Florida's ESSA plan: Florida has filed its fourth plan to comply with the federal Every Student Succeeds Act. The first three were rejected because they didn't meet the standards of the school accountability system. The latest attempt, filed Aug. 24, calls for the continuation of an exemption from grade-level math exams to students in high school who successfully completed the courses in middle school. The state also is declining to give tests in languages other than English, and does not want to change the way it sets proficiency standards for students still learning the language or how it reports the academic performance of demographic subgroups. In Gov. Rick Scott's letter to Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, he writes that "Florida's expectations is that our state is treated fairly and given full flexibility to provide the greatest return to our students." Florida is the only state whose plan has not been approved by the U.S. Department of Education. Gradebook. Education Week.

District's computers hacked: A cyberattack forces the Monroe County School District to shut down its computer systems this week. Officials say the hacker used ransomware called "GandCrab," with the goal of encrypting files in the system and then demanding a payment to unlock them. The district’s Internet security provider, Symantec, took the system down Sunday after the threat was detected and created a patch that was applied Tuesday. But the problems persisted and the system was shut down again. Keynoter. Key West Citizen. WLRN. (more…)

Reading test results: The state's 3rd-graders posted slightly lower scores on the Florida Standards Assessments reading tests this year, according to results released by the Florida Department of Education. Twenty percent of the state's 3rd-graders - more than 44,000 students - post a Level 1 score, which puts them at risk of repeating the grade. Last year it was 19 percent. About half of the affected students are promoted using the state's retention law exemptions or by attending summer reading camps. Fifty-seven percent of the 3rd-graders posted a Level 3 score, which is considered at or above grade level, down from 58 percent last year but up from the 53 percent in 2015. The test scores also factor into the formula for school grades, which come out later this summer. Orlando Sentinel. Gradebook. Ocala Star-Banner.

Housing for teachers: Suggestions in Miami-Dade, Broward and Monroe counties that affordable housing for teachers be built on school campuses is getting a chilly reaction from teachers. “I mean, who wants to live where they work?” asks Karla Hernandez-Mats, president of the United Teachers of Dade. Other teachers union officials agree, and suggest a better solution would be to pay teachers more so they could afford mortgages or rents in south Florida. WLRN. (more…)

School superintendents: Desmond Blackburn, superintendent of the Brevard County School District since June 2015, is resigning to become the CEO of the California-based New Teacher Center, a national nonprofit that trains and mentors new teachers. Blackburn's last day is no later than Aug. 10. The school board will discuss its search for a new superintendent at a meeting today. The highlights of Blackburn's tenure include a restructuring of district operations, scaling back teacher evaluations and district-required testing, and developing a new discipline policy. Florida Today. Space Coast Daily. Spectrum News 13. Viera Voice. WKMG. Sun-Sentinel. The Duval County School Board picks three finalists for its superintendent's job: Diana Greene, Manatee County superintendent; Erick Pruitt, area superintendent of Houston schools; and Michael Dunsmore, superintendent of Wayne County schools in North Carolina. Interview are this week and a decision could be announced as early as 4 p.m. Friday. Florida Times-Union. Bradenton Herald. Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

School security: Volusia County school officials are now considering hiring 44 armed "school marshals" for each of their elementary schools. Hiring marshals, who would not have the authority to make arrests, would save the district more than $1 million a year because they would work only during the school year. Daytona Beach News-Journal. The Cape Coral City Council commits $1 million to help pay for 22 resource officers so every city school will be covered. Fort Myers News-Press. Just a few days after creating positions for security guards, the Pasco County School District has begun hiring. Nine offers for the jobs of guarding elementary schools have been made, and another 28 have been approved but are awaiting background checks. The district plans to hire 53 guards and a security director. Gradebook. Stanley Switlik Elementary School in Key West will get a school resource officer from the sheriff for the last two weeks of school. Next year the school district will be responsible for the officer, says Sheriff Rick Ramsay. Florida Keys Weekly. (more…)