H.B. 7069 suit: The Miami-Dade and Palm Beach school boards vote unanimously to join other districts in suing the state over the new education law, H.B. 7069. Broward, Lee, Bay, St. Lucie and Volusia counties also have agreed to join a common lawsuit, and another 10-12 are reportedly considering joining. The districts are unhappy that they have to share local property taxes with charter schools, but have limited authority over those schools. Some board members and board attorneys also say the law violates the state constitution's rule limiting bills to a single subject. Miami Herald. Palm Beach Post. WLRN.
District ends use of VAM: The Citrus County School Board eliminates the use of the state's value-added measure (VAM) in evaluating teachers. VAM is a complicated formula that takes into consideration students' expected test scores vs. actual scores. Citrus is one of the first districts in the state to end the use of VAM. The district's method will use student improvement, but also allows consideration of students who are doing well academically even if their test scores aren't as high as the state expects. Gradebook.
Charters to Florida: The recent $33 million sale of two Florida charter schools to buyers from Oregon was the second part of a seven-school, $100 million deal, says an official from the Colliers International Education Services Group. Achikam Yogev, senior vice president of the company, says he expects more deals to follow. He says the new education law that provides money for charter schools to move into areas with persistently low-performing schools is an indication that state leaders strongly support the charter school industry, making it a solid investment. Bisnow.
Back to school: In calls and text to parents, Hillsborough County school officials are warnings that buses could be up to two and a half hours late today, the first day of the school for the district, and maybe even into next week. Gradebook. Many districts around Florida start school today or Monday. Orlando Sentinel. Fort Myers News-Press. Lakeland Ledger. Bradenton Herald. Ocala Star-Banner. Daytona Beach News-Journal. Port St. Joe Star. WTVT. WFLA. WTSP. Tampa Bay Times.
