Bullying. Gov. Rick Scott signs the anti-bullying bill into law. Gradebook.
Teacher conduct. A private school teacher in West Delray is under investigation for allegations of sex with a student, reports the South Florida Sun Sentinel. State officials are investigating whether a Collier County teacher verbally abused students, reports the NBC-2. A fired Duval teacher appeals, claiming age discrimination, reports the Florida Times Union.
Gays and lesbians. A federal judge rules in favor of a Lake County middle school student who wants to create a Gay Straight Alliance at her school. Orlando Sentinel.
K-8 schools. Orange County is going to create more of them. StateImpact Florida.
Spelling bee. A home school student from South Florida makes it to the semifinals, reports the Miami Herald. The winner, Arvind Mahankali of New York, is the sixth straight Indian-American to win and the 11th in the last 15 years. (more…)
Kiera Wilmot. Prosecutors won't file criminal charges against Kiera Wilmot, the Polk County student who has become a cause celebre after igniting a small chemical explosion on school grounds, reports the Lakeland Ledger. Beth Kassab says the arrest took things way too far. In the aftermath, neighboring Orange will get clarification on its zero tolerance policies, reports SchoolZone. Huffington Post op-ed: "Five ways to stop a black scientist."
Online learning. Privatization, everywhere. Bradenton Herald.
School choice. A private transportation option - at $1,350 annually per student - has emerged for students in Brevard's district choice schools, reports Florida Today. The Palm Beach County school board is urged to move ahead with plans to create an all-boys middle school, reports the Palm Beach Post.
School administration. Pinellas Superintendent Mike Grego shuffles the team at the top. Gradebook.
School uniforms. The Volusia school board plans to again discuss the possibility - for students and teachers. Daytona Beach News Journal. (more…)
Teacher pay. Gov. Rick Scott embarks on his Teacher Pay Raise Pep Rally Tour. Coverage from the South Florida Sun Sentinel, Palm Beach Post, Florida Times Union, Associated Press, StateImpact Florida. Teachers are "fed up with being used as political pawns," says Pinellas teachers union president Kim Black in this Steve Bousquet piece.
Charter schools. Gradebook pulls up some stats before today's discussion about charter schools at the Pasco County School Board. An amendment to the charter school bill makes it easier for charter schools to fire teachers, Gradebook also reports.
School security. The elementary school principals in Hillsborough who have armed guards in their schools like them. Tampa Bay Times.
School discipline. Hillsborough needs to follow up on conversations to address high suspension rates for black males. Tampa Bay Times.
School spending. Freeze in financially troubled Manatee. Bradenton Herald. (more…)
Parent trigger. Citing anonymous sources, Sunshine State News says Gov. Rick Scott helped kill parent trigger. Five GOP senators tell The Buzz he had nothing to do with it. Arne Duncan sorta kinda maybe a wee little bit endorses the concept of parent trigger, notes This Week In Education. Parents would have been at the mercy of for-profit charters because "parents of students in failing schools don’t necessarily have the skill sets to develop corrective plans," writes Florida Voices columnist Rick Outzen.
Tutoring. Lawmakers, including Sen. Dwight Bullard, D-Miami, try but fail to keep the mandated program for low-income kids after all. Tampa Bay Times.
Virtual schools. Florida Virtual School doesn't get as much as it expected due to funding changes. Times/Herald.
Turnaround schools. An attempt to restaff a struggling Pasco elementary school doesn't draw many applicants beyond existing teachers. Tampa Bay Times.
Private schools. A Christian school in Orlando plans to begin drug testing students. Orlando Sentinel.
Charter schools. The City of Cape Coral Charter School System has a new superintendent. Fort Myers News Press.
Teacher pay. Teachers won't have to wait for raises, reports the Tampa Bay Times and Tallahassee Democrat. Lawmakers ultimately do the right thing, writes the Tallahassee Democrat. (more…)
Marco Rubio. He's visiting a Tampa private school today to highlight his proposal for a federal tax credit scholarship. The Buzz.
Parent trigger. StateImpact Florida notes the Times/Herald story on the Sunshine Parents video and the parent trigger petition questions. So does Education Week, which includes a response from Parent Revolution. Senate vote on the parent trigger is expected today, reports Naked Politics. John Romano says the petition proves the narrative is true.
Teacher pay. StateImpact Florida writes up the compromise. South Florida teachers are disappointed with it, reports the South Florida Sun Sentinel. More from the Palm Beach Post, Orlando Sentinel, Northwest Florida Daily News, Tallahassee Democrat. Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee bureau chief Steve Bousquet says Gov. Rick Scott should veto the education budget to help teachers - and perhaps himself.
Teacher turnover. A study finds half of Duval teachers leave within five years. Florida Times Union.
Testing. Guidance counselors bear the brunt of FCAT test administration. Gainesville Sun.
Cyberbullying. Lawmakers pass a proposal to give school districts more power to deter bullies off campus and on line. Gradebook and Associated Press. (more…)
Parent trigger. Parent trigger is headed to the Senate floor, with growing potential for drama. Coverage from redefinED and The Buzz. The latest from Diane Ravitch's blog.
Charter schools. The Pinellas County School Board agrees to sell the site of a former middle school to a charter school venture started by Cheri Shannon, former head of the Florida Charter School Alliance, reports the Tampa Bay Times. More from the Tampa Tribune. Lawmakers adopt language that would reign in the kind of abuses that happened last year at an Orlando charter, reports Gradebook. The International Studies Charter Middle/High School in Miami is ranked No. 2 in Florida and No. 15 in the nation by U.S. News & World Report's annual ranking of top high schools, reports the Miami Herald.
Teacher quality. A piece of the parent trigger bill regarding ineffective teachers is attached to the teacher eval bill, just in case parent trigger doesn't pass. The Buzz.
Teacher evals. U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan urges Florida to make its teacher eval system better, reports the Associated Press. In an editorial, the Ocala Star Banner agrees but also says: "A full generation of Florida schoolchildren have gone through the FCAT process, and in spite of the many political, mechanical and bureaucratic foul-ups along the way, Florida is making remarkable and steady educational progress. That is largely thanks to its teachers and local school officials."
Teacher conduct. The Hillsborough County School Board reverses an earlier decision to stop posting the names of employees facing suspension or dismissal. Tampa Bay Times.
Turnaround. In an attempt to jumpstart struggling Lacoochee Elementary, Superintendent Kurt Browning is replacing the entire staff. Tampa Bay Times.
Religion. The Hillsborough School Board is again wrestling with what religious materials are okay for students to circulate. Tampa Bay Times. (more…)
Common Core. More signs that an implementation delay is in the works. StateImpact Florida. Orlando Sentinel. Associated Press.
School spending. South Florida Sun Sentinel: "The Broward school district overpaid a security firm by $129,000, according an internal audit that found the district grossly mismanaged the contract, paid unnecessary overtime and late fees, and even paid guards after the contract expired." Brevard Superintendent Brian Binggeli hears from upset parents and teachers objecting to budget cuts, reports Florida Today.
Special needs students. Parents say they'll fight district plans to shutter two schools for special needs students in Broward. South Florida Sun Sentinel.
Gays and lesbians. More than 100 supporters of a proposed Gay-Straight Alliance at a Lake County middle school turn out for a school board meeting. Orlando Sentinel.
Teacher evals. Mismatch between eval results and school grades concerns state education officials, reports Orlando Sentinel and Gradebook.
Teacher pay. Is Scott's proposal a raise or a bonus? Lakeland Ledger.
Educator conduct: The Sarasota Herald Tribune reports Manatee district officials did not follow up on tips about an assistant football coach's possible misconduct involving a student and decided to close an inquiry in time for the playoffs.
Diane Ravitch. Weighs in on school closings in Brevard. (Hat tip: Florida Today).
More conspiracy! The editorial board of the The Oklahoman takes a rational look at the Jeb-Bush-corporate-conspiracy theory being promoted by a group called In the Public Interest and advanced by mainstream media.
School boards. Manatee board member Julie Aranabar won't face charges for a potential public records violation. Sarasota Herald Tribune.
Course choice. Florida students in K-12 and higher education could pick courses provided by entities outside the traditional public school system under bills filed Thursday by Sen. Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg. SchoolZone.
Jeb Bush. He meets with lawmakers in the Capitol and predicts passage of the parent trigger bill. Coverage from Palm Beach Post, Miami Herald, Tallahassee Democrat.
More parent trigger. Senate President Don Gaetz and House Speaker Will Weatherford are enthusiastic, reports StateImpact Florida. More from Sunshine State News.
Gifted academy. Orange school board members discuss the possibility of a K-8 gifted academy in the face of competition, including one parent's call for a gifted charter school. SchoolZone.
Common Core. The language of key lawmakers and Education Commissioner Tony Bennett suggest an implementation delay is in the works. Gradebook.
Gays and lesbians. A Gay-Straight Alliance at Carver Middle School in Lake County could teach teens much-needed respect and tolerance, writes Orlando Sentinel columnist Lauren Ritchie.
Bullying. A girl's beating at school is captured on video and put on facebook. Tampa Bay Times.
Early learning. News Service of Florida.
School calendar. SchoolZone.
Rezoning in Seminole. Orlando Sentinel.
Tutoring oversight. In the first part of a two-part series on a requirement initially mandated by No Child Left Behind, a Tampa Bay Times investigation finds at least 36 of 456 tutoring companies in Florida are headed by people with criminal records. In part two, the Times traces last year's last-minute legislative push to keep the mandate in place.
Educator oversight. Sarasota Herald Tribune: "As Bradenton police investigate allegations that a Manatee High School assistant football coach groped a female student, they are also trying to determine who knew about the girl's claims and why no one notified law enforcement as required by law."
Teacher bashing? A StateImpact Florida story headlined "Teachers Question Why Proposed Pay Raises Come Before Teacher Evaluations" quotes a single teacher who says, “For a while now we’ve been hearing how bad we are. [That] we need to weed out bad teachers, there’s so many bad teachers.” Ocala Star Banner editorial page editor Brad Rogers writes in this column: "There are so many wildly talented, caring and dedicated teachers in Marion County’s schools that unfairly take abuse and blame and criticism for what is wrong with our schools and our society, when in truth they represent what is most right and bright and promising about our schools and our society."
Teacher pay. Sen. Bill Galvano, chair of the Senate Education Appropriations Committee, suggests Gov. Rick Scott's proposal for across-the-board raises clashes with performance pay, reports the Florida Current. The South Florida Sun Sentinel also writes up the debate over proposals for higher teacher pay.
Strange bedfellows. The Florida Education Association plans to join the Florida Department of Education in fighting the Florida Times-Union's request for teacher evaluation data.
Tony Bennett. He talks to North Florida superintendents about teacher evals and notes he encouraged his daughter to become a teacher: "“I don’t want it written on my headstone: ‘Here lies the man that ruined the career his daughter chose.’ ” Tallahassee Democrat.
Teachers unions. The United Teachers of Dade will elect a new leader this week. Miami Herald. (more…)
