K-12 budgets: The Florida House Education Appropriations Committee proposes raising the K-12 education budget by $601 million, to $20.3 billion, which is about $150 million more than Gov. Rick Scott requested. The proposal would increase per-student funding from $7,107 to $7,231. About 85 percent of the increase would come from increasing local property taxes, which aligns with Scott's plan. A Senate committee pushed forward a similar bill earlier in the week, but its reliance on local property taxes is unclear. Politico Florida. Florida Politics.

Medicaid for charters: The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services is considering a bill that would give $10 million in Medicaid funds to charter and private schools. Politico Florida.

Teacher bonuses: The House Education Appropriations Subcommittee passes a bill that would renew the program paying $10,000 bonuses for high-performing teachers who scored in the top 20 percent on their SAT or ACT tests. But there are significant differences between the House and Senate bills. Politico Florida. Tallahassee Democrat.

Gender gap: New research based on data collected from Florida middle schools shows that the academic achievement gap between boys and girls widens at lower-performing schools. It also shows a similar trend between boys and girls in suspensions and absences. Washington Post. (more…)