H.B. 7069 suit tossed: A Leon County circuit judge throws out a lawsuit by 14 Florida school districts challenging the constitutionality of the Legislature's 2017 education bill, H.B. 7069. The districts argued that the bill is unconstitutional because it takes powers away from local schools boards and forces districts to share local property taxes with charter schools. The state contended the districts had no standing to sue, and that their disagreement with the law was strictly political. The districts are considering whether to appeal. Orlando Sentinel. Tampa Bay Times. Politico Florida. The 74. 

School officers' pay: Resource officers being hired to protect Pinellas County schools will be paid more than many of the teachers in those schools. The new resource officers will be paid $46,410, which is about the same as a Pinellas teacher with 13 years of experience. One major difference: The officers work year-round, while teachers have set vacation breaks and time off in the summers. The district and the sheriff's office are hiring 156 new officers so every county school can have one, as required by the new school security law. Tampa Bay Times.

Audit raps state DOE: State auditors say Florida Department of Education officials obstructed their review of the state's administration of millions of federal student loans by restricting access or delaying responses. "This lack of cooperation and responsiveness created redundancies in audit requests, postponed or frustrated the performance of audit procedures, and provided our auditors little assurance as to the completeness and accuracy of some Department-provided information," auditors reported. Education Commissioner Pam Stewart defends her staff, saying the procedures cited by the auditor are "designed to ensure that responses are timely, accurate, and complete." Politico Florida. (more…)