More disaster funding: The U.S. Education Department is giving Florida another $95.8 million in disaster assistance, even though the state has yet to spend any of the $84.5 million it received from the federal Immediate Aid to Restart School Operations program to help schools, colleges and universities recover from hurricanes Harvey and Irma. The new funding is through the Temporary Emergency Impact Aid for Displaced Students program, which is intended to help districts that had extra enrollment of students displaced by hurricanes. Politico Florida. Orlando Sentinel.
School security: A security consultant advises the Broward County School Board against using metal detectors in schools, saying they are expensive, hard to operate efficiently, not reliable without accompanied by patdowns, and provide limited benefits and great risks. Michael Dorn, executive director of Safe Havens International, says he recommended to Superintendent Robert Runcie to back off installing them. Sun-Sentinel. Schools open today in Broward County, and half the schools in Fort Lauderdale still don't have armed guards. Sun-Sentinel. Only 24 school safety specialists were working on the first day of school in Duval County - less than half the number needed to cover each of the district's elementary schools. Another 27 are expected to be hired by Labor Day, and a third round of hiring won't put those assistants in schools until after Oct. 1. Florida Times-Union. WJXT.
Amendment 8 questioned: A retired chief justice of the Florida Supreme Court files a challenge with the court charging that six proposed constitutional amendments, including the education-related Amendment 8, are unconstitutionally bundled. Harry Lee Anstead and former Florida elections commissioner Robert Barnas say that bundling prevents voters from a simple yes or no vote. Amendment 8 would put term limits on school board members, require civics education and allow entities other than local school boards to approve charter school applications. Gradebook. Flagler Live. News Service of Florida.
