School class sizes: More than 60 percent of Florida schools now define themselves as schools of choice, which allows them to calculate class size as a schoolwide average rather than the room-by-room count non-choice schools must adhere to. State Sen. John Legg, R-Lutz, who chairs the Senate Education Committee, says new legislation will be drafted to "stop playing shell games" that began after a 2013 law gave schools a way to sidestep the class-size requirements of the 2002 constitutional amendment. Orlando Sentinel. Tampa Bay Times. Palm Beach Post.

Opinions on schools: Today's tests-oriented classrooms are putting critical thinking skills at risk, and the decline started with a 2006 Florida law that says "only facts be taught when it comes to discussing the period of discovery and the early colonies." This Magazine.

School for Deaf and Blind: The Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind (FSDB) provides hope and services for children across north Florida. Tallahassee Democrat. FSDB football coach Eric LeFors, who is deaf, talks about the school's 102nd season. Tallahassee Democrat.

Literacy project: Palm Beach County schools, the city of West Palm Beach, nonprofits and corporations team up to improve literacy in schools. Palm Beach Post.

School traffic patterns: There will be little traffic impact if children from a Pasco County subdivision are rezoned to a different school, school official say after studying the complaint by parents. Tampa Bay Times. (more…)