Education bill moving: The sweeping education bill that would, among other things, eliminate the waiting list for Florida Tax Credit Scholarships, is approved by the Senate Education Committee on a 5-3 party-line vote. S.B. 7070 would create the Family Empowerment Scholarship program with money from the Florida Education Finance Program, though at least one prominent Republican says taking the money from general revenue funds could pose a problem. The bill also would restructure the Best and Brightest Teacher and Principal Scholarship program for educator bonuses, the teacher certification process, and provide money for social services at public schools. About 13,000 students are on the FTC waiting list. Step Up For Students, which hosts this blog, helps administer the tax credit scholarship program. redefinED. Associated Press. News Service of Florida. Orlando Sentinel. Tampa Bay Times. Politico Florida. Florida Politics. WFSU. WFTS. WPTV.
Best & Brightest bonuses: More than 11,000 Florida teachers will receive bonuses of $7,200 through the state's Best and Brightest program, according to the Florida Department of Education. Those 11,286 teachers were rated as "highly effective" in their evaluations and posted ACT or SAT scores in the top 20 percent when they applied for college. About 81,000 other "highly effective" teachers will get $1,200 bonuses, 67,600 "effective" teachers will get $700 and 557 principals will get bonuses worth $4,000 or $5,000. Florida is spending $233 million on the bonuses, which will be paid by April 1. The Legislature is considering several proposals, including S.B. 7070, that would rework the bonuses program and eliminate the test score requirement. Orlando Sentinel. (more…)
Indoor recess: When Florida elementary schools reopen next month, they'll be required to offer students at least 20 minutes of recess a day. But Florida Department of Education officials say recess could be held in classrooms, since there is no requirement that the time for free play be outdoors. Districts are required to report their compliance with the law by Sept. 1. Charter schools are exempt. Associated Press. Lake County School Superintendent Diane Kornegay says giving 20 minutes of school a day for recess leaves the district with 340 minutes a day of instructional time. The state requires at least 300 minutes. Each of the county's 32 public elementary schools will arrange its own schedule. Daily Commercial.
Turnaround schools: The Florida Board of Education has ordered three school districts to revise turnaround plans for troubled schools. These are the first to fall under the new education law, which gives districts less time to turn around schools and offers three options if they don't: close the schools, turn them into charters or bring in an outside "partner" to help run the schools. Gadsden County will bring in help for the coming school year, then search for a charter school company to take over Gadsden High in the 2018-2019 school year. Alachua County's plan to turn around Hawthorne Middle/High School was rejected, and district officials will have to prepare a plan using one of the three options. Hamilton County will have to choose a charter company to take over Hamilton High before next spring. redefinED.
Education challenge: How do you measure if the state has a “uniform, efficient, safe, secure, and high quality system of free public schools," as required by the state constitution? That's what First District Court of Appeal judges seemed to be wondering during a hearing Tuesday in the case challenging Florida's education policies. A group known as Citizens for Strong Schools brought the suit, arguing troubling racial achievement gaps show the unconstitutionality of the system. The state argues that funding levels are sufficient, that Florida students' achievements have improved significantly in the past 20 years, and that the constitutional language was political and not a literal standard that judges can interpret. The state won the first round in state court in May 2016. Miami Herald. News Service of Florida. WFSU. Associated Press. Sunshine State News. Politico Florida.
District spending: The Duval County School Board is asking district officials for details on how they spent $21 million more than they were budgeted to in the last fiscal year. Some of the causes are known: $3.4 million related to employees taking early retirement, $4.8 million in unbudgeted transportation costs, $1.4 million less from the state for per-student funding and $3.3 million for capital costs. Board members say they want to avoid repeating any mistakes the district may have made. Florida Times-Union. The Polk County School District is still waiting for numbers from the Florida Department of Education in order to present a proposed budget to the school board. District Chief Financial Officer Mike Perrone called the situation "unique," with the districts typically getting the numbers by the second week in July. Lakeland Ledger. (more…)
