Across the state: Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a financial literacy bill, the school board in Escambia is meeting about weapons policies, reading level disparities in Alachua and funding woes in Leon. Here are details about those stories and other developments from the state's districts, private schools, and colleges and universities:

Brevard: The Brevard chapter of Moms for Liberty sent Brevard Public Schools a second list of books that the group deemed pornographic. The chapter has been reading books from high school and middle school libraries to find materials that members think violate pornography laws. Florida Today.

Pasco: Kirkland Ranch Academy of Innovation will be opening this fall in Wesley Chapel. Students at the school will have the chance to get certified in one of 10 programs. They can then continue on to college or into the workforce. The $70 million campus will be state of the art.   ABC Action News.

Escambia: County school board members are meeting about changing a policy that allows 18-year-old students to legally have a gun in their vehicle on school campuses. The school district is calling the policy a "loophole." WEAR TV.

Leon: Leon County Schools will miss out on millions in education funding due to an increase in students taking advantage of new state laws that allow district funds to go to private schools. The district will finish the 2021-22 budget year with a $11.5 million deficit. Tallahassee Democrat.  A beloved former Leon High School teacher named Sara Lamar passed away, leaving behind a legacy of literacy. Tallahassee Democrat.

Alachua: The public school system here has the largest disparity of reading levels between Black and white students in the state, according to data from the Florida Department of Education. The data shows a gap of 47 percentage points between reading levels of white and Black students in Alachua, which are 72 % and 25%, respectively. The reading gap here is larger than the statewide average of 29 percentage points. WUFT. Meanwhile, school officials at Littlewood Elementary School want faculty members to complete online security training to combat online security risks. WUFT.

St. Johns: Schools in this district teamed up for hands-on activities to learn about the ecosystem and how to be better stewards of the environment by doing activities like planting their own vegetables. CBS 47.

Citrus: The Citrus High School concert band is preparing to compete at the state level for the second time in about 30 years. In April, they will travel to the University of Florida's Phillips Center for the State Concert Music Performance Assessment (MPA). Citrus County Chronicle. 

Flagler: The Flagler County Commission is considering ending a long-standing smart-growth rule that there would no longer have to be sufficient school capacity for new developments to move forward. The change involves a proposed revision of the county's Comprehensive Plan, eliminating the "school concurrency" requirement. Flagler Live.  The Flagler County Commission also voted 5-0 this week to approve the first increase in school impact fees in 17 years. The move ended a seven-month confrontation between the commission and the school board as the commission refused to approved the board's initial request for an increase and pushed for concessions favoring home builders that the school board was not willing to make. Flagler Live.  

Monroe: A Catholic high school will return to Key West in 2023, answering the requests of local parents and families who wanted their child's Catholic-school education at The Basilica School of St. Mary's Star of the Sea to continue beyond eighth grade. Keys Weekly.

Financial literacy: Gov. DeSantis signed a bill Tuesday that would require high schools students to know financial literacy. He announced the signing of the bill during a news conference Tuesday with Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran and Senate President Wilton Simpson at the Innovation Preparatory Academy in Wesley Chapel. The bill would require all Florida high school students to meet a financial literacy one half credit requirement in order to graduate. The requirement would begin sometime between the 2023 and 2024 school year. WXTL. WESH.  Fox 13.  WPLG.

Education degrees: Colleges of education say enrollment has been steadily declining for the past decade as teacher dissatisfaction rates rise and concerns about teacher shortages intensify. The pandemic has likely made things even worse. Education Week.

Supreme Court news: Ketanji Brown Jackson is making history as the first Black woman to be nominated to the nation's highest court, changing the way some students see themselves. WLRN.

University and college news: University of South Florida has chosen Rhea Law as their new president. Law will become the eighth person to hold the job. The nomination is pending approval by the state Board of Governors next week. Law is an attorney who has been interim president since August after former President Steven Currall stepped down. Tampa Bay Times. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Theater and engineering students at the University of West Florida recently joined forces to design and fabricate a giant mechanical lion to be used on stage in the upcoming performance of "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe." Pensacola News Journal.

Opinions on schools: Opponents of school choice such as the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers argue that vouchers, education savings accounts and other parent-centered reforms would "drain resources" from public schools. But this reasoning should finally be put to bed. Dan Lips, reimaginED. Chronic absenteeism skyrocketed during the pandemic. Even when absences are for "excused" reasons, like health or transportation issues, families can experience a lack of support that feels like pain in addition to punishment. Joanna Smith-Griffin, The 74th.

Priorities. The Pinellas County school district plans to increase its focus on lifting achievement among low-income black students. Tampa Bay Times.

Charter schools. The Pinellas school board announces another, last-ditch attempt to save two foundering charter schools. Gradebook.

College courses. Manatee County principals would have the final say on whether high school students can enter college-level courses under a revised student-progression plan. Bradenton Herald.

Special needs. A special needs preschool on the Space Coast plans to add a kindergarten. Florida Today.

STEM. How Monroe County is expanding access to computer science courses. Bridge to Tomorrow. Escambia schools run a computer science camp. Pensacola News-Journal.
(more…)

School counselors: Lee County schools' tight budget has left the district with one school counselor to every 532 high students, one to 565 middle school students and one to 923 elementary students. The recommended ratio is 1-250 at every school level. News-Press.

Ivy league: This senior and farmerworker's son might be the first kid from rural LaBelle to go to an Ivy League college. News-Press.

High marks: Duval County schools Superintendent Nikolai Vitti gives himself high marks on a self-evaluation after seven months on the job. Florida Times-Union.

New Super: Polk County's new schools Superintendent Kathryn LeRoy lays out her plan to improve academic achievement and address the budget deficit. Ledger.

Imagine: Recently-shuttered Imagine Charter School in St. Petersburg performed better on the FCAT this year than many other neighborhood schools, though scores remain extremely low. Tampa Bay Times.

Fired: Scott Kimbrough, a Seminole County teacher accused of having sex with two female students, has been fired. Orlando Sentinel.

Suspended: A first-grade teacher in Hernando County was suspended after an investigation into allegations that she yelled at a student, made disparaging remarks about him and hit him in the chest with a backpack. Tampa Bay Times.

Accreditation: Miami-Dade public schools is looking for districtwide accreditation from AdvancedED. Miami Herald.

Common Core: Education Commissioner Tony Bennett on the new national education standards: “I do believe that Common Core will be the hinge point where we get our focus back, especially in problem solving and critical analysis at the lower levels.” StateImpact Florida. (more…)

FCAT: Florida releases scores today for reading, math and science. Miami Herald.

Graduation rates: Florida sees strong growth in grad rates, report finds. Gradebook. Florida's high school graduation rates for Hispanics tops nation. Orlando Sentinel and Miami Herald.

Charter school conversion: Rowlett parents weigh the benefits of converting their district school into a charter school. Bradenton Herald.

Advanced Placement: Report praises Orange County schools for improving black students' AP passing rates. Orlando Sentinel.

Teacher conduct: A Skycrest Elementary School teacher faces firing for allegedly abusing two special needs students earlier this year. Tampa Bay Times.

School hiring: Pinellas Superintendent Mike Grego names a new area superintendent and three executive directors for elementary, middle and high school education. Tampa Bay Times. New principal appointments at Campbell Park Elementary, Blanton Elementary, Largo Middle, and Northwest Elementary. Tampa Bay Times. A former principal charged with stealing school property will become the principal of a Boynton Beach charter school. Palm Beach Post.

Teacher unions: Jackson County teachers OK salary proposals. Jackson County Floridian. Monroe County teachers' union and district talk about unpaid furloughs, other negotiations. Keynoter.

Nonrenewed: A Hillsborough County school board candidate loses his job as a district teacher. Tampa Bay Times. (more…)

Charter schools. Some big ideas on tap for today's discussion in the Senate Education Committee, including a proposal to let school districts start their own charter schools. Tampa Bay Times.

Tax credit scholarships. Jewish groups let lawmakers know much they value them. South Florida Sun Sentinel.

Parent trigger. Senate sponsor Kelli Stargel, R-Lakeland, crafts an amendment that would leave the final parent trigger decision to school boards, not the state Board of Education, reports the Tallahassee Democrat. Creative Loafing notes the parent trigger origins on the political left, but inaccurately writes that unlike California, "troubled schools singled out in the Sunshine State would be taken over by a for-profit corporation." Fund Education Now's Kathleen Oropeza pens an anti- parent trigger op-ed for the Gainesville Sun. Former state Sen. Paula Dockery pens one for the Miami Herald.

Virtual schools. SchoolZone writes up the proposed funding cut to Florida Virtual School.

Magnet schools. The proposed Senate budget includes $1.5 million for a proposed STEM magnet in Pasco. Tampa Bay Times. (more…)