Education bills: The Florida House passes several education bills. Among them: Allowing students to enroll in any public school that has a vacancy, making the teacher bonuses program permanent, and giving charter schools an easier path to open in exchange for greater financial transparency. Miami Herald. News Service of Florida. Lakeland Ledger. WFSU.

School recess: A bill requiring daily recess at Florida elementary schools passes in the House but is stalled in the Senate. That's not stopping the group known as the "recess moms" from continuing to promote the idea. Orlando Sentinel. Miami Herald. Politico Florida. Gradebook.

Test stress: The preparation and anticipation of the Florida Standards Assessments tests puts a lot of stress on students and teachers. The tests begin Feb. 29. WJHG.

Testing opt-out: Seminole County school officials outline a process for handling students who won't be participating in state testing. And here's how Pasco County is handling the issue. Gradebook.

Text message update: Duval County School Board member Constance Hall apologizes for sending text messages to a school staffer calling for Superintendent Nikolai Vitti's firing and labeling one of his proposals "special ed in action." But she remains critical of Vitti's leadership skills. Florida Times-Union.

Book decisions: Brevard County School Board member Amy Kneessy is proposing a way to have more people challenge books used by Brevard schools. She also thinks the school board should have the final say on whether certain books remain in classrooms and library shelves. She says her proposals are just a way to make sure children are exposed to age-appropriate material. Florida Today. (more…)