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School safety. Superintendents and lawmakers talk about more funding for more security. Coverage from Gradebook, St. Augustine Record, Sarasota Herald Tribune, Daytona Beach News Journal.  Some are worried about “open campuses,” reports SchoolZone. A bill is filed that would require private schools to get safety alerts, just like public schools, from police departments and other emergency response agencies, reports redefinED.

The chairman of the Osceola County School Board, Jay Wheeler, writes in this Orlando Sentinel op-ed that the federal government should tax guns and bullets to pay for school guards: “When 26 students and school staff get killed by a crazed gunman in a public elementary school, it is a sad wake-up call for all of us that we have to do a better job protecting ourselves from our own freedoms.”

In Palm Beach County, mayors plead with the school board to install metal detectors in every school, reports the South Florida Sun Sentinel. More from the Palm Beach Post. In Lee County, deputies begin patrolling elementaries, reports the Fort Myers News Press. More from the Naples Daily News.

Test score limbo. If high school students fall short on the FCAT, he or she can still graduate if they get a high enough score on the ACT or SAT. But the state has yet to set new concordant scores for the other tests since upgrading the FCAT, leaving many students in limbo. Tampa Bay Times.

Charter school laws. SchoolZone notes the Center for Education Reform’s annual report card.

Why grading schools is good. EdFly Blog.

Vouchers and creationism. A Jacksonville school is among those highlighted in this MSNBC op-ed by student activist Zack Kopplin.

Privatization. The Bay County school district moves towards privatizing bus service. Panama City News Herald. (more…)