Teacher pay. Gov. Rick Scott embarks on his Teacher Pay Raise Pep Rally Tour. Coverage from the South Florida Sun Sentinel, Palm Beach Post, Florida Times Union, Associated Press, StateImpact Florida. Teachers are "fed up with being used as political pawns," says Pinellas teachers union president Kim Black in this Steve Bousquet piece.

Charter schools. Gradebook pulls up some stats before today's discussion about charter schools at the Pasco County School Board. An amendment to the charter school bill makes it easier for charter schools to fire teachers, Gradebook also reports.

School security. The elementary school principals in Hillsborough who have armed guards in their schools like them. Tampa Bay Times.

School discipline. Hillsborough needs to follow up on conversations to address high suspension rates for black males. Tampa Bay Times.

School spending. Freeze in financially troubled Manatee. Bradenton Herald. (more…)

School turnarounds. Tampa Bay Times education editor Tom Tobin offers his take on what it takes: "a long, slow slog that requires principals and teachers to keep on task, stay inspired and fight through times when things don't seem to be working." The Times also offers a statistical snapshot of the five Pinellas schools on the turnaround list.

Legislature. Fund Education Now co-founder Christine Bramuchi offers her take on what happened in this year's session in a Q&A with the Orlando Sentinel. John Romano does here. The Palm Beach Post does here. Orlando Sentinel rundown here. Tallahassee Democrat here. Times/Herald here.

Florida's progress. Accountability through school grades has made a positive difference, writes Matt Ladner at Jay P. Greene Blog.

Teachers unions. The Florida Education Association has been operating without its tax-exempt status since January. Florida Center for Investigative Reporting.

Teacher pay. The Broward County School Board agrees to give extra money to high-performing teachers at low-performing schools. Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel.

Teacher conduct.  A Broward County band teacher is accused of marijuana-fueled, sexual trysts with a student, reports the South Florida Sun Sentinel. In another teacher conduct case, the Palm Beach Post has the latest on a former private school teacher accused of giving students candy in return for sex acts.

Parent trigger. StateImpact Florida does a Storify on the post-trigger battle over #parentempowerment. Margo Pope from Florida Voices: "Parents already have options in state law that empower them. They don’t need another law. They need to know how to use what is already on the books." (more…)

Parent trigger. Another year, another defeat for the parent trigger. Coverage from Tampa Bay Times, StateImpact Florida, Orlando Sentinel, Palm Beach Post, Tallahassee Democrat, Associated Press, Education Week, Sarasota Herald Tribune.

Marco Rubio. Visits a Tampa private school to tout his federal tax credit scholarship bill - and says nice things about public schools along the way. redefinED.

Teacher pay. Maybe teachers will get money for raises sooner rather than later after all. Miami Herald, Palm Beach Post, Orlando Sentinel, Associated Press.

School discipline. Hillsborough district officials are taking a closer look at the disproportionate number of suspensions for black males. Tampa Bay Times.

School turnarounds. Pinellas has five schools facing state intervention, but 11 other D schools may he headed that way, warns Superintendent Mike Grego, reports the Tampa Bay Times. Staff at the five must reapply for their jobs, reports the Tampa Tribune. (more…)

Parent trigger. Who are Sunshine Parents, a group tied to parent trigger? Tampa Bay Times. More on AnswerSheet. More questions about who signed or didn't sign a petition in support of parent trigger, reports The Buzz.

Turnaround schools. A number of schools in Pinellas and Hillsborough face prescriptive state intervention plans because they continue to struggle, reports Tampa Bay Times. Finding the right applicants to re-staff Lacoochee Elementary, a similar school in Pasco may be tough, the Times also reports. But don't give up on it, writes a volunteer in a Times op-ed. More from the Tampa Tribune.

Charter schools. Lawmakers agree to give charters $91 million for construction and maintenance, reports the Tampa Bay Times. The Lakeland Ledger writes up the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools report on the research showing academic gains for charter students. An appeals court sides with the Seminole school district in its decision to deny a charter school application, reports the Orlando Sentinel.

Career academies. An aerospace academy at Boynton Beach High School has big plans. Palm Beach Post.

Vouchers. Bad. Gainesville Sun.

Teacher pay. The House and Senate reach a compromise that Andy Ford applauds. The Buzz. More from Associated Press and Tallahassee Democrat. (more…)

Virtual schools. Florida Virtual School is battling proposed budget cuts, reports Associated Press. A state investigation finds online provider K12 Inc. employed three teachers who lacked proper certification to teach some subjects, reports StateImpact Florida.

Magnet schools. A Hillsborough high school best known for its football program starts an academic program heavy on dual enrollment. Tampa Bay Times.

Charter schools. Neighbors are upset about plans for a 2,000-student Academica charter school in East Kendall. Miami Herald.

District charter schools. The Polk district's Step Up Academies for struggling students (no connection to Step Up For Students, which co-hosts this blog) are being asked by district officials to be even more like schools within schools. Lakeland Ledger.

Common Core. Protesters at the Capitol, reports StateImpact Florida. Tony Bennett's thoughts on PARCC, also from StateImpact Florida. (more…)

Parent trigger. Rep. Joe Saunders, D-Orlando, writes in this Orlando Sentinel op-ed that parents should have the choice to keep their child with a teacher with a bad eval. In this Tampa Bay Times letter to the editor, Carlos Alfonso with the Foundation for Florida's Future dispels parent trigger myths furthered by Times columnist John Romano.

Online learning. Both the House and Senate agree on a new way of calculating per-student spending that will result in an $8 million cut to virtual education, reports The Buzz. Study funding for virtual courses rather than cut it for Florida Virtual School, editorializes the Orlando Sentinel. St. Petersburg College creates a MOOC for remedial math, reports the Tampa Bay Times. Nine Hillsborough schools are experimenting with BYOD, the Times also reports. The Helios Foundation and SRI International are working to create a Center for Digital Learning in St. Petersburg, the Times also reports.

Charter schools. Parents fight the closing of the struggling Bradenton Charter School. Sarasota Herald Tribune.

Dual enrollment. Community college leaders say they may have to restrict the increasingly popular program if lawmakers don't better fund it. Orlando Sentinel.

Common Core. The Glenn Beck-fueled notion that Common Core is a leftist plot shows "we have officially arrived at Crazytown." Beth Kassab.

School spending. After convincing voters that the Seminole school district was in a financial bind, district leaders now aren't sure whether they need to collect the extra tax money. Orlando Sentinel. (more…)

Charter schools. The Pinellas school board will again consider whether to sell a vacant middle school building to a proposed charter school, reports Gradebook. A new charter school in Immokalee that will use blended learning is now enrolling students , reports the Naples Daily News.

Data. The Bradenton Herald editorial board: The data access bill by Sen. Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, won't compromise student privacy.

School choice. Jewish educators and leaders lobby for expanded school choice in the Capitol. Lubavitch.com.

Teacher evals. State Impact Florida: "A new study says error rates for teacher evaluations based on student test scores is “quite high,” but that the evaluations may still be more accurate than traditional measures."

Gays and lesbians. U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen files legislation to better protect gay and lesbian students from bullying, reports the Miami Herald. In support of the bill, a Leesburg eighth-grader tells reporters about being harassed, reports the Orlando Sentinel. (more…)

Parent trigger. Parent trigger is not worth the fuss, writes Orlando Sentinel columnist Beth Kassab: "We're wasting time with political gamesmanship over a bill that both sides are making a bigger stink over than it's worth."

Tony Bennett. New Indiana Superintendent Glenda Ritz accuses former super Tony Bennett, of wasteful spending on technology. Indianapolis Star.

English language learners. The growing challenge of growing numbers of ELLs. Associated Press.

Teacher retention. Pinellas is looking at ways to better recruit and retain teachers at high-needs schools. Finally. Gradebook.

Teacher evaluations. The Florida Education Association is planning to file suit over the new eval system, with details coming today. Gradebook and Orlando Sentinel.

Teacher pay. Miami-Dade teachers get performance-based bonuses - and cheer. Miami Herald. (more…)

Virtual schools. In an Orlando Sentinel op-ed, U.S. Rep. Daniel Webster, R-Winter Garden, politely suggests to the Florida Legislature that cutting funding for Florida Virtual School is a bad idea.

Charter schools. Many charter schools struggle under the state's funding system to spend enough in the classroom, reports the Daytona Beach News Journal. Parents of struggling Bradenton Charter School plea with Manatee board members to keep the school open, reports the Bradenton Herald.

Magnet schools. The possibility of new ones is under consideration in Pinellas as the district looks at potential remedies for 11 struggling schools. Tampa Bay Times.

Parent trigger. Education Commissioner Tony Bennett suggested changing the bill to give school boards final say reports StateImpact Florida. The bill is a "simplistic sham," writes the Palm Beach Post.

Diplomas. The House unanimously passes a bill to provide alternative pathways to graduation, including more emphasis on career education, and sends it to Gov. Rick Scott. Coverage from Tampa Bay Times, South Florida Sun Sentinel, Orlando Sentinel, Associated Press, Tallahassee Democrat.

Board of Education. The Tampa Bay Times documents the downfall of former board member Akshay Desai's health care business.

Educator conduct. Four Orange County staffers are disciplined after making disparaging comments on facebook about students with disabilities. SchoolZone.

Testing. FCAT time again, notes the Daytona Beach News Journal. Preparing for the FCAT and other tests online has been a challenge, writes the Tampa Bay Times. Testing time is eating into computer use, reports the Palm Beach Post. A prime example of testing going too far, writes Orlando Sentinel columnist Scott Maxwell. (more…)

Virtual schools. In the wake of concerns about funding cuts to Florida Virtual School, the Senate Rules Committee approves an amendment that would require the DOE to study funding for online courses and offer recommendations. StateImpact Florida.

Charter schools. The town of Juno Beach says no to allowing a charter school to open in a shopping center. Palm Beach Post.

Parent trigger. Miami Herald columnist Daniel Shoer Roth doesn't like it, calling it a "scam" and part of the "crusade to privatize public education."

Diplomas. The Senate okays more options for earning a high school diploma, including tracks that emphasize career education. Coverage from Orlando Sentinel, Gradebook, News Service of Florida, Tallahassee Democrat,  Panama City News Herald.

School spending. The Senate approves a proposed budget that includes a $1.2 billion increase for public education, reports The Buzz and the Associated Press. The Palm Beach County school district is facing a $35 million capital budget deficit, reports the South Florida Sun Sentinel. But that's better than the $60 million initially predicted, reports the Palm Beach Post. The Pinellas school district is cutting some high school librarians, reports Gradebook. In Pasco, no raises for a sixth year in a row, reports the Tampa Bay Times. Escambia district employees will get 2 percent more, reports the Pensacola News Journal. (more…)