Budget and Bright Futures: Florida House leaders introduce what they call an austere state budget of about $85 billion, which is about $2.5 billion less than Gov. Rick Scott has proposed. One of the areas the House would cut back on is higher education spending, in part by not expanding the coverage to 75 percent of tuition and fees for "medallion scholars" in the Bright Futures program, which the Senate has approved. Rep. Larry Ahern, R-Seminole, says the cuts are intended to force colleges and universities to use their stockpiles of unspent funds. News Service of Florida. Tampa Bay Times. Politico Florida. The proposed House budget also includes a spending boost of $100 per K-12 student, a provision that would eliminate a requirement that the 300 lowest-performing schools use the extra funding they get from the state to add an hour per day of reading instruction, and would allow any district in the state to participate in the principal autonomy program. Gradebook. Politico Florida. redefinED. The House budget includes a specific cut of $381,000 for Broward College that is directly related to the college's decision to pay the outgoing president his $381,000 salary for a year after he leaves, calling it a paid sabbatical. WLRN.
Motto at schools: The motto "In God We Trust" would have to be prominently displayed on every school building in Florida under a bill that receives unanimous approval from the House PreK-12 Innovation Subcommittee. The measure was filed by Rep. Kimberly Daniels, D-Jacksonville, and Rep. Mel Ponder, R-Destin. The phrase became part of the seal on the state flag in 1868, and was adopted as the state motto by legislators in 2006. News Service of Florida. Associated Press. WCTV. Gradebook.
Personalized learning: A bill that would make the personalized learning pilot program available to all state school districts is approved by the House PreK-12 Innovation Subcommittee. If approved by the Legislature, the bill would broaden the use of the mastery-based learning method, which allows students to advance to higher levels in subjects when they can demonstrate mastery of a topic. The bill would also give districts the freedom to decide how to award course credits. redefinED.
Charter lawsuits: An administrative law judge rules that the Florida Department of Education can withhold money from charter schools for construction and maintenance if they receive an F grade or two straight grades below C from the state. Charter school officials challenged the state's rules, claiming DOE officials had overstepped their legal authority. News Service of Florida. For the Palm Beach County School Board, fighting the education bill in court is progression in the district's ongoing battle against charter schools. The district has lost several cases to charters recently, but is likely to have other districts on its side this time. Several have announced a plan to sue the state over H.B. 7069, which they believe is too charter-friendly - at the expense if traditional public schools. Palm Beach Post. The Indian River County School Board is still trying to decide whether to appeal a judge's ruling that the district unlawfully withheld money from five charter schools. TCPalm.
Proposed budgets: The Polk County School will consider a proposed $1.4 billion budget that has a slightly lower tax rate. The budget calls for repairs to some schools, technology improvements at 30 schools and the purchase of 50 school buses. Lakeland Ledger. The Leon County School Board will vote this week on a $305 million budget that includes an $8 million boost in spending with a slightly lower tax rate. The district will trim capital spending from $105 million last year to $103 million this year, but also sets aside $250,000 for buying additional school supplies. Tallahassee Democrat. The Volusia County School District plans to shift $2 million from its savings to help balance its proposed $869.8 million budget. Daytona Beach News-Journal.
School funding: School officials in Lake, Osceola and Seminole counties complain that the state's funding formula for schools is discriminatory against their districts and 52 others in the state. Florida’s “district cost differential” takes money from 55 districts and sends it to a dozen school districts with higher costs of living. Orlando Sentinel. Volusia County School Board chairwoman Melody Johnson will visit schools around the state to gather support against the state's district cost differential formula it uses in determining how much money each district receives. Daytona Beach News-Journal. Activists in Florida join those across the country Saturday to rally behind public education. While many across the nation were protesting what they call Education Secretary Betsy DeVos' drive to privatize schools, those in Florida are largely angry with what they see as inequities in school funding and money being moved to charter schools from traditional public schools. Miami Herald. The Pinellas County School Board and Superintendent Michael Grego ask the county's legislative delegation for help in correcting what they're calling an "unjust" movement of money from districts for charter school construction and maintenance. Gradebook. (more…)
School testing: After a hearing Wednesday, leaders of the Senate Education Appropriations Subcommittee say they expect to present a bill this legislative session that will cut down on student testing. "I think that what you're hearing is that there is a complete consensus among the senators on this committee that there is some common ground that can be reached so we get back to a sense of sanity in this," said Sen. David Simmons, R-Altamonte Springs. School superintendents also asked the committee to return to paper-and-pencil testing, arguing that computer-based testing is too expensive and time-consuming; to allow nationally recognized tests like the PSAT, ACT and SAT to stand in for some state tests; and to give school districts leeway to set up their own evaluation systems for teachers. Sun-Sentinel. Orlando Sentinel. Gradebook. WFSU. Politico Florida. Sun-Sentinel. Tallahassee Democrat. News Service of Florida.
Bright Futures: The Florida Senate releases its plan to revise higher education, and one of the key points is an expansion of Bright Futures scholarships. The proposal would increase the scholarships to include all tuition and fees, plus $300 for books per semester. And those who receive the scholarships would be able to use them for summer classes. The estimated cost is $151 million. Tampa Bay Times. Politico Florida. News Service of Florida. SaintPetersburgBlog.
Teacher absences: Duval County has one of the highest teacher absence rates in Florida and in the nation, according to the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights. More than half of Duval's teachers miss two or more weeks during the 2013-2014 school year - almost twice the national average of 27 percent and well above Florida's rate of 39 percent. Florida Times-Union.
Financial progress: The state auditor general's three-year audit of the Manatee County School District's finances shows far fewer problems than the district had in 2014. This audit found just nine operational problems compared to 32 in 2014. And there were no financial findings this time, compared with nine three years ago. “Where we were three years ago was close to an F, so we are getting closer to an A,” said audit committee chairman Joseph Blitzko. Bradenton Herald. (more…)
