Teaching alternatives: As more teachers retire and fewer are graduating from education schools, some districts that struggle to recruit teachers fill the gaps with technology. In Pasco County, for example, far-away teaching experts provide virtual instruction while in-class monitors set up the lesson, help prepare for the connections and police[Read More…]
Tag: H.B. 7069
Florida schools roundup: Charter school ‘deserts,’ H.B. 7069 appeal and more
Charter school scarcity: A new report concludes that Florida has one of the highest number of charter school “deserts,” which are defined as three or more contiguous census tracts with poverty rates above 20 percent and no charter elementary schools. The charter-friendly Thomas B. Fordham Institute identified about 20 such areas in[Read More…]
Florida schools roundup: School security, lawsuit appeal, felons and more
School security: The Hendry and Suwannee county school boards adopt the state’s guardian program and will have school employees carrying concealed weapons in all their schools next August. The school boards will decide who becomes a guardian, and the county sheriff’s departments will provide the training. WBBH. Suwannee Democrat. The Pasco[Read More…]
Florida schools roundup: State wins H.B. 7069 suit, teacher v. officer pay and more
H.B. 7069 suit tossed: A Leon County circuit judge throws out a lawsuit by 14 Florida school districts challenging the constitutionality of the Legislature’s 2017 education bill, H.B. 7069. The districts argued that the bill is unconstitutional because it takes powers away from local schools boards and forces districts to[Read More…]
Florida schools roundup: Amendments, H.B. 7069, educator bonuses and more
12 amendments proposed: The Style and Drafting Committee of the Constitution Revision Commission has consolidated 24 proposals into 12 amendments that it is recommending for the November ballot. Three education-related ideas — school board term limits, requiring a civics course for graduation and allowing the state to create a new[Read More…]
Florida schools roundup: Anti-charter fight, graduation rates, security and more
Fighting against charters: Leon County School Superintendent Rocky Hanna is ignoring the recommendation of a review committee and is asking his school board to reject the applications of two companies that want to build charter schools. Hanna says the schools aren’t needed, and that he doesn’t like that charters don’t[Read More…]
Florida schools roundup: Shooting video release, walkout, new bills and more
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,[Read More…]
Florida schools roundup: Graduation rate up, charters, funding and more
Graduation rate rises: Florida’s high school graduation rate rose 1.6 percentage points in 2017, to 82.3 percent, according to figures released Wednesday by the Florida Department of Education. The rate has gone up steadily since the 2006-2007 school year, when fewer than 60 percent of students got diplomas. Gilchrist County[Read More…]