Behind the graduation rates: The impressive high school graduation rates reported last month by the Florida Department of Education are bolstered by the subtraction of about 60,000 students who were recategorized as "withdrawing" from their schools. That's about 22 percent of the number of students who began 9th grade four years ago. Some of those 60,000 transferred, some moved, some enrolled in private schools, some are home-schooled, some have died. But no one knows if any of those students graduated. Florida Phoenix. Legislators are considering expanding the paths to high school graduation. Here's what some students think should, and shouldn't, be done. Tampa Bay Times.
New court, new hope: The new, more conservative Florida Supreme Court has Republicans hopeful that the idea of private school vouchers can be reconsidered. The court struck down the "opportunity scholarship" proposal of then-Gov. Jeb Bush in 2006, ruling that it "diverts public dollars into separate private systems parallel to and in competition with the free public schools that are the sole means set out in the Constitution for the state to provide for the education of Florida’s children.” Tampa Bay Times. (more…)
Hope Scholarship delays: While the new state scholarship for bullied students technically begins when school resumes in August, funds for the Hope Scholarships won't be available until after Oct. 1 and possibly not until later in November. The scholarships will be funded through voluntary donations of the $105 from the sales tax that drivers pay for vehicle transactions. The collections do not begin until Oct. 1 and car dealers have 20 days to report their previous month's tax collections, which could delay the money being available until Nov. 20 or later. The scholarships are available on a first-come, first-served basis, and state analysts project a demand of about $27 million in the first year. Step Up For Students, which hosts this blog, will help administer the program. News Service of Florida.
Kavanaugh and education: U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh has defended then-Gov. Jeb Bush's Florida school vouchers program against a constitutional challenge in 2000, publicly praised attempts to break down the barriers between religious schools participating in programs financed with public funds, and supported the use of public address systems for student-led prayers at public school events in Texas. The 74. Miami Herald. Politico. Sun-Sentinel. Education Week. (more…)
Test investigation requested: Two members of Florida school districts and the Florida Coalition of School Board Members are calling for an investigation of significant decreases in the number of students from Duval, Manatee and Polk counties who took the state's civics end-of-course exams. Polk had 3,736 fewer 7th-grade students take the exam this year, Duval 2,910 and Manatee almost 1,000, and all three districts had significantly higher pass rates. Sarasota board member Bridget Ziegler, Duval board member Scott Shine want the state to hold up the release of school grades until the issue is investigated. Manatee County Superintendent Diana Greene says her district simply allowed 7th-graders who struggle with reading to delay taking the test until 8th grade, as the state permits districts to do. “Don’t try to act like we did something wrong,” says Greene. Duval school officials also deny any impropriety. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Florida Times-Union. Florida Politics. WJCT.
Weighting for grades: By state law, end-of-course exams must constitute 30 percent of a student's final course grade. But different districts apply the law in different ways, and now Levy County Superintendent Jeff Edison is pressing state officials to specifically define what constitutes 30 percent of a student's final course grade. "What we would like to be able to do is get the [lawmakers] to allow the Department of Education to have the rule-making authority to create a consistent definition of what 30 percent is," says Edison. "Give us a uniform way of applying it. It doesn't matter to us [what it is]. We just want it the same." Gradebook. (more…)
English-only tests: Florida is asking the U.S. Department of Education for a waiver from giving statewide assessments tests in any language other than English. The Every Student Succeeds Act requires states to make every effort to test students in their first language. About 12 percent of all K-12 students in Florida - almost 300,000 children - are considered English-learners. The waiver request points to the state constitution, which declares English as the state's official language. Education Week.
Board group's agenda: The Florida Coalition of School Board Members' agenda for the 2018 Legislature includes expanding school choice by creating a scholarship for bullied students to attend private schools, using paper and pencil testing through the 8th grade, allowing SAT and ACT scores to be used in place of state assessments as a requirement for high school graduation, and more. Gradebook.
Financial questions: How will the finances work for the company that is managing the first charter takeover of a public school district in Florida? Members of the House Education Appropriations Subcommittee have questions about Somerset Academy's ability pay the district's administrative overhead of about $421,000 when it's receiving just $254,000 to pay a superintendent, another employee and five elected Jefferson County School Board members, and still raise salaries for teachers significantly. Rep. Manny Diaz, R-Hialeah Gardens, says Somerset’s budget is still a “work in progress,” and says legislators are trying to get an accurate assessment of the district's assets. redefinED.
Superintendent honored: Barbara Jenkins, superintendent of the Orange County School District, is one of four finalists for the national superintendent of the year award given by the American Association of School Administrators. The winner will be announced March 2. Last month, Jenkins was named Florida's superintendent of the year for 2017. Orlando Sentinel.
Satanic banner denied: The Palm Beach County School District temporarily bans the hanging of advertising banners on school fences by religious organizations. The decision came after the Church of Satanology and Perpetual Soirée wanted to hang a banner alongside others on a fence at Boca Raton High School. That request came a few days after a teacher placed a Satanic display in a park. Sun-Sentinel.
School impact fee: The Pasco County School Board is asking county commissioners to increase the school impact fee from $4,800 to $9,174 per single-family detached house. If approved, the higher fee would generate $245 million over the next 10 years and would help pay for new schools. Tampa Bay Times.
Administrators backed: The Broward County School Board approves a transfer for a former Miramar High School principal and rejects a recommendation to suspend the school's assistant principal. Both were implicated for their failure to stop cheating, questionable grade changes and favoritism toward football players at the school in 2014. Sun-Sentinel. (more…)
More appeals: Seminole and Broward counties are joining the Florida Department of Education and Orange and Hernando counties in appealing a judge's ruling last week against the state's policy for retaining third-graders. All say that Leon County Judge Karen Gievers improperly ignored their requests for a change of venue from Tallahassee to local courts. Gievers ruled that the state was wrongly holding back third-graders who do poorly on the state Florida Standards Assessments tests or opt out from taking them. She ordered the state and six districts that were sued to allow students to present a portfolio of work to demonstrate their readiness for fourth grade. Orlando Sentinel.
Primary election results: Here are some of the results from Tuesday's primary election. From the Tampa Bay Times: Pinellas. Hillsborough. Hernando. Miami Herald: Miami-Dade. Orlando Sentinel: Orange, Seminole. Sun-Sentinel: Broward. Palm Beach. Palm Beach Post: Palm Beach. Florida Times-Union: Clay, where Superintendent Charlie Van Sant Jr. is ousted. WJAX: Duval school board. Ocala Star Banner: Marion, where Superintendent George Tomyn loses, and school board. Pensacola News Journal: Santa Rosa. Escambia. Florida Today: Brevard. Fort Myers News-Press: Lee. Lakeland Ledger: Polk. TCPalm: Martin. St. Lucie. Indian River, Indian River school tax. Bradenton Herald: Manatee. Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Sarasota. Manatee. Naples Daily News: Collier. Gainesville Sun: Alachua. Tallahassee Democrat: Superintendent, District 2, District 4. WFSU: Leon school board, superintendent. Daytona Beach News-Journal: Volusia. Flagler. Northwest Florida Daily News: Okaloosa superintendent. Panama City News Herald: Bay superintendent. St. Augustine Record: St. Johns. Keynoter: Monroe. Citrus County Chronicle: Citrus. Highlands Today: Highlands school tax. (more…)
High spending at charters: Troubling patterns emerge from a close look at spending at three charters in Pinellas County operated by Newpoint Education Partners. Invoices and other documents indicate the company was buying goods at often inflated prices from companies that were related to Newpoint and its founder, Marcus Nelson May. Records were loosely kept, and the company was taking a monthly fee that ran into five figures. Newpoint was indicted recently by an Escambia County jury on fraudulent billing and money-laundering charges. Tampa Bay Times.
Teachers to sue over pay: Three teachers have notified the Miami-Dade County School District that they intend to file a class action suit over performance pay. The teachers say the district is ignoring the state's performance pay laws and illegally changed the way tenured teachers are paid. Teachers have been shortchanged by $30 million, they allege. Miami Herald.
Retaliation lawsuit: A Palm Beach Lakes High teacher is suing the Palm Beach County School District after he and about 30 other teachers were fired in what he calls a retaliatory measure by Principal Cheryl McKeever. Malik Leigh, a legal studies teacher and also a practicing attorney, says the teachers were targeted because they made complaints about administrators or were thought to be disloyal to McKeever. Palm Beach Post.
Replacing teachers: The Pinellas County School District is moving quickly to replace teachers at five struggling schools in St. Petersburg. More than 80 teachers have been told they can't return to the schools or have asked for a transfer. And four of the five principals have been moved to other schools. The teachers union is calling the process "a hatchet job." Tampa Bay Times.
Bergosh
Frustrated with a lawsuit against Florida's largest private school choice program, and dissatisfied with the leadership of the Florida School Boards Association, a group of school board members announced Monday that they are launching a new membership organization.
The Florida Coalition of School Board Members plans to advocate for less bureaucracy, fewer mandatory tests and more school choice. Started by five school board members from around the state, the move comes in the wake of the FSBA's decision to join a lawsuit challenging the state's tax credit scholarship program.
"We don't want to tell" the parents of nearly 70,000 students receiving scholarships "that we know what's best for their kids," said Jeff Bergosh, an Escambia County School Board member who's signed up to be president of the new group. "We believe the best accountability is when a parent embraces the schools they're sending their children to," he said.
Bergosh said that, at least for now, he and other members would likely remain part of the main school boards association, which collects dues funded by school districts. Over time, he said, he intends to build a larger organization that can carry more clout in Tallahassee, respond more quickly to concerns raised by parents, and offer services like professional development to its members.
Some of the group's founding members, including Shawn Frost of Indian River County, took office after last year's elections, which saw the ouster of some FSBA leaders.
The tax credit scholarship program is administered by organizations like Step Up For Students, which co-hosts this blog and employs the author of this post.
See other coverage: Fort Myers News-Press. Gradebook. Palm Beach Post. NorthEscambia.com.
