School funding: Florida Senate President Joe Negron, R-Stuart, approves a study of the school funding formula's district cost differential (DCD). The request for the study came from Sen. Dorothy Hukill, R-Port Orange, and Sen. Travis Hutson, R-St. Augustine, who contend that the DCD has cost school systems in their districts and around the state millions of dollars since it was adopted in 2004. The DCD directs extra money to districts with a higher cost of living. The study will be conducted by the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability and the Office of Economic & Demographic Research. Daytona Beach News-Journal.
Retention suit motion: The Florida Department of Education is asking a circuit court to dismiss a lawsuit that challenged the state's third-grade retention law and how it was implemented by several school districts. The Florida Supreme Court recently refused to hear the case, saying the plaintiffs would have to file suits at the county level. Now the DOE says the plaintiffs didn't exhaust their administrative options before filing the suit in Leon County, and that students who refuse to take the state's standardized tests have no right to an option of a portfolio review. Gradebook.
Charter schools: A new state law requires local school districts to share local property taxes collected for capital improvements with charter schools. But there's an exception that will leave a handful of charter schools without any public funds. The amount to be shared hinges on how much debt a district has. Charters in districts with a lot of debt may get no money at all, while charters in districts with little debt will. So districts with little debt and charters in districts with heavy debt are both asking for relief. Tampa Bay Times.
Cities buy their way in: Affluent cities in Miami-Dade County increasingly are starting their own charter school systems or buying seats for local students in magnet programs at other public schools. The practice can increase public school options, but some critics worry it will lead to racial and economic segregation. Steve Gallon, a member of the school board, says such proposals “could result in the creation of systems and structures that could impede such access to poor children and those of color to a world-class education based on their ZIP codes.” Miami Herald.
School funding formula: Two Republican state senators are calling for a study of the Florida K-12 school funding formula. Sen. Dorothy Hukill, R-Port Orange, and Sen. Travis Hutson, R-Palm Coast, say the current formula shortchanges smaller districts because larger districts get a bigger portion of state funding to help make up the difference for a higher cost of living. The senators want the study to see if the formula should be “kept, modified or eliminated.” Volusia County, Hukill's home district, has been pressing for changes. School officials there say the formula has cost the district $140 million since 2004. News Service of Florida. Politico Florida.
H.B. 7069 lawsuit: School boards in Lee, Volusia and Bay counties vote to join the lawsuit against the state over the new education bill, H.B. 7069. They join Broward and St. Lucie counties in the challenge over the bill, which forces districts to share local property tax revenue with charter schools and provides financial incentives for charter companies to set up schools in areas with persistently low-performing traditional public schools. The bill also strips local officials from approving charter schools in their districts. Other districts are considering joining the suit, which has not yet been filed. Palm Beach County is expected to file suit individually. Fort Myers News-Press. Daytona Beach News-Journal. Panama City News Herald. Naples Herald. The Miami-Dade County School Board could decide as early as today if it will join other districts in suing the state over the education bill. The district has already spent almost $10,000 researching the constitutionality of the bill. Miami Herald. The Polk County School Board is considering joining the suit. Board attorney Wes Hodges believes the bill is vulnerable because it violates the state’s constitutional single subject requirement for bills, but there could be a political backlash for those districts that sue. Lakeland Ledger.
Charter schools: Charter schools are in line to receive about $146 million this year from state and local governments, or twice as much as they received last year. They get about $50 million from the state, and they expect to collect about $96 million from local schools property taxes thanks to the new education law. Todd Ziebarth of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools says Florida's law is one of two major advancements toward funding equity for charter schools in the United States. redefinED. The NAACP is expected to release a report today calling for a moratorium on the creation of new charter schools. The report, to be released at the group's national convention, says charter schools lead to segregation and divert money from traditional public schools. The 74.
Charter lawsuits: An administrative law judge rules that the Florida Department of Education can withhold money from charter schools for construction and maintenance if they receive an F grade or two straight grades below C from the state. Charter school officials challenged the state's rules, claiming DOE officials had overstepped their legal authority. News Service of Florida. For the Palm Beach County School Board, fighting the education bill in court is progression in the district's ongoing battle against charter schools. The district has lost several cases to charters recently, but is likely to have other districts on its side this time. Several have announced a plan to sue the state over H.B. 7069, which they believe is too charter-friendly - at the expense if traditional public schools. Palm Beach Post. The Indian River County School Board is still trying to decide whether to appeal a judge's ruling that the district unlawfully withheld money from five charter schools. TCPalm.
Proposed budgets: The Polk County School will consider a proposed $1.4 billion budget that has a slightly lower tax rate. The budget calls for repairs to some schools, technology improvements at 30 schools and the purchase of 50 school buses. Lakeland Ledger. The Leon County School Board will vote this week on a $305 million budget that includes an $8 million boost in spending with a slightly lower tax rate. The district will trim capital spending from $105 million last year to $103 million this year, but also sets aside $250,000 for buying additional school supplies. Tallahassee Democrat. The Volusia County School District plans to shift $2 million from its savings to help balance its proposed $869.8 million budget. Daytona Beach News-Journal.
School funding: School officials in Lake, Osceola and Seminole counties complain that the state's funding formula for schools is discriminatory against their districts and 52 others in the state. Florida’s “district cost differential” takes money from 55 districts and sends it to a dozen school districts with higher costs of living. Orlando Sentinel. Volusia County School Board chairwoman Melody Johnson will visit schools around the state to gather support against the state's district cost differential formula it uses in determining how much money each district receives. Daytona Beach News-Journal. Activists in Florida join those across the country Saturday to rally behind public education. While many across the nation were protesting what they call Education Secretary Betsy DeVos' drive to privatize schools, those in Florida are largely angry with what they see as inequities in school funding and money being moved to charter schools from traditional public schools. Miami Herald. The Pinellas County School Board and Superintendent Michael Grego ask the county's legislative delegation for help in correcting what they're calling an "unjust" movement of money from districts for charter school construction and maintenance. Gradebook. (more…)
Education budget: Gov. Rick Scott's $83.5 billion budget includes an expansion of the Bright Futures scholarship program to cover summer classes and a program that recruits, retains and rewards teachers. Scott's $58 million plan would replace the existing teacher bonuses program. The $24 billion education budget would boost PreK-12 per-student spending to $7,421, up about $216 from this year. Sunshine State News. Miami Herald. Orlando Sentinel. Florida Times-Union. Gradebook. Associated Press. Politico Florida. Bradenton Herald. Florida Trend. Tallahassee Democrat. News Service of Florida.
Charter schools: Florida needs to create more charter schools for low-income students, House Speaker Richard Corcoran, R-Land O’ Lakes, says during a media briefing. He said having only two - the collection of KIPP schools in Jacksonville and a public charter boarding school, SEED Miami - is unacceptable for the state. He has pledged to support funding changes that would encourage more nationally recognized charters to set up in low-income areas. redefinED. A report from a school choice advocacy group alleges that eight Florida school districts are shortchanging poor children in charter schools by spending less of federal Title I funding on them than they do in public schools. The districts are Miami-Dade, Broward, Hillsborough, Orange, Palm Beach, Duval, Polk and Osceola. Representatives from several of the districts deny the charge and say the data was manipulated in a way to support a pro-charter view. Politico Florida.
Civics lessons: House Education Committee chairman Michael Bileca, R-Miami, says the House is looking closely at changing the way Florida students learn about American government, history and the democratic system. The state already requires civics classes in middle and high schools, but Bileca says he wants to "inculcate a sense of civic understanding, appreciation for our institutions and what a republic stands for and have a fully informed and fully educated citizenry that’s able to participate in the democratic process.” Miami Herald.
DeVos approved: A Senate committee approves the nomination of Betsy DeVos to become U.S. education secretary on a 12-11, straight party vote. The nomination now goes to the full Senate. Orlando Sentinel. School choice in the United States under the leadership of Betsy DeVos could resemble what Florida has done by using tax credit scholarships to help students pay to go to private schools. Step Up For Students, which hosts this blog, helps administer that program. NPR. In 2014, Betsy DeVos donated $1,000 to a school choice supporter in a Volusia County School Board campaign. Melody Johnson, who raised just $5,000 more than the DeVos donation, won and is now the board chairwoman. Daytona Beach News-Journal. (more…)
