Charter school scarcity: A new report concludes that Florida has one of the highest number of charter school "deserts," which are defined as three or more contiguous census tracts with poverty rates above 20 percent and no charter elementary schools. The charter-friendly Thomas B. Fordham Institute identified about 20 such areas in and around Miami, Orlando and Tampa/St. Petersburg. "Despite the thousands of charter schools opened [nationally] over the past twenty-five years," the report concludes, "many more are needed if low-income students in every part of America are to have the options they need." Gradebook. redefinED.

H.B. 7069 lawsuit: Duval County School Board members vote against joining an appeal of the latest decision against 13 school boards that are challenging the constitutionality of the state's 2017 education law, H.B. 7069, saying they can't afford to continue. Lee and Bay county school boards have already committed to an appeal. School boards in Alachua, Broward, Clay, Hamilton, Orange, Pinellas, Polk, St. Lucie, Volusia and Wakulla counties have yet to decide. Florida Times-Union.

School shooting defense: The Broward County School Board is trying to limit its liability by having a court label the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School massacre as a single incident with many victims. The board's liability for each incident is $300,000. Seventeen were killed and 17 wounded on Feb. 14, and a lawyer for one of the wounded victims wants the court to declare each victim a separate incident. Sun-Sentinel. (more…)

School testing: State senators will consider competing school testing bills this week. SB 926 would push testing back to the final three weeks of the school year, and the test results would have to be returned to teachers within a week. It's sponsored by Sen. Anitere Flores, R-Miami. The second bill, SB 964, also delays tests until the final month of the school year, but eliminates specific tests, allows districts to give pencil-and-paper tests, and gives principals wider discretion on teacher evaluations. It's sponsored by Sen. Bill Montford, D-Tallahassee. Tallahassee Democrat. Montford is confident his bill will be given consideration, even though it was left off the Senate Education Committee's next meeting agenda while SB 926 was included. Gradebook. An amendment added to the Senate's school testing bill would specify that any school board member could visit any school in his or her district at any day and any time. No school could require advance notice, and a campus escort would not be required. The amendment was proposed by Flores. Gradebook.

School recess: The House has finally scheduled a hearing for a bill that would require recess for elementary school students. But the bill, HB 67, has several significant differences from the Senate bill, which has moved through committees and is headed to the Senate floor. The House bill calls for daily recess time, but allows schools to count recess time toward physical education class requirements, allows P.E. classes to count for recess time, and removes fourth- and fifth-graders from the requirement. Miami Herald.

Graduation rates: A bill drafted late last week in the House would count students who move from traditional high schools to alternative charter or private schools in the graduation rate of the school the student left. The bill surfaced just after the Florida Department of Education announced it would investigate whether traditional high schools were pushing struggling students into alternative charter schools in order to boost their graduation rates. That investigation was sparked by a report in ProPublica in February. redefinED. (more…)

Trump and choice: President Donald Trump called education "the civil rights issue of our time" during his speech to Congress Tuesday. He urged legislators to "pass an education bill that funds school choice for disadvantaged youth, including millions of African-American and Latino children. These families should be free to choose the public, private, charter, magnet, religious, or home school that is right for them." Education Week. Los Angeles Times. Florida's Denisha Merriweather is cited during Trump's speech as someone whose life was turned around because of school choice. redefinED. The 74. President Trump will visit Saint Andrew Catholic School in Orlando Friday, where he is expected to talk about school choice. Saint Andrew has 295 students who use the tax credit scholarship. Step Up For Students, which hosts this blog, helps administer the scholarship. Orlando Sentinel.

Testing debate: Standardized testing will again be a focus of the legislative session that begins Tuesday. Critics want to cut back on the exams, or give students the option of taking different tests. Others think the testing system in place is necessary and needs to be preserved in some form. News Service of Florida.

Voucher study: A new study finds little evidence that school voucher programs significantly improve student achievement or school district performance. The study, written by Martin Carnoy, a Stanford University professor and research associate at the Washington-based Economic Policy Institute, included evaluations of Florida programs. He wrote that the lack of evidence “suggests that an ideological preference for education markets over equity and public accountability is what is driving the push to expand voucher programs.” Washington Post.

Teachers honored: Evangeline Aguirre, who teaches in the English for Speakers of Other Languages program at Palm Beach Central High in Wellington, is named the Palm Beach County School District's teacher of the year. Palm Beach Post. Sun-Sentinel. Maria Torres-Crosby, a sixth-grade English teacher at Memorial Middle School. is named the Hillsborough County School District's teacher of the year. Tampa Bay Times. (more…)

Bill drops name: A bill that would prohibit Florida high school students from leaving campuses for lunch won't bear the name of a Hialeah-Miami Lakes Senior High School girl who was killed in a car crash during lunch off campus in 1999. Sen. Rene Hialeah, R-Hialeah, removed the name of Mayra Capote from his bill at the request of Senate President Joe Negron, R-Stuart, who said he didn't want bills named after people because it puts lawmakers in an awkward spot if they want to oppose them. Miami Herald.

Legislative issues: The expansion of school choice programs, cutbacks in testing and the expansion of the Bright Futures scholarship program are among the top issues to watch in this year legislative session, which begins in a week. Orlando Weekly. WFSU.

District denies report: Orange County School District officials deny a ProPublica report last week that the district is using alternative schools to hide struggling, problem students who might otherwise drag down a school's graduation rate, test scores and grade. Spokespersons for the district and Accelerated Learning Solutions, a for-profit charter school management company that manages five charter alternative schools in the county, say students choose the alternative schools. One of the schools mentioned in the report, Sunshine High School, is up for contract renewal. District staff is recommending the school board approve the renewal at today's meeting. Orlando Sentinel.

District criticized: Florida TaxWatch, a nonprofit group that monitors financial performances of institutions, is criticizing the Broward County School District for construction delays and overruns in its $800 million bond program to upgrade schools. County voters approved the bond in 2014, but many projects expected to be under construction by 2015 still haven't begun. Sun-Sentinel. (more…)

Guns and schools: The number of Florida children killed by guns is up 20 percent since 2010, and injuries are up 36 percent. Some legislators think more guns is the solution to the problem, and are proposing that gun-free zones - including at K-12 schools - be eliminated. State Sen. Greg Steube, R-Sarasota, says people are less safe in gun-free zones because they can't protect themselves. “There’s not a school resource officer in every one of our elementary schools,” Steube said. “If a terrorist wants to come in and start shooting our kids, there’s nothing to stop them.” Tampa Bay Times.

Charters vs. districts: The debate about state funding maintenance and construction for charter schools and public schools will intensify when the Legislature begins its session March 7. Both the Senate and House want to increase state funding for charter schools, but have different ideas about how to make it happen. Miami Herald. redefinED.

Whistleblower bills: Two bills are filed that would protect school employees from retaliation for revealing fraud or violations of laws or rules at the state's schools. The "whistleblower" bills, H.B. 1035 and S.B. 1236, were filed by Rep. Kim Daniels, D-Jacksonville, and Sen. Darryl Rouson, D-St. Petersburg, respectively. Gradebook.

Teacher's fall from grace: Samantha Major was a natural for the mentoring program at Boca Raton High School. Her bosses said the young teacher was empathetic and had a rapport with students. But within months of trying to help a troubled 15-year-old girl, Major was the subject of a school investigation alleging she mishandled the situation, and the Palm Beach County School Board will consider firing her this week. How did it come to this? Palm Beach Post.
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