ESSA criticism: U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos' approval of Florida's plan to comply with the Every Student Succeeds Act is called a "disappointment" by advocates who wanted the state to test English language-learners in their native languages and to have those students' results included into the state's larger accountability system. More than 10 percent of the state's K-12 students are considered English-learners, and in some parts of the state the percentage is as high as 25 percent. Education Week. Gradebook.

Use of restraints: The number of times restraints have been used on students with special needs by the Hernando County School District has soared from 19 in the 2014-2015 school year to 153 in 2017-2018, according to district records. Cathy Dofka, the head of the district’s Exceptional Student Education department, had planned to cut the use in half two years ago. She blames the lack of qualified special education teachers for the increase. According to the state, Hernando ranks in the middle of Florida's districts in the use of restraints. Tampa Bay Times. (more…)