay emerges as the consensus favorite to become the next Lake County school superintendent. Kornegay, who is deputy superintendent at the Clay County School District, is the only one of the six finalists who will be interviewed further Monday and Tuesday. If she's hired by the school board, Kornegay will succeed the retiring Susan Moxley. Orlando Sentinel. Daily Commercial. (more…)
Coding as a language: For the third straight year, a bill has been introduced in the Legislature that would allow computer coding to fulfill two credits of foreign language requirements in high schools. The bill, filed by Sen. Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg, would not require high schools to offer computer coding classes, but would require universities to accept coding credits in lieu of foreign languages. It also allows Florida Virtual School to offer the coding courses. Gradebook. Florida Politics.
Charters' loans questioned: The Florida Department of Education says two Miami-Dade charter schools illegally loaned $912,094 in taxpayer funds to sister schools outside the county. Keys Gate Charter School in Homestead and BridgePrep Academy in Miami should be asked by the school board to repay the money, recommends a district auditor. A spokesman for Keys Gate disputes the loans were illegal. Florida Bulldog. Miami Herald.
Superintendent search: The Lake County School Board will interview seven candidates to replace retiring Superintendent Susan Moxley on Dec. 13, then make a decision Dec. 14. The finalists are: Bob Anderson, deputy superintendent at Fulton County Schools in Atlanta; Quintin Shepherd, superintendent of the Linn-Mar Community School District in Marion, Iowa; Jerry Wilson, superintendent of Worcester County Public Schools in Berlin, Md.; Mark Mullin, deputy superintendent at the Brevard County School District; Diane Kornegay, deputy superintendent at the Clay County School District; Brennan Asplen, deputy superintendent for the St. Johns County School District; and Verna Ruffin, superintendent for Jackson-Madison County Schools in Jackson, Tenn. Moxley retires in July. Daily Commercial. Orlando Sentinel. (more…)
Math, science testing: Florida eighth-graders have improved their performance in math and science testing since 2011, but still rank below students around the United States, according to a survey of 20,000 students worldwide by Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study. Fourth-graders in Florida performed about as well as their U.S. peers. Orlando Sentinel.
New rules for schools: The Obama administration releases final rules on how to measure schools. Standardized tests will continue to be used, but districts may also consider other factors, and compliance is pushed back a year, to the 2018-2019 school year. The practical effect of the change is unclear, with President-elect Donald Trump expected to make wholesale changes to the education system. Washington Post. Associated Press.
Voucher expansion: Rep. Michael Bileca, R-Miami, the new chairman of education policy for the Florida House, says he wants to expand the availability of vouchers for students with disabilities. Almost 6,000 students with various disabilities now use Gardiner Scholarships. Politico Florida.
Contract agreement: The Brevard County teachers union reaches a contract agreement with the school district that calls for an average raise of 1.8 percent. The deal allots a $581 raise for teachers rated highly effective, $475 for those rated effective and $185 for all others. Teachers will vote on the proposed agreement Dec. 9, and the school board will consider it on Dec. 13. Florida Today.
Teachers drop out: More than 10 percent of the teachers who were hired last summer to teach at struggling elementary schools in Pinellas County have already left their jobs. That's 16 of the 114 teachers hired for the so-called "transformation" schools. Gradebook. (more…)
