New education laws: More than 100 new state laws go into effect Sunday, including several related to education. H.B. 7055 will allow public school students who are bullied or harassed to be eligible for state scholarships to go to private schools. The Hope Scholarship will be funded by motorists who agree to contribute the sales taxes they would normal pay for vehicle transactions to the scholarships. The bill also boosts funds for Gardiner scholarships for students with disabilities. Other new laws set a back-to-school sales tax holiday in August, and authorize the placement of a statue of famed black educator Mary McLeod Bethune into the National Statuary Hall in Washington, D.C. News Service of Florida.
Budget problems: Budgets analysts for the Hillsborough County School District now project a $70 million gap between revenues and expenses for the 2019-2020 school year. The district will get $41 million extra from the state, but about $36 million of that goes for growth and state mandates. The extra $5 million is swallowed by higher expenses for school security, insurance and employee raises. Tampa Bay Times. Pasco County school officials are projecting a $1 million deficit in next year's budget, but are reluctant to ask voters for additional revenue. "It sounds great," says Superintendent Kurt Browning about the $28 million a year a 1-mill property tax hike could raise. "But when people get accustomed to having that additional money in their paychecks, and the voters don't approve it again, that just stops. I am very hesitant." Gradebook.
School shooting video: A circuit court judge rules that video taken outside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School during the shootings Feb. 14 that killed 17 people must be made public. Several news organizations had sued the Broward County Sheriff's Office and the school board for refusing to release the video, arguing that it was crucial in analyzing law enforcement’s response. The judge ruled that prosecutors didn't prove how releasing the video could hamper the ongoing investigation, but delayed the release until Thursday to give the sheriff and school board a chance to appeal. Sun-Sentinel. Associated Press. Miami Herald.
Walkout Wednesday: At least 2,500 U.S. schools expect students to stage a walkout Wednesday to protest the shootings at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland on Feb. 14 and call for stricter controls on guns. The walkouts are expected to start at 10 a.m. and, in many cases, last 17 minutes to honor each of the 17 murdered victims. Sun-Sentinel. Students around the state plan to participate in the walkout, and schools are deciding how they will deal with it. Fort Myers News-Press. Bradenton Herald. Gainesville Sun. Northwest Florida Daily News. St. Augustine Record. The 74. Six things to know about the National Student Walkout. Education Week. About 500,000 people are expected to congregate in Washington, D.C., March 24 in the March For Our Lives rally calling for school safety and stricter gun laws, and other rallies will be held in cities around the country, including Parkland. Sun-Sentinel.
New education bills: The school safety bill and the K-12 and higher education bills got most of the attention, but other education-related bills also were passed in the Legislature. Here are some of them. Gradebook. Private schools that accept state scholarship students will have some new rules to follow under the new education bill, H.B. 7055. The state will now be permitted to visit all private schools, starting in 2019, and provisions will make it harder for those schools to hide criminal convictions of owners or file phony fire inspection reports. But they'll still be able to hire teachers without college degrees. Orlando Sentinel. H.B. 7055 also boosts school construction funding for K-12 schools and higher education institutions. News Service of Florida. The Legislature created a scholarship program to help bullied students move to private schools. It's the first program of its kind in the United States. Will it start a national trend? TrustED. U.S. News & World Report. Here's a recap of the biggest issues in the Legislature this year, as well as some of the bills that passed and failed. News Service of Florida. Associated Press. News Service of Florida. (more…)
School safety bill: The Florida House votes today on the school safety bill passed by the Senate on Monday. Tuesday, representatives turned away every amendment to put limits on guns beyond those already approved by senators and agreed to the provisions in the Senate bill, including a voluntary program to arm some school personnel, a three-day waiting period to buy firearms and an increase in the legal age for buying guns from 18 to 21. The House vote is expected to be close. Sun-Sentinel. Tampa Bay Times. Orlando Sentinel. Palm Beach Post. GateHouse. Tallahassee Democrat. News Service of Florida. Politico Florida. Families of all 17 victims of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting urge the House to pass the bill. Miami Herald. There's plenty to like - and hate - in the school safety bill. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. The U.S. House will vote next week on the STOP School Violence Act of 2018, a bill that would create a grant program to train students, teachers and other school staff on identifying and intervening when someone shows signs of violence. Associated Press. About a dozen Florida senators receive jars filled with tar and feathers after the school safety bill passed, labeled “From the Children of Bradford County.” Miami Herald. Politico Florida. House leaders pull at least $10 million worth of projects out of the budget that had been requested by Republicans who oppose the school safety bill. Politico Florida.
Districts' actions: The Broward County School Board passes a resolution calling for the ban of semiautomatic weapons and tougher federal background checks for gun buyers. Sun-Sentinel. Hillsborough County School Board members vote unanimously against arming anyone on campuses other than law enforcement officials. Gradebook. Pasco County School Board members say that school safety measures called for in the Legislature's bill could take money away from other district priorities, such as boosting teacher pay, adding guidance counselors and expanding prekindergarten programs. Gradebook. Superintendent Jacqueline Byrd says Polk County schools won't be arming teachers and staff. Lakeland Ledger. St. Lucie County Sheriff Ken Mascara says there is now an armed deputy at all county schools. TCPalm. Sarasota County School Board members agree to a five-year, $25 million plan to improve school security. Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
State budget: A disagreement over how to fund hospitals will force the Legislature to work overtime to complete a budget. House Speaker Richard Corcoran, R-Land O'Lakes, told representatives to expect to work through Saturday, or even Monday. The House and Senate agree on K-12 and university spending, on the expansion of Bright Futures and on teacher bonuses, but could not come to a consensus on how to reimburse hospitals for Medicaid. There's a 72-hour hour cooling off period after agreement is reached on a budget, which meant it had to be completed Tuesday night for the Legislature to finish as scheduled on Friday. News Service of Florida. Tampa Bay Times. Politico Florida.
Education bill: The Senate Education Committee unanimously approves a major rewrite of the House's omnibus education bill, H.B. 7055. The Senate version would put armed law enforcement officers at every school in the state, make state scholarships available to bullied students with substantiated claims, boost oversight of private school choice programs, require charter schools to return facilities to districts if they close, and create a comprehensive mental health program for schools, among other things. It also removes the provision that would decertify teachers unions if membership falls below half of the members represented. The revised bill now moves on to the Senate Appropriations Committee. redefinED. Associated Press. Gradebook. Politico Florida. Florida Politics. News Service of Florida.
Parkland and politics: The Florida House overwhelmingly rejects a proposal to ban assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines as about 100 students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School look on. The vote was 71-36 against H.B. 219, Students say the shootings have changed them, and vow to continue fighting for school safety. Miami Herald. Sun-Sentinel. Palm Beach Post. Politico Florida. Tallahassee Democrat. After meetings with superintendents and law enforcement officials, Gov. Rick Scott says he will have a plan of action in response to the shootings in Parkland to take to legislators by Friday. “We have two weeks left in session at that point, and my goal is to get something accomplished," says Scott. Politico Florida. WKMG. News Service of Florida. Florida Politics. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. A Senate hearing on a bill that would allow designated people to carry concealed weapons at schools is postponed Tuesday. Miami Herald. President Donald Trump calls on the Justice Department to ban all devices like bump stocks, an attachment that can turn a semi-automatic weapon into an automatic one. Associated Press. New York Times. The Broward County Charter Review Commission says it will consider giving voters the chance to decide what guns should be permitted in the county. Sun-Sentinel. Pinellas County School Board member Linda Lerner wants the board to officially support a ban on assault weapons. Gradebook. Leon County School Superintendent Rocky Hanna is criticized by the chairman of the county's Republican Party for giving excused absences to students who wanted to join a rally at the Capitol. Tallahassee Democrat.
Deadly shooting: Broward County detectives say Nikolas Cruz has confessed to killing 17 people and wounding more than a dozen others in a shooting spree Wednesday at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. He said he arrived at the school via Uber, fired more than 100 shots, dropped his gun and ammunition at the scene and escaped by blending in with a crowd of fleeing students. Then he got a drink at a Subway in Walmart and walked to McDonald's before being arrested. No motive for the shootings has been disclosed. Meanwhile, the names of the victims are released and thousands mourn the victims in a candlelight vigil. Sun-Sentinel. Miami Herald. Palm Beach Post. Associated Press.
Other developments: Florida legislative leaders acknowledge they've failed in providing mental health care in schools, and vow to commit more money to it. But a bill that would limit assault weapons hasn't even been scheduled for a hearing. Tampa Bay Times. News Service of Florida. TCPalm. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Palm Beach Post. Politico Florida. Nikolas Cruz legally purchased the AR-15 rifle he used in the shootings. Miami Herald. How did Cruz get around school security? Sun-Sentinel. A YouTube user claims he alerted the FBI last fall about online threats by Cruz to become a “a professional school shooter.” CNN. President Trump's proposed budget would cut millions of dollars to help schools prevent crime and recover from tragedies. Politico.
Districts react: School districts around the state beef up security and discuss ways to tighten it further. Naples Daily News. Tampa Bay Times. Gradebook. Florida Today. TCPalm. Ocala Star-Banner. Fort Myers News-Press. Lakeland Ledger. Bradenton Herald. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Gainesville Sun. Tallahassee Democrat. Daytona Beach News-Journal. Northwest Florida Daily News. Daily Commercial. Charlotte Sun. WUSF. WEAR.
State budgeting: The Senate and House pass budgets that are close in size, but at odds on how to pay for education, among other things. The House's $87.2 billion budget includes tying the changes in education proposed in H.B. 7055 to the overall budget. But senators used a procedure to force the House to uncouple the education bill from the budget, and passed its own $87.3 billion budget. H.B. 7055 will now have to pass through several Senate committees. Tampa Bay Times. News Service of Florida. Associated Press. Politico Florida. A discussion of the House education bill, its chances of becoming law, and how it's connected to the overall state budget. Gradebook.
Senate moves bills: Bills that would provide scholarships for bullied students and increased oversight of private school choice programs are approved by the Senate Education Appropriations Subcommittee. S.B. 1172 would allow victims of bullying and violence to transfer to other public schools or receive a state scholarship to attend a private school. The House also passed its version of the bill, known as the Hope Scholarship. S.B. 1756 calls for tightening state oversight of those private schools that accept state scholarships. It also requires those private schools to employ only teachers with degrees. But that stipulation has run into some resistance, so Sen. David Simmons, R-Altamonte Springs, is proposing that the language be amended to apply only to teachers hired after July 1, 2018, and who are assigned to grade 2 or higher. Those teachers with experience but no degrees would be grandfathered in. Step Up For Students, which hosts this blog, helps administer the tax credit and Gardiner scholarship programs. redefinED. Gradebook. WFSU. Naples Daily News.
Teacher-student romances: Two bills being considered in the House would crack down on romantic entanglements between teachers and students. H.B. 515 would make any such relationships, regardless of the age of the student, a second degree felony for the teacher. Another bill, H.B. 1391, would hold schools and school officials accountable if they fail to report certain misconduct to law enforcement officials or to other prospective employers checking references. Both have been approved by the House Education Committee. Miami Herald.
Education budget: Battle lines are forming over the House's nearly 200-page education bill, H.B. 7055. The House Democratic caucus says it will oppose the bill, calling it an "attack on public education," and even some Republicans in the Senate are critical of the way the House has put so many issues into a single bill. The House could vote on the bill as soon as today, and the Senate is expected to begin considering its version today as well. Florida Politics. Tampa Bay Times. Politico Florida. News Service of Florida. The House Education Committee approves a proposal to create a scholarship for bullied students, called the Hope Scholarship, after hearing stories from parents whose children have been victimized. The program is part of the omnibus education bill. Step Up For Students, which publishes this blog, helps administer the tax credit and Gardiner scholarship programs and would help administer the Hope Scholarship program if it is created. redefinED. WZVN. WFLA. News Service of Florida.
Funding for charters: The House's education bill would set aside $120 million in state funding for charter schools' capital needs, lifting the burden off school districts and undercutting one of the reasons many of them are suing the state over last year's education bill. The benchmark amount would increase annually with inflation and the growth of charter school enrollment, and school districts would have to chip in with local property tax money only if the state funding fell below that benchmark. redefinED. WLRN.
Turning over schools: Six struggling Polk County schools will be turned over to an outside operator in August, district officials have decided. Bartow Middle, Garner Elementary, Griffin Elementary, Kathleen Middle, Lake Alfred Polytech Academy and Lake Marion Creek Middle have all received grades of D or F from the state for three straight years, which requires the district to close them, reopen them as charters or turn over their operation to an outside company. Three companies have submitted proposals, and school officials expect one will be chosen to manage all six schools. Lakeland Ledger.
H.B. 7055 debate: The Florida House begins debate this afternoon on its omnibus education bill, H.B. 7055. The nearly 200-page bill incorporates multiple topics, from the creation of scholarships for bullied students to the imposition of requirements on teachers unions, and is such a priority for House leaders that they have tied the per-student funding language for all public schools to the passage of this bill or similar legislation. Gradebook.
CRC hearing: Several speakers criticize a proposal to provide state funding for religious schools at the first Constitution Revision Commission public hearing in Davie. “This will resegregate our schools, not by race but by religion,” said Daniel Cook, a board member of the Broward chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. Among the other topics that got attention from the hundreds of people in attendance were proposed abortion restrictions and amendments on greyhound racing and privacy rights. The next hearing is Feb. 19 in Melbourne, followed by Feb. 20 in Jacksonville, Feb. 27 in Pensacola and March 13 in St. Petersburg. Sun-Sentinel.
Replacing Avossa: Several Palm Beach County School Board members say they'll look within the district to replace Superintendent Robert Avossa, who is resigning June 12 to work for a Palm Beach Gardens publishing company. Among the internal candidates: David Christiansen, deputy superintendent and chief of schools; Keith Oswald, chief academic officer; and Donald Fennoy, chief operating officer. And four other candidates for the job when Avossa was hired in 2015 still work for the district and could be considered. The board is expected to discuss the search at its meeting Feb. 14. Sun-Sentinel. Palm Beach Post.
Still absent: The Seminole County School Board member who hasn't been to a meeting or done any board work since Feb. 28, 2017, missed a pair of meetings Tuesday despite agreeing to call in to participate. Board members directed Superintendent Walt Griffin to send yet another letter to Jeffrey Bauer asking him “whether your resignation is the right thing to do for all involved.” Bauer, 49, had a stroke in 2016 and reportedly has had other health issues since then. Orlando Sentinel.
Avossa resigning: Palm Beach County School Superintendent Robert Avossa is resigning after two and a half years to take a job with a publisher of educational materials. Avossa, 46, plans to leave June 12 to become senior vice president and publisher of education products for LRP Publications in Palm Beach Gardens. “This opportunity will allow me to spend the last part of my career impacting education at the national level while affording me more time to commit to my family,” he wrote in his resignation letter. He is recommending the board replace him with someone already working for the district. Palm Beach Post. Sun-Sentinel.
Education bill attacked: The state's largest teachers union, the Florida Education Association, launches a public relations broadside against the House's new education bill, H.B. 7055, a nearly 200-page document that puts multiple education-related proposals into a single bill. Among them: a scholarship for bullied students, called the Hope Scholarship, a provision to make it harder for local school districts to eliminate charter schools, and a requirement that public unions maintain 50 percent membership of eligible workers or be forced to file for recertification. "This monstrosity is a clear attempt to destroy our public schools while telling professional educators they simply are not welcome in Florida," says FEA president Joanne McCall. Gradebook. Sunshine State News. Florida Politics. Politico Florida.
Florida ESSA plan: The state's plan to comply with the Every Student Succeeds Act doesn't meet several federal requirements, and the state has until Feb. 16 to respond to the U.S. Department of Education's call for revisions. Specifically, the plan omits achievement levels of some student groups, such as minority, poor, disabled and English-language learners, in calculating school grades. It also has contains no provisions to hold schools accountable for how well students perform on English-language-proficiency exams or to provide some students exams in languages other than English. An analysis of Florida students' performance on National Assessment of Educational Progress exams shows little change in performance gaps between wealthier white students and others since 2005. Education Week. WUSF.
