School security: The Hendry and Suwannee county school boards adopt the state's guardian program and will have school employees carrying concealed weapons in all their schools next August. The school boards will decide who becomes a guardian, and the county sheriff's departments will provide the training. WBBH. Suwannee Democrat. The Pasco County School Board will be asked to approve a $2.8 million program to put armed safety officers instead of sworn school resource officers into county schools. Gradebook. Some Florida legislators predict the school safety act will be revised in the next legislative session. Florida Today. A majority of people responding to a Lake County School District survey say they do not want to arm school employees. Daily Commercial. Orlando Sentinel. A group of Duval County students share their safety concerns with legislators. WJCT. St. Johns County Superintendent Tim Forson talks about the financial challenges the district faces in adhering to the state mandate of having an armed person in every school. St. Augustine Record. Florida senators Bill Nelson and Marco Rubio introduce a bill to expand the Secret Service's National Threat Assessment Center as a way to protect students. Sun-Sentinel. Sunshine State News.
Education lawsuit appeal: School boards in Lee and Bay counties vote to appeal a judge's April 4 ruling that the 2017 state education law, H.B. 7069, is constitutional. The other 11 school boards in the suit - Alachua, Broward, Clay, Duval, Hamilton, Orange, Pinellas, Polk, St. Lucie, Volusia and Wakulla - have yet to decide whether they'll join the appeal. The plaintiffs say the law is unconstitutional because it takes power away from local school boards. Fort Myers News-Press. Panama City News Herald. WJHG. The ongoing legal fight reflects the tension between local school boards, which are given the authority to oversee all public schools in their counties, and the Legislature and Florida Department of Education, which have the power to regulate that authority. redefinED.
Private schools investigated: The Florida Department of Education will investigate three private schools that hired felons as teachers. Kingsway Christian Academy and Winners Primary School near Orlando and Southland Christian School near Kissimmee have been asked for records of the employees, including proof of their background checks. State law prohibits private schools that take scholarship money from hiring employees with certain convictions, but the state relies on the schools to conduct background checks. Orlando Sentinel. (more…)
Carvalho staying: Miami-Dade School Superintendent Alberto Carvalho accepted an offer to be New York City's chancellor of schools on Thursday. Then, after meeting with the school board and hearing from students and members of the community who pleaded with him to stay, Carvalho changed his mind. "I just don’t know how to break a promise to a child, how to break a promise to a community,” Carvalho said in explaining his decision. New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, who had already announced the appointment, said his first response was just "profound surprise.” His press secretary, Eric Phillips, tweeted: “He was a Yes for a week+, until he was a No 15 minutes ago. Bullet dodged. Who would ever hire this guy again? Who would ever vote for him?” Miami Herald. Politico Florida. New York Times. Associated Press. According to a timeline of events, Carvalho appeared to mislead people in both Miami and New York City. Politico Florida. Chalkbeat.
Armed teachers: Leon County Commissioner Bill Proctor warns legislators that their proposed school marshal program would turn black students into nothing more than "target practice" for "trigger happy teachers." Leon School Superintendent Rocky Hanna called Proctor's rhetoric an embarrassment to the community. Later on Thursday, Proctor was joined by the Legislature's 28-member black caucus, which said arming teachers would only expose African-American students to more gun-related danger. “This is a recipe for disaster,” says Sen. Oscar Braynon, D-Miami Gardens. Tallahassee Democrat. Miami Herald. Tallahassee Democrat. Gov. Rick Scott opposes arming teachers, but he and the family of one of the victims urge the Legislature not to let differences bog down the effort to act. Miami Herald. Politico Florida. GateHouse. News Service of Florida. The National Association for School Resource Officers does not support arming teachers. But if it happens, the organization is offering tips on what to do and not do. Gradebook. School board chairpersons around Florida get an email blast from the Pinellas County School Board, asking them to join Pinellas in supporting a ban on assault weapons. Gradebook. The Brevard County teachers union and most teachers in Lee County come out against the proposal to arm select school employees. Florida Today. Fort Myers News-Press. The subject of arming teachers draws strong comments at a community meeting in Martin County. TCPalm.
Schools of Hope: The Senate-House conference committee negotiating the final form of the education bill agree to spend $140 million to continue the Schools of Hope program. The program offers money for extra services at struggling public schools, and for recruiting highly regarded charter companies to open schools in areas with persistently low-performing schools. redefinED. The Senate and House are close to an agreement on funding for higher education, but are still trying to reconcile how to pay for mental health services, more armed school resource officers and teacher supply grants for K-12 schools. Politico Florida.
Students march: Survivors of the shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland on Valentine's Day lead a march of thousands to the state Capitol, then meet with state lawmakers to call for a ban on assault-style weapons. They say the response from legislators was discouraging, but they vow to continue to fight. Sun-Sentinel. Associated Press. Miami Herald. Palm Beach Post. Politico Florida. Gatehouse Media. Tallahassee Democrat. News Service of Florida. The 74. More than 40 survivors of the Parkland, Columbine and Sandy Hook school shootings and parents plead with President Donald Trump to make students safe during a meeting Wednesday. "How many children have to get shot?" asked Andrew Pollack, whose daughter Meadow was killed in Parkland. Trump vowed to bolster background checks and mental health screenings, and supported the idea of allowing teachers and staff to carry guns at schools. Associated Press. New York Times. Education Week. Politico Florida. Why arming teachers is highly unlikely to happen. Politico Florida. Parkland students have raised $3.5 million to finance a national gun-control movement. Miami Herald. Sun-Sentinel. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio is jeered at a town hall meeting held by CNN. Sun-Sentinel. Palm Beach Post. High school students around Florida walk out of classes and take part in marches Wednesday as a show of support for Douglas High students. Sun-Sentinel. Sun-Sentinel. Miami Herald. Orlando Sentinel. Palm Beach Post. Gradebook. WFTV. Fort Myers News-Press. WFTX. WESH. Florida Today. TCPalm. Naples Daily News. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Key West Citizen. Associated Press.
Returning to Douglas: Broward County school officials detail the plan to reintroduce students to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Counselors and an added police presence will greet the students when they return Tuesday for a half-day of classes. Sunday, the school will hold a "voluntary campus orientation" with a variety of support services available. Miami Herald.
Avossa resigning: Palm Beach County School Superintendent Robert Avossa is resigning after two and a half years to take a job with a publisher of educational materials. Avossa, 46, plans to leave June 12 to become senior vice president and publisher of education products for LRP Publications in Palm Beach Gardens. “This opportunity will allow me to spend the last part of my career impacting education at the national level while affording me more time to commit to my family,” he wrote in his resignation letter. He is recommending the board replace him with someone already working for the district. Palm Beach Post. Sun-Sentinel.
Education bill attacked: The state's largest teachers union, the Florida Education Association, launches a public relations broadside against the House's new education bill, H.B. 7055, a nearly 200-page document that puts multiple education-related proposals into a single bill. Among them: a scholarship for bullied students, called the Hope Scholarship, a provision to make it harder for local school districts to eliminate charter schools, and a requirement that public unions maintain 50 percent membership of eligible workers or be forced to file for recertification. "This monstrosity is a clear attempt to destroy our public schools while telling professional educators they simply are not welcome in Florida," says FEA president Joanne McCall. Gradebook. Sunshine State News. Florida Politics. Politico Florida.
Florida ESSA plan: The state's plan to comply with the Every Student Succeeds Act doesn't meet several federal requirements, and the state has until Feb. 16 to respond to the U.S. Department of Education's call for revisions. Specifically, the plan omits achievement levels of some student groups, such as minority, poor, disabled and English-language learners, in calculating school grades. It also has contains no provisions to hold schools accountable for how well students perform on English-language-proficiency exams or to provide some students exams in languages other than English. An analysis of Florida students' performance on National Assessment of Educational Progress exams shows little change in performance gaps between wealthier white students and others since 2005. Education Week. WUSF.
Schools spending: Some Republican legislators want Gov. Rick Scott to publicly acknowledge that increased spending on education in the next budget, which is being released today, will mean higher property taxes. Tampa Bay Times.
Education legislation: Two Republican legislators propose asking voters to make the education commissioner an elected Cabinet position. Another bill would give the state the power to approve charter schools. Palm Beach Post.
Common Core: The Common Core state standards, which came about when Massachusetts, Florida and a few other states collaborated on a national test that would allow better comparisons of state results, has been abandoned by Massachusetts on the recommendation of the man who helped develop them. New York Times. Sen. Marco Rubio has joined Sen. Ted Cruz in signing a pledge to end Common Core state standards if he's elected president. Sunshine State News.
No Child Left Behind: A conference committee has agreed to the first changes in 14 years to the No Child Left Behind law. The bill would allow states more latitude in dealing with schools that don't meet standards. New York Times.
School properties for sale: The Miami-Dade School System is aggressively marketing its downtown properties. It's been working with David Beckham on a soccer stadium, and now it's offering its headquarters to developers. School officials believe any deals will benefit the system's 350,000 students. Miami Herald.
Charters and urban areas: Multiple studies consistently show that charter schools are generally more successful in urban areas serving low-income students than in suburban areas. New York Times. (more…)
