Bright Futures: Incoming Senate President Joe Negron, R-Palm Coast, says he intends to bolster the Bright Futures program to cover full tuition and fees. When the program started in 1996 it covered full tuition for 179,000 students. By 2015, it covered about half the tuition for 100,170 students. GateHouse Florida.

Education on trial: Closing arguments are made in the civil trial accusing Florida of not fulfilling its constitutional mandate to provide a quality education for all public school students. Attorneys for Citizens for Strong Schools argue that the state's racial achievement gap, emphasis on testing and lack of adequate funding keep it from fulfilling a 1998 constitutional amendment. Attorneys for the Department of Education and the Legislature say the state is a national leader in education and still improving. Circuit Court Judge George Reynolds III is expected to rule within the next several weeks. Orlando Sentinel. Miami Herald. Associated Press. Politico Florida. News Service of Florida.

Charter schools: A state auditor general report shows that the Broward County School District failed to make closing checklists of items such as books, computers and furniture for 5 of 22 charter schools that shut down from 2012-2015. And for 11 of 17 schools with checklists, items on the checklist either weren't returned or weren't documented. Sun-Sentinel. The Bay Haven Charter Academy Board of Directors approves spending up to $300,000 toward a new North Bay Haven Elementary School in Panama City. Panama City News Herald.

School board group: A relatively new school board association is receiving $200,000 in state money to help set up training for members. The Florida Coalition of School Board Members, which champions conservative values, was founded in 2015 as an alternative to the 80-year-old Florida School Boards Association. The FSBA has opposed the Legislature's support for voucher-like programs. Miami Herald.

Pre-K ratings: For a second straight year, no grades will be issued for the 6,200 preschools in Florida's voluntary prekindergarten program. Failures in the ratings process the past two years have prompted the state to skip the ratings for the next two years while officials try to find a better way to rate the schools. Palm Beach Post. (more…)