Suit dismissal denied: A Leon County circuit judge denies the state's request to dismiss a Palm Beach County School Board lawsuit against a portion of the education law, H.B. 7069. The district says the law is unconstitutional because it infringes on the rights of local school boards by requiring them to share local property tax money with charter schools. The state says the Palm Beach board's “claims are based on erroneous interpretations of the Florida Constitution” and contends the state has the authority to supervise the public school system. News Service of Florida. Meanwhile, the Florida Supreme Court is transferring another case, this one brought by nine school districts alleging that H.B. 7069 violates the constitutional single-subject rule for laws. The case will now be heard in a Leon County circuit court. The education bill began as a six-page proposal but expanded to 274 pages and dozens of subjects in the final days of the 2017 legislative session. Gradebook. Florida Politics. redefinED. Politico Florida.
Pay raises coming: The Broward County School Board approves a pay raise proposal for teachers. Most teachers will get a raise of at least 2.5 percent, while ones rated as "highly effective" will get up to 3.6 percent. The raises are retroactive to July, and will appear in teachers' paychecks in January. The deal, which was approved by 91 percent of the teachers who voted, will cost the district $24.3 million. Sun-Sentinel.
Teachers honored: Chasey Niebrugge, an exceptional student education teacher at River Hall Elementary in Alva, is chosen as the Lee County School District's teacher of the year. WBBH. Fort Myers News-Press. Four finalists are chosen for the St. Johns County School District's teacher of the year award. They are: Amy Grimm, 1st grade, Julington Creek Elementary; Kathleen Hunting, 2nd grade, Osceola Elementary; Chassity Johnson, 8th grade math, Sebastian Middle; and Jonathan Higgins, psychology, Pedro Menendez High. The winner will be announced Jan. 24. St. Augustine Record. Joseph Underwood, who teaches television production at Miami Senior High School, is one of 50 teachers in the world chosen as finalists for the 2018 Global Teacher Prize awarded by the Varkey Foundation. The winner receives $100,000 a year for 10 years. Patch.com.
PTA drops out of suit: The Florida PTA has dropped out of the lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the state's tax credit scholarship program. PTA officials say they still oppose the scholarships, but will direct their focus elsewhere. The Florida Education Association, state NAACP and other groups are continuing an appeal of a court ruling that they do not have standing to sue over the program. Step Up For Students, which sponsors this blog, helps administer the program. Politico Florida.
Nurse shortage: Orange County schools are struggling with a shortage of nurses. The district has just one registered nurse per 3,836 students, which is far below the American Academy of Pediatrics' recommendation of one nurse per school. Bringing the district up to that standard would cost about $3 million a year. Orlando Sentinel.
Academies in peril: Four single-gender academies are losing money and have until Dec. 12 to submit turnaround plans to the Duval County School District. Valor Academy of Leadership, a middle and high school for boys, and Virtue Arts and Science Academy, a middle and high school for girls, have collectively spent about $330,000 more than they've collected as of the end of September. Officials from Profectus Learning Systems, the school’s nonprofit operator, say enrollment isn't what they expected it to be. Florida Times-Union.
Home visits: Carlton Palmore Elementary principal Badonna Dardis sends flyers to parents offering to visit one student's home a month. She got 226 responses, which is more than half the enrollment at the Lakeland school. Visiting each of the 226 would take Dardis 18 years. Lakeland Ledger. (more…)
Scholarship growth: More than 92,000 Florida students are now receiving scholarships for private schools through the state's tax credit scholarship program. That's an increase of about 17 percent over last year's 78,664 students. Another 5,844 will benefit from Gardiner Scholarships for students with special needs. That's an increase of about 18 percent over last year. Step Up For Students, which hosts this blog, helps administer both programs. redefinED. Gradebook.
Homework guidelines: School is back in session, which means homework is back too. But how much is too much? Rule-of-thumb guidelines approved by the National PTA and National Education Association call for a maximum of 10 minutes of homework a day, multiplied by a child's grade level. Fort Myers News-Press.
A path to gifted: A black father in Palm Beach County recounts what he had to do to get his twin sons into the overwhelmingly white gifted programs in their schools. Eric Davis says, "My biggest thing is, there are a lot of bright, young African-American students out there. They don’t get the same opportunities. Their parents don’t know the same secrets, the land mines to get into the programs – but they shouldn’t have to.” Palm Beach Post.
Contract negotiations: The Pasco County teachers union asks the school district for a 4 percent raise on the opening day of negotiations. The district is countering with an offer of a 2.65 percent increase, on average. The difference in the proposals amounts to $918,000. Gradebook. (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.
Testing review: The first two weeks of computer-based standardized testing have gone well, says Education Commissioner Pam Stewart. More than 672,000 writing exams have been taken by 8th, 9th and 10th graders. The next wave of online Florida Standards Assessments test begins April 11. This week, 3rd and 4th graders are taking handwritten versions of the tests. Orlando Sentinel. Rhonda Sylvia, a teacher at Blue Lake Elementary School in Deland, writes an letter to her students to remind them that test results do not evaluate their worth. WPLG.
Scholarship appeal set: The First District Court of Appeal will hear an appeal May 10 by groups challenging Florida's Tax Credit Scholarship program. The groups, led by the Florida Education Association, contend the program is unconstitutional and has harmed the state's public schools. A Leon County circuit judge tossed out the lawsuit in May 2015, ruling the plaintiffs did not have legal standing. Under the program, tax credits are given to companies that donate money to help pay for low-income children to attend private schools. Step Up For Students, which hosts this blog, helps administer the state's tax credit scholarships. News Service of Florida.
Blue-haired dilemma: A 12-year-old Orlando girl who dyed her hair blue for a part in a school play has been told by a dean to change it back to her natural hair color by Friday or face suspension. Erin Shaffer helped her daughter Olivia dye her hair to play the part of an eel in the Discovery Middle School's production of Little Mermaid. WPLG. WKMG.
Financial challenges: The St. Johns County School Board discusses the financial challenges the district faces for the next school year. Even with a small increase in funding from the state, growth is straining the district's finances. St. Augustine Record.
Charter school debt: Parents of Windsor Prep Academy students are told the charter school owes about $1.5 million to its management company, Newpoint Education Partners, which was charging a management fee of about 18 percent. Alliance Education Services, which wants to take over management of the school, made the announcement at a meeting this week. WFLA. (more…)
