Scholarship oversight: The Florida House Education Committee is proposing new rules governing private schools that accept state scholarships. The legislation, still in draft form, would require state visits to all private schools before they can participate in one of the state's three K-12 scholarship programs, compel schools to provide a list of teachers and their credentials to parents, make it more difficult for the schools to falsify fire and health inspection reports, and increase financial oversight. But private schools could continue to to hire teachers without college degrees. Step Up For Students, which hosts this blog, helps administer the tax credit and Gardiner scholarship programs. Orlando Sentinel. redefinED.
Argument against law: The school districts challenging six provisions in the new state education law argue in a motion for dismissal that even if some of the provisions are judged to be constitutional, they're part of the larger package that unlawfully undermines the authority of local school boards. The districts cite several cases that they say affirms districts' authority over Florida’s public schools, and forbids the Legislature from creating “parallel,” publicly funded alternatives. redefinED.
Proposed amendments: The Constitution Revision Commission (CRC) meets today to consider amendment proposals, including several that could affect the state's school choice movement. Among them: one that would extend relaxed regulations now enjoyed by charter schools to traditional public schools that receive state grades of B or above for three straight years; getting rid of the state’s restriction on public funding of religious activity; eliminating limits on the Legislature’s authority to create educational programs; and allowing the Legislature to create non-district charter school authorizers. redefinED. By allowing members to engage in secret talks, the CRC risks the invalidation of all its work, according to a dozen open government advocacy groups. Those kinds of private policy discussions are "just part of the process," says CRC member Erika Donalds. Politico Florida.
