Districts trying to cope: Florida Panhandle school districts are assessing damages from Hurricane Michael and trying to cobble together recovery plans to get schools reopened. In hardest-hit Bay County, school officials say they are developing shared campus plans and hope to make an announcement by the end of the week. In Gulf County, the district hopes to reopen schools in two weeks, also by sharing schools. Other district still closed at least through this week and possibly longer are Calhoun, Franklin, Jackson, Liberty and Washington. Gadsden County reopens today. News Service of Florida. Florida Department of Education. WMBB. Associated Press. Education Week. WFSU. Miami Herald. Pensacola News Journal. Florida Today. Forty-six displaced students enroll in Leon County schools. Tallahassee Democrat. WFSU. Educators around the state are collecting donations for schools affected by the hurricane. Gradebook. Ocala Star-Banner. Pensacola News Journal.
ACT test scores: Florida students scored an average of 19.9 on the ACT test, which is both below the national average and scores from comparable states, and represents no improvement over the past four years. About 80 percent of those tested scored so low in English, math, reading and science that ACT officials say they can't be considered prepared for college work. Nearly 120,000 Florida students took the exam. “We know it is not good” to score a 19.9 and see so many students who aren’t considered college-ready, says Stacey Rutledge, an associate professor in Florida State University’s Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies. Florida Phoenix. (more…)
Scholarships review: Florida’s most disadvantaged students continue to make solid academic gains through use of the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship program, according to the latest annual evaluation of standardized test results released by the Florida Department of Education. Students on scholarships were "relatively more disadvantaged and lower-performing prior to entering the ... program," concluded the researchers from the Learning Systems Institute at Florida State University, yet once on the scholarship, the students “maintain his or her relative position in comparison with all students nationally in both reading and math.” Step Up For Students, which hosts this blog, helps administer the tax credit program, which is the largest in the country, as well as Gardiner, Hope and reading scholarship programs. redefinED.
Video ordered released: An appeals court rules that a surveillance video showing how law enforcement officers responded during the shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14 is a public record and should be released by the Broward County Sheriff's Office in the next 48 hours. News organizations argued for the release, while the Broward state attorney's office argued against it because it's part of an ongoing criminal investigation. “Parents have such a high stake in the ultimate decisions that they must have access to camera video footage here at issue and not blindly rely on school board experts to make decisions for them,” the 4th District Court of Appeal judges wrote. Associated Press. Sun-Sentinel. (more…)
Enrollment slowdown: State analysts project that Florida's K-12 public school enrollment will grow by less than 17,000 students in the 2019-2020 school year, to about 2.86 million. That's just an 0.6 percent increase over the forecast 2.84 million students expected when schools start in August. Analysts think the state's various scholarship programs are in part responsible for the slowing growth. A new program, the Hope Scholarship for bullied students to transfer or get a state scholarship to attend private schools, begins this year and is expected to send 6,400 students to private schools by 2019-2020. Step Up For Students, which hosts this blog, helps administer the scholarship. News Service of Florida.
Federal funding risk: Florida risks losing $1.1 billion in federal education aid if its impasse with the U.S. Department of Education over compliance with the Every Student Succeeds Act is not resolved soon. Florida is the only state without an approved plan. The state is resisting giving state assessments tests in languages other than English for those who are just learning the language, and also in breaking down results by more student subgroups in order to target specific schools for assistance. Education Week.
Counseling firm investigation: A mental health counseling firm working in several Florida school districts is being investigated for possible Medicaid fraud by the state attorney general's office. Motivational Coaches of America (MCUSA) offers free counseling to at-risk students. But an investigation by the Palm Beach Post showed the company focused largely on so-called "sponsored" children, or those with insurance or on Medicaid. The company has received more than $400,000 from Medicaid in the past two years, and has gotten unwanted public attention recently when counselors quit because they hadn't been paid. Miami New Times. WJXT. MCUSA withdraws an offer to counsel students for free in Manatee County, just a day before the school board was going to consider the proposal. No explanation was given for the company's decision. Bradenton Herald. (more…)
Teachers losing jobs: More than 900 Florida teachers - many of whom were rated effective on their evaluations - are out of a job because they couldn't pass the Florida Teacher Certification Exam. The exam, which includes a variety of subject area exams and general knowledge tests, was toughened three years ago and the number of teachers failing continues to rise, despite state officials' belief that scores will improve over time. The failures are putting a strain on districts that are already struggling to hire teachers. “Yes, these are good teachers," says Gail Williams, director of the Palm Beach County School District’s Department of Retention and Recruitment, about the 148 her district is losing. "It’s frustrating because we would have loved to have kept those teachers.” WFTS.
GOP backs Amendment 8: The Republican Party of Florida is donating $100,000 in support of constitutional Amendment 8, which would impose term limits on school board members, require civics education for all Florida students and allow entities other than local school boards to approve charter schools and other public education initiatives. The Florida League of Women Voters and the Southern Poverty Law Center recently filed a lawsuit alleging that the proposal is misleading and is asking a court to remove the amendment from the ballot. News Service of Florida. The Sarasota County School Board squabbles over a resolution to oppose Amendment 8, eventually voting 3-2 in favor of it. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Florida League of Women Voters president Patricia Brigham talks about her group's lawsuit to try to have Amendment 8 removed from the November ballot. Gradebook. (more…)
Charters and Amendment 8: Charter school companies are providing the bulk of the financial support for Amendment 8, the proposed constitutional amendment that would impose a two-term limit on Florida school board members, require civics literacy and give the Legislature more authority to create alternatives to public schools, such as charter schools. The 8isGreat.org political committee has raised $54,532 in support of Amendment 8 through June, according to state election records. Amendments need the approval of 60 percent of voters to be enacted. News Service of Florida.
Charter school funding: Whether charter schools can expect an equal per-student share of school district money raised when voters approve an increase in property taxes hinges on a legal interpretation. State law requires districts to share “current operating discretionary millage levy” with charter schools, but the Palm Beach County School Board recently got a legal opinion that says it does not. The school board will decide next week whether to share increased revenue if voters approve an increase in property taxes. redefinED.
Schools and pot dispensaries: Duval County School Board members are asking local officials to add restrictions to keep medical marijuana dispensaries from opening near three-dozen schools. They say because the facilities deal in cash, they could become robbery targets. “We have had enough code red lockdowns in the past year,” says board member Warren Jones. “There’s no need to increase them because a marijuana facility was robbed.” Jacksonville City Council members say by law, dispensaries must be treated like pharmacies and can open in most commercial areas. Florida Times-Union. (more…)
Immigrants and GED: The Miami-Dade County School Board has ordered a review of the way the district educates immigrant students. The review was approved about a month after newspaper reports detailed how arriving teens with limited English skills were often pushed into adult education programs, where they then prepared to get a high school diploma through the GED program. Critics of that process say those students are steered away from regular high schools because school officials think they'll have a negative impact on graduation rates. More than 1,000 of the 5,000 immigrant teens who arrived this year ended up in Spanish-language GED programs. Board members gave administrators until September to conduct the review and report back. Miami Herald. About 200 immigrant youths under the age of 19 who tried to enroll in Collier County schools were turned away and pushed toward a GED degree, online programs and workforce training sessions, according to a lawsuit filed on their behalf by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Here's the story of one, 17-year-old Nehemy Antoine, a Haitian immigrant who became a U.S. citizen. Teacher Project, Naples Daily News.
School security: A Palm Beach grand jury's suggestion that the school district dip into its reserves to pay for school resource officers is dismissed by school officials as a simplistic and unrealistic solution to a complicated problem. They say the reserve fund as a percentage of the annual budget is already lower than that of most Florida districts, and that reserves should not be used for everyday expenses like new employees and higher salaries. Palm Beach Post. While Sanibel, Fort Myers or Cape Coral city officials have agreed to contribute financially to place resource officers in schools in their cities, officials in Estero and Bonita Springs are still questioning whether it's their responsibility. They think school protection ought to fall under what they already pay the county for the sheriff to police their cities. Naples Daily News. Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods drops the cost to supply resource officers for schools, and if the city of Ocala can't do the same the school board is likely to contract with the sheriff. The board meets Monday to finalize its decision. Ocala Star-Banner. Officials from the St. Johns County School District and sheriff's office talk about how the county will comply with the state's school security mandate. St. Augustine Record. (more…)
District-hospital deal: The Volusia County School District and a local hospital reach an unusual agreement that gives the hospital advertising rights in the district in exchange for health care services and education for students. The program will be known as the Florida Hospital Healthy Futures Program of Volusia County Schools. District officials call the deal “a first of its kind agreement between a school district and major health care provider that will serve as a national model.” The contract is for five years and requires Florida Hospital to pay $200,000 a year and provide $1 million of in-kind services. Florida Hospital becomes the district’s “Official Health Care Champion," and will have direct involvement in the district’s 15 health care academies and programs, support athletic teams and physical trainers and provide health care services to students at 36 schools with high student absenteeism. Daytona Beach News-Journal.
School security: Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw has rejected a request to provide 50 deputies on overtime to patrol dozens of elementary schools, and district officials now say they will consider hiring private security guards. Palm Beach Post. A report from Sarasota School Superintendent Todd Bowden that an agreement was reached with the sheriff's office to provide school resource officers is refuted by the sheriff. District officials later said it was just an idea being floated, and that the district will go ahead with its plan to create its own police department. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Paul Grohowski, the new Sarasota County School District's police chief, has made decisions in his past three jobs that caused controversy. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Leon County school officials say they have a deal to pay the sheriff's office $1.9 million to provide resource officers for 30 schools, and will spend $1 million to hire off-duty officers for the remaining 18 elementary schools. Tallahassee Democrat. The city of Cape Coral is considering ways to help Lee County put an armed school resource officer in each of the city's schools. The cost for the 23 officers needed will be more than $1 million a year. WFTX. Like public schools, Catholic schools are struggling to find the money to provide security for students. redefinED. (more…)
School safety task force: The Broward County School District's controversial alternative discipline program, Promise, is the focus of the second meeting of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Safety Commission. School officials defend the program, saying it has reduced the schools-to-prison pipeline that has been a problem in Broward. Members of the panel are skeptical that the program changes behavior, and want more answers at the next meeting July 10 and 11. “We need to dig deep into this ... program,” says commission member Grady Judd, who is the sheriff in Polk County. News Service of Florida. Associated Press. Sun-Sentinel. Miami Herald. TCPalm. Politico Florida. Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, who chairs the state safety commission, says he believes lawmakers did set aside enough money to pay for an armed safety officer at all schools. Politico Florida. Andrew Pollack, whose daughter Meadow died in the Parkland shootings, resigns from the commission, saying he wants to concentrate on his own investigation of the tragedy and on electing new members to the Broward County School Board. Sun-Sentinel. Miami Herald. Politico Florida.
School security: Members of the Marion County School Board say the $5.3 million cost to put certified law enforcement officers in every school may force them to consider arming employees at some elementary schools. Ocala Star-Banner. Volusia County school officials want to add six more school resource officers and hire 44 school guardians for school security, but are having trouble reaching an agreement with local law enforcement agencies on how to pay for them. Daytona Beach News-Journal. Many city officials in Brevard County disagree with the school district's plan to put school resource officers where it can and fill the gaps with security specialists, and are finding money for SROs. Florida Today. The Jackson County School Board approves the creation of a police department for the school district. WMBB. A report commissioned by the Palm Beach County School District suggests the district should proceed with its plan to create its own police force. Earlier this week, a consultant hired by the sheriff recommended that the school police force merge with the sheriff's office. Palm Beach Post. (more…)
