Bathroom rules: Eleven states are suing the Obama administration over its letter urging school districts to allow transgender students to use the bathroom that conforms to their gender identity or risk losing federal funds. Florida declined to join them, according to a spokesperson for Attorney General Pam Bondi. Gov. Rick Scott says the state is still reviewing the directive, which he says "looks just like blackmail." Orlando Sentinel. Florida Politics. New York Times. Politico Florida. Lake and Sumter school officials say they won't change their bathroom policies. They require students to use bathrooms based on their birth gender but will consider exceptions on a case-by-case basis. Daily Commercial.

Opt-outs face retention: About 30 third-graders in Manatee County who opted out of Florida Standards Assessments testing and refused to take a state-approved equivalency test are in danger of not being promoted to fourth grade. School officials say they are bound to follow the state's rules and retain those students who have no test scores. Bradenton Herald.

No wider book ban: A ban of a book at Pasco Middle School will not extend to other schools in the district, according to School Superintendent Kurt Browning. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky, contains graphic sexual references. A committee recommended it be banned districtwide. Gradebook.

Suit will continue: The statewide teachers union will press on with its court challenge of Florida's Tax Credit Scholarship Program, even after a judge ruled this week in a separate lawsuit that the state has fulfilled its constitutional mandate to provide a quality education for all public school students. The union claims the tax-credit scholarship program violates the Florida constitution by taking money away from public schools. The suit was thrown out, but the union appealed. The arguments have been heard, and a ruling is expected soon. Step Up For Students, which hosts this blog, administers the scholarships program. Gradebook. (more…)