Schools as shelters: A bill is filed that would require any K-12 school that receives construction funding from the state to be available as an emergency shelter or, if it doesn't meet the requirements to be a shelter, for any other use officials think is necessary. That requirement would include charter schools. H.B. 779 was filed by state Rep. Janet Cruz, D-Tampa. No companion bill has yet been filed in the Senate. Gradebook.
School choice growth: New research suggests that the growth of Florida's tax credit scholarship program has not led to a corresponding increase in the number of schools that perform poorly academically. Urban Institute researchers conclude: "This analysis indicates that participation in the [tax credit scholarship] program has not shifted toward schools with weaker track records of improving student outcomes, as measured by two broad categorizations. But it provides less guidance on the ideal level of government regulation in private school choice programs." Step Up For Students, which hosts this blog, helps administer the tax credit scholarship program. The program has grown from 50,000 low-income students receiving scholarships in 2012 to more than 100,000 this year. redefinED.
District consultant: The Duval County School Board will spend $480,000 for a consultant to help turn around eight struggling schools. Turnaround Solutions Inc. was founded by James Young, a former Duval principal with experience in turning around failing schools. Three of the schools have less than a year to boost their grades from the state, while the others have until the end of the 2018-2019 school year. If they don't improve to at least a C grade, state law requires the district to close the schools or allow them to be taken over. Florida Times-Union.
Panel: Turn over school: An oversight committee at Oscar Patterson Elementary School is recommending that the struggling school be turned over to an outside manager. The Bay County school has gotten poor grades from the state the past two years, and under state law the district has to contract with an outside entity to manage the school, close it and transfer the students, or close it and reopen it as a charter school. The recommendation now goes to Superintendent Bill Husfelt. If he agrees with the recommendation, the district must have a signed contract with a management company by Jan. 31, 2018. Panama City News Herald.
Charter schools: The Florida Department of Education overrules the Manatee County School Board's denial of a charter school application last year. Parrish Charter Academy's application was denied because board members decided the school's plan did not meet state standards in five areas and did so only partially in four others. Parrish appealed, and the department followed its charter school appeal commission's recommendation to reverse the denial. Because of the delay, the school may not open until 2019. Bradenton Herald. Plans for the first charter high school in Volusia County have been withdrawn. Officials of the Ivy Hawn School for the Arts and Sciences decided not to present their application after it became clear that Superintendent Tom Russell would recommend to the school board that the application be denied. Ivy Hawn backers say they'll apply next year. Russell also is recommending against approval for a K-8 charter school, Volusia Charter Academy. District officials had doubts about both schools' abilities to handle special-needs students, among other things. Daytona Beach News-Journal.
State of children: Minority children will outnumber white children by 2024, but they continue to lag behind on indicators including reading proficiency, pre-kindergarten enrollment, and poverty by racial group, according to the latest Kids Count report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Florida ranks 29th in well-being of white children, 9th with Hispanic children, and 28th with black children. “We certainly have the data to say this is a national crisis and so many children are falling through the cracks at a faster rate than ever before,” says Florida Kids Count director Dr. Norín Dollard. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Tampa Bay Times.
Filling classrooms: The Hillsborough County School District is preparing a plan that would bring preschool students into empty classrooms. There are about 29,000 empty seats in the district, and Superintendent Jeff Eakins thinks retrofitting them for 3- and 4-year-olds would better prepare the children for school and also make better use of available space. Tampa Bay Times.
Bill would bump pay: A bill to boost pay for teachers and principals is filed by state Rep. Shevrin Jones, D-West Park. Under the bill, H.B. 389, teachers and principals would get a $3,000 raise in 2018, then 3 percent increases in each of the next three years. News Service of Florida.
