H.B. 7069 lawsuits: The Hillsborough County School Board chooses not to join other districts in suing the state over the constitutionality of the new education law, H.B. 7069. Board members say a suit would cost too much money, take too much staff time and potentially contaminate relationships with state legislators. Fourteen other districts have announced their intention to join the lawsuit, which has not yet been filed. Tampa Bay Times. The Palm Beach County School District files its challenge to H.B. 7069 in Leon County Circuit Court. The suit claims the law unconstitutionally forces districts to share local property tax revenue with charters, and specifically targets just those provisions that require districts to share property tax proceeds with charters. School board members chose to file their own suit instead of joining other districts. Palm Beach Post. redefinED.
Makeup days: The Hernando County School District will use extra minutes already built into its daily schedule to make up the time lost to Hurricane Irma. Only Moton Elementary does not have that time available, since it's a turnaround school and is required to have 60 extra minutes a day for reading. So eight minutes a day has been added to Moton's schedule. Tampa Bay Times. Duval County school officials detail the setting up of hurricane shelters in schools, and the ensuing teardown and cleanup to prepare for the resumption of classes. Florida Times-Union.
Social media boost: Lake County School Board members are encouraging the county's schools to launch and maintain Facebook and Twitter accounts in order to better communicate with students and parents. “I am pretty excited,” says board chairman Marc Dodd. “We definitely understand the value of communicating that way and how many people it can reach.” Existing employee and student conduct rules will apply to the use of the platforms, and the district will offer training. Daily Commercial.
