ESSA plan approved: Florida's plan to comply with the federal Every Student Succeeds Act finally has won the approval of the U.S. Education Department. The state submitted five revisions of the accountability plan, including one this week, before Education Secretary Betsy DeVos gave her approval in a letter to Florida Education Commissioner Pam Stewart. Florida had resisted some ESSA requirements, such as assessments of English language learners and math testing for advanced students in middle schools. Florida's was the last of the 50 states to have its plan approved. Gradebook. Education Week.
Medical marijuana: School boards in Orange, Volusia and Clay counties are moving forward with policies that will permit students with prescriptions to receive medical marijuana treatments at schools from parents or caregivers, but not school personnel. The Orange County School Board approved the policy this week, and the Clay and Volusia boards will take final vote in October and November, respectively. Broward and Santa Rosa counties have adopted similar policies. Orlando Sentinel. Daytona Beach News-Journal. Clay Today. Orlando Weekly. (more…)
School security: As the Palm Beach County School District's police force welcomes a new chief, the previous two chiefs are still on the payroll. Frank Kitzerow was hired as the new chief last week, but the outgoing chief, Lawrence Leon, will remain in the department for at least another year and Jim Kelly, who preceded Leon, has been hired back as a consultant. Also to be sorted is how the district will provide armed officers in all schools. The expanded 160-member police force is at least 75 officers short of covering all schools, and the sheriff has refused to make deputies available on overtime. Palm Beach Post. The mother of one of the students killed in the shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School is being reassigned to the job of director of school safety and security. April Schentrup, mother of Carmen, has been principal at Pembroke Pines Elementary School. Sun-Sentinel. Sheriff's officials don't believe the state mandate requiring an armed officer in all schools applies to summer school, but will provide some coverage. Citrus County Chronicle. The Monroe County School District is proposing to upgrade mental health services to students by hiring two fulltime social workers, expanding a contract with the Guidance Care Center to provide more mental health counselors, and reinstating a Medicaid specialist to seek reimbursements for services. Key West Citizen.
School board elections: School board races are set at districts around the state: Broward County, Miami-Dade, Palm Beach, Palm Beach, Seminole, Orange, Lake, Osceola, Pinellas, Hillsborough, Pasco, Hernando, Brevard, Lee, Sarasota, Manatee, Manatee, Leon, Alachua, Marion, Volusia, Flagler, St. Johns, Martin, St. Lucie, Indian River, Collier, Escambia, Santa Rosa, Walton, Okaloosa, Monroe, Citrus. Duval County School Board chairwoman Paula Wright will challenge incumbent Kim Daniels in the Democratic primary for the District 14 seat in the Florida House. Florida Times-Union.
Budget agreement: The state's proposed $88.7 billion budget includes $21.1 billion for K-12 schools, an increase of $485 million over last year to boost per-student spending by $101.50, to $7,408. Much of the overall 7.6 percent budget hike is driven by increased spending for school security. “It put everything else we were working on, on a back burner,” says Sen. Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton. “A lot of projects have fallen out. And money had to be reprioritized. It’s not often that you go into session and have to make a $400 million adjustment midstream.” The earliest a budget vote can be taken is Sunday, since state law requires a 72-hour "cooling off" period after a budget agreement is reached. News Service of Florida. Tampa Bay Times. GateHouse. The budget deal boosts the amount of construction money for charter schools, and the way the money is raised and distributed could ease tensions between charters and their local districts. redefinED. A $500,000 grant for a famed Miami arts high school was cut from the state budget by legislative leaders. New World School of the Arts was the home of Tarell Alvin McCraney, who won the 2017 Academy Award for his screenplay for Moonlight, which won the award for best picture. Politico Florida.
School shooting developments: According to law enforcement communications during the Parkland school shooting, released by the Broward County Sheriff's Office, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School resource officer Scot Peterson radioed that gunfire was happening inside Building 12, and he warned other officers to stay away. Peterson, who was called a coward by President Trump, has insisted publicly that he believed the gunfire was happening outside. Miami Herald. Sun-Sentinel. Listen to some of the 911 calls. Miami Herald. Sun-Sentinel. A judge will review the video from outside the shooting scene before deciding if it will be made public. Sun-Sentinel. Accused school shooter Nikolas Cruz withdraws his not guilty plea to 17 counts of murder and 17 counts of attempted murder and is instead "standing mute," his lawyers say. Sun-Sentinel. Student activists from Stoneman Douglas High lease office space as they prepare to launch their #Never Again movement nationwide. CBS News.
School safety bill: Lawmakers from both parties say they expect Gov. Rick Scott to sign the $400 million school safety bill that would, among other things, allow some employees to carry guns in schools. Scott has said he doesn't want to arm teachers, but the final bill calls for school personnel other than fulltime teachers to be armed voluntarily, and most of the rest of the bill is in line with what he has advocated. Scott meets with families of the school shooting today. The bill also increases the legal age to buy long guns to 21, imposes a three-day waiting period to buy weapons, bans bump stocks and allows police to take guns from people judged to be mentally defective or in danger of harming themselves or others. Politico Florida. Miami Herald. The Florida Education Association urges Scott to veto funds for arming school personnel. Orlando Sentinel. Putting an armed resource officer into all the state's schools would cost about $116 million, according to a recent Florida Department of Education survey. Gradebook. Legal experts say a school employee carrying a gun could be sued in civil court in an accidental shooting or if the gun is lost or stolen and later used in a crime. Reuters. Is the 132 hours of gun training for school employees detailed in the school safety bill enough? USA Today. Flagler County School Superintendent James Tager says his district won't be arming any school workers other than law enforcement officers. Daytona Beach News-Journal. Bay County School Superintendent Bill Husfelt says he would consider arming school employees. Panama City News Herald. (more…)
