Charter schools. Orange County approves three charter schools, but rejects two. Orlando Sentinel. Charter school group Academica is rebuffed in an effort to open a school in Colorado. Aurora Sentinel. A Palm Beach virtual charter school leader is accused of steering money to his own company. Palm Beach Post. Indian River school board members reject charter applications. Indian River Press Journal. Students at a Brevard charter grow their own lunches. Florida Today.
Special needs. New resources for special needs children are on both legislative leaders' agendas. News Service of Florida. Sunshine State News. redefinED.
Budgets. Pasco sales tax revenue climbs. Gradebook.
Testing. Opt-out organizers see an opportunity in recent testing controversies. Gradebook.
Acceptance. A "gender-neutral" student is sent home for wearing a dress to school, sparking a movement against bullying and intolerance. Tallahassee Democrat.
Common Core. Hernando parents demand changes to the district's new curriculum. Tampa Bay Times.
Charter schools. The City of North Miami faces another setback in its bid to open a charter school. Miami Herald. A charter school funding study is disputed. StateImpact.
Pre-K. Pasco schools consider expanding their early learning offerings. Tampa Bay Times.
Tax credit scholarships. Orlando Sentinel Columnist Scott Maxwell cribs a zombie metaphor to rail against the program.
Testing. Education Commissioner Pam Stewart , PolitiFact and a Palm Beach Post column smack down a lawmaker's recent statement about the state's new standardized tests promoting homosexuality.
Merit pay. The Alachua County school board grapples with ways to implement a new pay system in the coming school year. Gainesville Sun.
Facilities. Hernando County officials pitch a one-cent sales tax that would help pay for school construction. Tampa Bay Times. Students at one Hernando elementary school will get to stay in their buildings as the school gets renovated, the Times reports.
Superintendents. A contract extension for Lee's superintendent is pushed back amid talk of a pay hike. Fort Myers News-Press. The St. Lucie superintendent apologizes to parents for other employees' misconduct. St. Lucie News Tribune.
Politics. An outspoken Orange County School Board member announces plans to run for a State Senate seat that will be vacated by Sen. Andy Gardiner. Sentinel School Zone.
Discipline. Pinellas plans changes to its code of conduct. Tampa Tribune.
Summer school. Pasco schools may expand their summer school programs. Tampa Bay Times.
Education legislation. StateImpact takes a look at where key education issues stand - including tax credit scholarships and funding for charter schools - at the midway point of the legislative session.
School rankings. The Washington Post ranks six Florida magnet and charter schools in the top 20 on this year's list of the most challenging schools in the country. More here.
Tax credit scholarships. Florida's program is the largest of its kind in the nation. WCTV. More from RedefinED.
School boundaries. Despite concerns about the impact charter schools could have on enrollment, Palm Beach County school district officials plan to alter zoning boundaries to relieve overcrowding at some locations. Palm Beach Post.
Magnet schools. A struggling Miami-Dade middle school could soon add a magnet program. Miami Herald.
School recognition. Palm Beach County schools bring in $8.4 million in bonuses this year. Sun-Sentinel. Gov. Rick Scott touts the money during a visit. Palm Beach Post.
Testing. The Utah Board of Education reaches a deal to allow Florida to lease its testing systems. Desert News, via Gradebook.
Closures. The Brevard school board is set to take up new procedures for closing schools in the future. Florida Today.
Jeb Bush on FCAT, Common Core, bipartisanship. He tells StateImpact Florida, “Education is one of the few places where you have left-right coalitions that are for reform and left-right coalitions that are against reform. It’s not as monolithic as other areas of policy.”
Orange school board considers more school choice. It’s considering a policy that would allow students at over-capacity schools to enroll at under-capacity schools, reports the Orlando Sentinel.
More on charter school funding. Orlando Sentinel.
Charter school teacher raises. Represented by the Broward Teachers Union, the charter school teachers in the Pembroke Pines system win a raise through arbitration, reports the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
Proposed cut scores. For biology and geometry end of course exams and FCAT science. From Gradebook. From Sentinel.
FEA talks teacher evaluations today. From the News Service of Florida: Members of the Florida Education Association discuss impacts of the new teacher evaluation system that was created as a result of SB 736 setting up merit pay. FEA President Andy Ford and teachers participate.
