Scholarship funding: In a recent interview, Gov.-elect Ron DeSantis says he wants to direct more funding toward the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship program. Ultimately, he said, he'd like the state to give families a stipend for their student's education that they could use as they wish. Step Up For Students, which hosts this blog, helps administer the scholarship. Florida Trend. DeSantis' education transition team is preparing its final recommendations, which are expected to include increased parental empowerment on educational choices of schools, and expanded school choice options and vocational education. Florida Politics. WJCT. WLRN. New Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran talks about his vision for the future of education in Florida. He starts the job Jan. 8. WTSP. Politico Florida. Outgoing Commissioner Pam Stewart says, "We are, in Florida, at an all-time high," and says Corcoran needs no advice from her because he already knows enough to do a good job. Gradebook.
School shooting aftermath: The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission is expected to release its report today. WFLA. What's being done to stop another school shooting? Sun Sentinel. Broward County school resource officers are receiving more rigorous active-shooter training and being given more powerful weapons, according to Sheriff Scott Israel. Associated Press. Sun Sentinel. Miami Herald. What went right on the second floor of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School building that was attacked by a gunman Feb. 14. Sun Sentinel. A review of Israel’s performance since the shooting reveals excuses and misstatements. Sun Sentinel. (more…)
BOE and Corcoran: Gov.-elect Ron DeSantis reportedly wants to appoint former House Speaker Richard Corcoran as education commissioner to succeed Pam Stewart. But state law places the responsibility for selecting the commissioner in the hands of the Florida Board of Education. Will its members go along with DeSantis or, as they have in the past, conduct a national search for Stewart's replacement? Gradebook. WFSU.
Teachers back choice: More than half of America's public school teachers support school vouchers and charter schools, according to the annual survey by EdChoice, which describes itself as a nonpartisan, nonprofit collector of information about school choice policies in the United States. Fifty-four percent of teachers support vouchers, the survey found, and 57 percent approve of charter schools. The survey also found that 86 percent of parents were very or somewhat satisfied with their home-schooling experience, compared with 79 percent for private schools, 78 percent for charter schools and 66 percent for public district schools. redefinED. (more…)
School shooting: A 19-year-old man who had been expelled from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland returned Wednesday to shoot and kill 17 people and wound 16 more in the worst school massacre in Florida's history, according to Broward County deputies. The suspect, Nikolas Cruz, was arrested at a house near the school by deputies shortly after escaping by hiding among students running from the school. Sun-Sentinel. Miami Herald. Palm Beach Post. Florida Today. Orlando Sentinel. Associated Press. Politico Florida. The 74. The shooting suspect had been flagged as a potential threat, and family members say he seemed troubled and depressed in recent years. Sun-Sentinel. Miami Herald. Associated Press. CNN. Students tell their stories of horror, and videos capture the scene. Sun-Sentinel. Stoneman football coach Aaron Feis is called a hero for stepping between the gunman and students. Miami Herald. The rifle used in the shooting, the AR-15, is "designed to kill multiple enemy combatants at once,” says a weapons expert. Miami Herald. Marjory Stoneman Douglas High will be closed today and tomorrow. Sun-Sentinel. There have already been at least six school shootings that have killed or injured U.S. students in 2018, and at least 17 other incidents involving a gun fired at or near U.S. schools. USA Today. Business Insider. Time. MSN. The 74. Fox News. CNBC. Political leaders express their anguish over the shootings but wonder if anything will change. Sun-Sentinel. How vulnerable are kids at school? USA Today.
School choice funding: A bill that would create a new funding source for private school choice scholarships is approved by the House Ways and Means Committee. The proposal would let businesses donate to a state to a scholarship funding organization and receive a full credit for sales taxes they collect. It's projected that the measure could collect as much as $150 million a year. That money would help fund state-approved scholarship organizations such as Step Up For Students, which publishes this blog and helps administer the Gardiner Scholarships for children with special needs and tax credit scholarships for low-income students. Both have waiting lists. The bill also creates tax holidays for certain back-to-school items and hurricane supplies. The total tax relief amount is almost $350 million. redefinED. Associated Press. Orlando Sentinel. Tampa Bay Times. News Service of Florida. Politico Florida.
School funding formula: The House Education PreK-12 Appropriations Committee approves a bill that calls for a study of the way state funding is distributed to school districts. Smaller and more rural districts around the state have complained for years that price-level index portion of the funding formula unfairly favors urban districts. The House has allocated $100,000 for the study. The Senate also passes its version of the school funding bill, which includes more money for school mental health services. News Service of Florida. Gradebook. Politico Florida.
House tax package: The Florida House is expected to introduce a $332.7 million tax relief package today. About 46 percent of the total - $154 million - would come in the form of credits for companies that contribute to the tax credit and Gardiner scholarship programs. Another $74.5 million would be for a 10-day sales tax holiday for back-to-school purchases of clothes, school supplies and technology, and three separate seven-day periods for buying hurricane supplies. Step Up For Students, which hosts this blog, helps administer the tax credit and Gardiner programs. News Service of Florida.
Medical marijuana: The Broward County School District is working on a policy to deal with students who are approved to use medical marijuana. Students would not be allowed to carry the drug or store it at school, but parents or a caregiver could come to campus to administer it as long as they have medical clearance. School staff would not be permitted to handle the drug. Palm Beach County allows the drug to be administered by nurses, who are supplied by the county health department, while Miami-Dade prohibits medical marijuana on campus, citing the conflicts in state and federal laws. Sun-Sentinel.
Turnaround schools: Polk County school officials choose a Kentucky company to begin operating six persistently struggling schools this fall if they don't get a school grade of C or above from the state this year. Educational Directions would charge the district at least $387,500 per school for the first year, then $225,000 to $250,000 per school for each additional year. The school board will vote on the recommendation Feb. 27. Bartow Middle, Garner Elementary, Griffin Elementary, Kathleen Middle, Lake Alfred Polytech Academy and Lake Marion Creek Middle have each received grades of D or F for the past three years, prompting the state to require the district to close them, turn them into charter schools or hire an outside company to operate them. Lakeland Ledger.
