Charter schools. The principal of an Imagine charter school that tried to separate from the parent company will leave at the end of the school year, and the school will remain with Imagine, according to a settlement deal, reports the Sarasota Herald Tribune. The Miami-Dade School Board approves contracts for a Somerset Academy charter school despite objections from neighbors, reports the Miami Herald.

Common Core. Teachers will learn more about it in summer school. StateImpact Florida.

Teacher conduct. Coach, porn. Tampa Tribune.

Tutor conduct. Frank Cerabino on the math tutor/former porn guy.

Teacher evaluations. The new evals may be legal "but they're still absurd." Palm Beach Post.

Teacher pay. Teacher's aides in Sarasota County wonder if they'll get raises too. Sarasota Herald Tribune.

School turnarounds. Pinellas advertises for teachers at F-rated Maximo Elementary. Gradebook. (more…)

Charter schools. The Senate Education Committee moves closer to agreement on additional charter schools accountability measures, but a divide lingers over facilities funding, reports The Buzz, which includes this quote from Sen. Bill Montford, D-Tallahassee: "The time for finger pointing between charter schools and regular public schools is over. We have to have the maturity to sit down and go over the data and discuss it." A legal timeline is set to determine the fate of an Imagine charter school in Sarasota County that seeks to sever its relationship with the parent company, reports the Sarasota Herald Tribune.

State colleges. They have a $26.6 billion annual economic impact, according to a new study. Coverage from Gradebook, StateImpact Florida, TCPalm.com, Lakeland Ledger, The Florida Current.

Parents. Angry parents keep the pressure on the Broward school district over the firing of a popular principal. South Florida Sun Sentinel.

Principals. A pending reshuffling in Broward is getting tense. Miami Herald.

School boards. Former Osceola County School Board Chair Cindy Hartig applied for unemployment benefits after her loss at the polls last August. Orlando Sentinel. (more…)

Charter schools. Brooksville's first charter school, one with a STEM focus, will open this fall, reports the Tampa Bay Times. Competition from charter schools is forcing the Palm Beach County school district to think harder about its needs and priorities, reports the Palm Beach Post. Charters are also sparking debate among Palm Beach school board members about how much help they should give struggling charters, the Post also reports. An op-ed in the Miami Herald raises concerns about charter schools' diversity and financial incentives. The Sarasota Herald-Tribune profiles the principal of the Imagine charter school that is trying to break free from the parent company.

Magnet schools. The Tampa Tribune applauds the Hillsborough school district for creating a magnet tied to the maritime industry.

Alternative schools. Troubled girls get a fresh start at a sheriffs' youth  ranch in Polk County. Orlando Sentinel.

Tax credit scholarships. Great back-and-forth between scholars Kevin Welner at NEPC and Jason Bedrick at Cato, with Florida's program a big part of their debate. Cato at Liberty.

School choice. It's often partisan. Sunshine State News.

Parent trigger. Education Commissioner Tony Bennett raises a constitutional question. The Florida Current. (more…)

Charter schools. Florida's first classical preparatory school, slated for opening this fall in Pasco, asks for a one-year delay so it can find better digs, reports Gradebook. A judge again rules in favor of  allowing a Sarasota principal to temporarily stay as head of an Imagine charter school that wants to split from the parent company, reports the Sarasota Herald Tribune.

Magnet schools. Magnet Schools of America names Roosevelt Middle in West Palm a National Magnet School of Distinction. Extra Credit.

"Progressive" agenda. Self-styled progressive groups put forward a legislative agenda that includes "rejecting efforts to revive the so-called “parent trigger” bill and curtailing the use of private school vouchers, both of which slash public education funding while privatizing public education for corporate gain." Central Florida Political Pulse.

School recognition money. Gov. Rick Scott wants to increase the per-student amount from $93 to $125, notes Extra Credit. In Palm Beach, he hands out $14 million in checks to schools, reports the Palm Beach Post.

Sequestration. Potential effects on Head Start, reports StateImpact Florida. More from Naples Daily News.

Teacher evaluations. More than 100 people show up - including a number of upset teachers - to a Department of Education hearing about the new evals in Orange County, reports the Orlando Sentinel. A different take from the EdFly Blog. (more…)

Teach for America. It's looking at Tampa Bay for expansion. Gradebook.

Charter schools. The Orange school board renews four charters and accepts the voluntary closure of another, reports SchoolZone. A charter school's plans to move in Miami-Dade don't make its parents or potential new neighbors happy, reports the Miami Herald. A judge rules the principal of an Imagine charter in Sarasota - seeking a split with its parent company - won't be banned from campus, reports the Sarasota Herald Tribune.

FCAT season. Underway, notes SchoolZone. But some schools in some districts put off the writing test because of bad weather, reports Gradebook. Some worry that tougher writing standards could result in lower school grades, reports the Naples Daily News.

Literacy. A third-grade retention policy like Florida's would help students in New Mexico. EdFly Blog.

Settlement. The U.S. Justice Department settles with the Palm Beach school district in a case involving complaints of discrimination against immigrant children in enrollment and discipline cases, reports the South Florida Sun Sentinel. More from the Palm Beach Post.

Sequestration. Would hurt low-income and special needs children the most, Palm Beach district officials tell the Palm Beach Post. More from the Florida Times Union. (more…)

Digital learning. Lawmakers are set to consider a digital education bill that would allow school districts to create "innovation schools" similar to charter schools. Gradebook.

Parent trigger. House version is filed, reports SchoolZone. Democrats concede they probably don't have the votes to stop it this year, reports Naked Politics.

Magnet schools. The Orange County School Board has a wide-ranging discussion about the district's offerings. SchoolZone.

Charter schools. The governing board of a charter school in Sarasota County votes to end its management contract with the Imagine charter network, but the company immediately files suit. Sarasota Herald Tribune.

Common Core. Having a Plan B is not a bad idea, writes EdFly Blog. Education Commissioner Tony Bennett notes the politics of CC are tricky, too, reports StateImpact Florida.

Teacher evaluations. Contrary to perception, charter schools have to abide by the new teacher evaluation law just like district schools. StateImpact Florida.

Wall of Shame. Teachers at Tampa's Jefferson High get an F for word choice, writes Tampa Bay Times columnist Sue Carlton.

Teacher shortage areas. Tallahassee Democrat. (more…)

Federal vouchers. U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., proposes what may be the most sweeping school choice legislation in U.S. history - a federal tax credit scholarship program similar to the state program in Florida. redefinED. More from the Miami Herald.

Tutoring oversight. In response to a Tampa Bay Times investigation, Education Commissioner Tony Bennett promises to take steps to curb fraud and abuse in the state-mandated tutoring program.

Charter schools. The Pinellas school board votes to continue the closing process for the long-troubled Imagine charter school in St. Petersburg, despite more than 100 students showing their support for the school. Gradebook.

Exposed! The response. EdFly Blog notes what should have been in press reports - that In the Public Interest, the group that launched the latest Jeb Bush-corporate-cabal conspiracy theory, is run by Donald Cohen, the former political director of the San Diego-Imperial Counties Labor Council, AFL-CIO. (Gradebook, at least, did note the group's labor ties.)

School grades. A House subcommittee bill would extend grading to small schools. SchoolZone.

School spending. The St. Lucie County school board takes the possibility of four-day weeks off the table, reports TCPalm.com. A divided Volusia County school board votes to begin the process of outsourcing custodial and grounds maintenance jobs, reports the Daytona Beach News Journal. The Brevard school board votes to close three of four schools proposed for shuttering, reports Florida Today. (more…)

Vouchers and testing. A new report from the Fordham Institute finds that mandated testing - and even public reporting of test results - isn't that big a concern for private schools worried about government regs tied to vouchers and tax credit scholarships. Coverage from redefinED, Choice Words, the Cato Institute's Andrew J. Coulson and Gradebook. AEI's Michael McShane says Florida's tax credit scholarship program (which, altogether now, is administered by Step Up For Students, which co-hosts this blog) finds the "sweet spot" with its testing and financial reporting requirements: "These regulations don’t sound too crazy to me; they seem to strike a good balance of accountability for safety, fiscal responsibility, and academic performance without being overly dictatorial in how schools must demonstrate any of those."

Shooting rockets. Senate President Don Gaetz tells the Associated Press that Florida needs to slow down on ed reforms until it rights the new teacher evaluation system and other changes in the works: "We need to quit shooting rockets into the air. We need to give schools and school districts, teachers and parents time to institutionalize the reforms that have already been made. We need about a two-year cooling off period."

Ford Falcons. Schools need competition. EdFly Blog.

School choice. Education Commissioner Tony Bennett says at a National School Choice Week event in Tampa that some Florida districts deserve credit for expanding public school options such as magnets and career academies, reports redefinED. More from Tampa Tribune.

Charter schools. The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools ranks Florida fifth for its charter laws.  SchoolZone. Gradebook. South Florida Sun Sentinel. StateImpact Florida. The Pinellas school district postpones a decision on whether to close a long-struggling Imagine school in St. Petersburg, reports the Tampa Bay Times and Tampa Tribune. The Volusia district's decision to shut down a struggling charter in Deland is headed to appeals court, reports the Daytona Beach News Journal. (more…)

Common Core. To conservatives: "I suggest you give up the bashing of a critically important reform simply because your political enemy endorsed it." EdFly Blog.

Charter schools. The highly successful Pembroke Pines charter school system says it deserves a share of the Broward school district's capital improvement dollars, reports the Miami Herald. The Pinellas school district will vote yet again Tuesday on whether to shutter the long-troubled Imagine charter school in St. Petersburg, reports the Tampa Bay Times. A Palm Coast charter hopes to bounce back from an F, reports the Daytona Beach News Journal.

Teacher evaluations. Senate President Don Gaetz says the new evals may be too complicated and, combined with other big changes in education, could put the system at risk of imploding, reports the Florida Current. Washington Post ed blogger Valerie Strauss uses Gaetz's comments to tee off on Florida ed reform.

More on teacher pay. Gov. Rick Scott's proposal runs up against competing demands, reports the Tampa Bay Times. It "would provide welcome relief" but doesn't make up for "all of the damage this governor has done to public education," writes the Times editorial board. Cash shows respect, writes Times columnist Dan DeWitt. It'll help show teachers are valued, writes the Pensacola News Journal. Give Scott credit for supporting merit pay and across-the-board raises, writes the Daytona Beach News Journal. His commitment needs to be more than a one-time gimmick, writes the Palm Beach Post. A good thing no matter the motivation, writes the Gainesville Sun. Transparent pandering, writes the Panama City News Herald. "Met with skepticism," reports the Tampa Tribune. Lawmakers should be careful about both teacher raises and a proposal to transform the state retirement system, writes the Ocala Star Banner.

Satanists. They like the school prayer bill Scott signed last year. Really. Coverage from Tallahassee Democrat and Associated Press. (more…)

More Crist on vouchers: Charlie Crist on “Hardball” last night: MSNBC host Chris Matthews warned Crist that there was a “blue plate special aspect” now that he’s changed parties, and that he’d have to buy into Democratic mainstream arguments: opposing vouchers, supporting the public school teachers union. “I’m fine with that,” Crist insisted, to which Matthews replied that it’s “quite a switch.”

Jeb Bush on poverty and education. From an interview with Andy Rotherham in Time: “I would reverse the question: education impacts poverty, not the other way around. If we don’t empower families to be able to have a quality education, then their children for the first time in American history, truly the first time, will not have the same economic opportunities. That’s not speculation. The evidence is in.”

Poverty categorical. From the News Service of Florida: “School districts with a higher percentage of low income students would receive additional funding from the state, under a bill filed Monday by Rep. Frank Artiles, R-Miami. The bill (HB 31) would authorize state education officials to create another special category of funding to address districts with higher percentages of low income students. … The bill would leave up to school districts how to divvy up the money, but the funding must be used for class size reduction, reading initiatives and intervention programs targeting students in kindergarten through third grade.”

Florida readers second in the world. In fourth grade, only students in Hong Kong did better on an international test, reports the Orlando Sentinel. The results were solid but not as impressive in math and science.

Imagine troubles. The Imagine charter school in St. Petersburg is recommended for closure, again, reports the Tampa Bay Times.

Charter school debate. The Florida Times Union offers pro and con.

More on remediation. StateImpact Florida.

More on teacher evals. Palm Beach Post.

Special education changes. A district task force in Hillsborough recommends many in a report following the deaths of two special need students, reports the Tampa Bay Times.