School settlement: Miami-Dade County Public Schools settles with the U.S. Department of Justice over a claim that the system discriminated against job applicants who were immigrants. The county does not admit to any wrongdoing, though it has paid a $90,000 civil citation. Miami Herald.

School testing: State Sen. Alan Hays, R-Umatilla, is confident the Legislature will consider reforms to school assessment testing in the next session. Daily Commercial. Highlands County teachers complain to the school board that there's a mismatch between reading curriculum and testing. Highlands Today.

Instructional coaches: Are Florida schools getting their money's worth for the increasingly popular practice of having district instructional coaches? A legislative committee wonders. Gradebook.

Principal legislation: A Florida House committee has approved a bill for a three-county pilot program that would give principals of underperforming schools greater autonomy to hire and fire teachers. Bay News 9.

Transfers for sports: Too many Polk County high school students are switching schools for athletics, a practice that doesn't always work out for the students, county school officials say. Lakeland Ledger.

STEM classes in jeopardy: Four teacher training classes - middle grades and secondary math, middle grades science and secondary biology - are suspending enrollment at Florida SouthWestern State College due to a lack of interest. Fort Myers News-Press. (more…)