From the Tampa Bay Times:

Tony Bennett

Tony Bennett is expected to resign Thursday as Florida education commissioner following two days of raging controversy over school grading in his home state of Indiana.

Bennett is expected to hold a news conference in Tallahassee late Thursday morning to make the announcement.

Bennett, who came to Florida from the Hoosier State in January, has faced mounting calls for his resignation in the wake of revelations, first reported by the Associated Press, that he interceded on behalf of an Indiana charter school run by a prominent Republican Party donor

His resignation will be a major setback for Gov. Rick Scott and state education leaders, who are working to overhaul Florida's system of school accountability and assessment in compliance with the national Common Core standards.

Bennett came to the job in January after losing his re-election bid as Indiana superintendent of schools. He was the third permanent commissioner in Scott' 31-month tenure, following Eric Smith (who Scott pushed out) and Gerard Robinson (who resigned under pressure). Two interim commissioners — John Winn and Pam Stewart -— also have run the department under Scott.

The past two times Florida has searched for a commissioner to run what many consider one of the nation's leading education "reform" and accountability states, the pickings have been slim. Bennett only applied after losing re-election.

Every good leader knows how to spot an individual capable of transformational change, and Howard Fuller saw that in Gerard Robinson nearly 10 years ago. Robinson displayed the conviction to empower poor families with the education options long enjoyed by wealthier households, and he had the fortitude to challenge the status quo that would resist him. Fuller and the Board of Directors of the Black Alliance for Educational Options eventually picked Gerard to lead their burgeoning advocacy organization, a decision that had a profound effect on the politics of school choice. Elected officials of different ideological stripes from across the nation who would have shunned the prospect of publicly funding private school options were now being courted by a charismatic young man who implored them to put the parent and the child first.

The years that followed would result in rapid growth for BAEO, which established seven state chapters during Robinson's tenure and would partner with Harvard University's Program on Education Policy & Governance to develop an annual gathering of elected officials to talk about bringing parental choice back to their states and districts. The first meeting could have been held in an elevator, but that gathering now brings several hundred officials together. And choice has become a bipartisan cause with legislators who now see that the poorest among us are those who have the fewest options.

Today, Robinson was picked to replace Eric Smith as Florida's next education commissioner, affirming the state's role as a national leader in redefining the way we deliver a public education in the 21st century. But, just as importantly, low-income families have an advocate in Florida's top educator. Gerard could be convincing with governors and lawmakers, but he could also be relentless in his push to provide opportunities for disadvantaged children.

Virginia saw how he helped to redirect the conversation of school choice in that state. While Robinson was secretary of education earlier this year, Virginia lawmakers introduced a proposal to award tax credit scholarships to low-income children. And the same black elected officials whom Robinson wooed years ago were the same ones standing before the commonwealth legislature to urge the adoption of the Education Improvement Scholarships. A senate committee may have killed the proposal after it passed the Assembly, but one Florida Democratic lawmaker who joined Gerard in fighting for its passage believes they have begun to change the debate. "Everybody wants to do the right thing," said Terry Fields, a former state representative in Jacksonville, Fla. "But I think they're a little afraid of what the right thing is."

We may have surmounted many of those fears in Florida, but it will take someone like Gerard Robinson to remind us why those fears were unfounded.

T. Willard Fair, the chairman of the Florida State Board of Education, has resigned to protest Gov. Rick Scott's move to force Education Commissioner Eric J. Smith out of office, The Associated Press is reporting.

Fair, who was term limited, said a move to conduct a national search to replace Smith was bogus. In his letter of resignation, Fair wrote that a national search "flies in the face of reality that Governor Scott will choose his new commissioner.

As the AP notes, Fair was term limited but stayed on because Scott has not yet appointed his successor. Fair also complained that the governor didn't tell the board that he wanted a change in education commissioners until two days after Smith announced his pending resignation. In his letter to the board, Smith said his resignation would be effective June 10. "The time has come," Smith wrote, "to allow our newly elected Governor to have input through the State Board of Education on the type of leader to pursue his goals for education."

The Florida Department of Education just sent out a press release announcing the resignation of Florida Education Commissioner Eric J. Smith. Below is a statement from Commissioner Smith, in which he makes clear his intention to "allow our newly elected Governor to have input through the State Board of Education on the type of leader to pursue his goals for education":

This past weekend, I informed the members of the State Board of Education of my intention to resign as Florida’s Commissioner of Education effective June 10, 2011, the last day of this school year. It has been my privilege to serve as Commissioner during a period in which Florida demonstrated bold national leadership in the field of education. The time has come, however, to allow our newly elected Governor to have input through the State Board of Education on the type of leader to pursue his goals for education. (more…)