Charter company indicted: Newpoint Education Partners and three other companies are indicted for grand theft, money laundering and aggravated white collar crime by an Escambia County grand jury. Newpoint managed charter schools for 21st Century Academy of Pensacola. The indictment alleges that Newpoint and its vendors fraudulently billed the academy hundreds of thousands of dollars for supplies, equipment and services and laundered the proceeds through multiple bank accounts. In 2015, the school board revoked the charters of two Newpoint-run schools in Escambia for tampering with grades and misusing public funds. Newpoint also has had financial problems with four of the five schools it manages in Pinellas County. Pensacola News Journal. Tampa Bay Times.

Top teacher finalist: Donald Blake, a technical education specialist at Marchman Technical College in Pasco County, is one of five finalists for Florida Teacher of the Year. The winner will be announced in July. Tampa Bay Times.

School lunch laws: A proposed change in the federal school lunch program could cut off free meals for thousands of Florida students. The law now says any school with 40 percent of its students eligible for free or reduced-prices lunches can also offer free breakfasts and lunches to all students. The change, which is now before the U.S. House, would raise that threshold to 60 percent. Florida Politics. WJCT.

Impact of new laws: A summary of the impact of the state's new education bills on school districts has been issued by the Florida School Boards Association. Florida School Boards Association.

Crime in schools: Violent crimes and bullying are down in the nation's schools, according to a report by the National Center for Education Statistics and the Justice Department. "Bullying is down, crime is down, but it's not enough," says Peggy G. Carr, acting NCES commissioner. About 3 percent of students 12 to 18 years old said they were victims of crimes at school in 2014, and about 1.3 million students were suspended for at least one school day for violence, weapons possession or alcohol violations. Associated Press. Education Week. (more…)