Vouchers: Three weeks after Florida House Speaker Will Weatherford promised a “massive increase” in school choice scholarships for underprivileged schoolchildren, his chamber releases a 40-page bill. redefinED. The proposal is expected to be one of the most-contentious education battles of the 2014 legislative session. The News Service of Florida. More from CBS Miami.
Charter schools: Hillsborough County charter school operators organize their first school choice fair for parents and students to learn about nontraditional public school offerings. The Tampa Tribune.
Technology: Leon County and other school districts across the state begin to realize the potential of putting a computer in every student’s hands, and the obstacles they will have to clear to make that happen. Tallahassee Democrat. Pasco classrooms are opening up to new technology coaches. Tampa Bay Times.
Rick Scott: As a Florida governor, Rick Scott will never be confused with Jeb Bush. Tampa Bay Times.
School boards: Palm Beach school board members should be careful bypassing the superintendent to deal with district personnel issues, writes the Palm Beach Post.
2014 session: Senate Education Committee Chairman John Legg tells the Gradebook there is no must-pass bill this year. House Democrats say session will be ‘class warfare.’ The Florida News Current.
Holocaust: Twelve aging Holocaust survivors have lunch with Broward County high school students eager to listen to their stories, ask questions and meet a living remnant of the history they had read about in books. Sun Sentinel.
Conduct: A Broward Community Charter School teacher is arrested after accusing a student of clogging a urinal drain with paper towels and instructing him to clean it with his hands. Sun Sentinel. A Collier County high school math teacher is being investigated for accusations that he sent nude photos of himself to a teenage girl. Naples Daily News. A middle school teacher whose poor attendance record prompted Superintendent Kurt Browning to recommend she be fired has withdrawn her appeal to the Pasco County School Board. The Tampa Tribune.
