School choice. Lawmakers say they plan to resolve some concerns adults have raised with a public school choice proposal. Gradebook. More from the Orlando Sentinel. Rep. Manny Diaz talks school choice, accountability and lawsuits with the Florida Chamber of Commerce.
Charter schools. KIPP Jacksonville celebrates a 5-year milestone. Florida Times-Union. Pasco’s superintendent writes his local lawmakers, including a House speaker-in-waiting, opposing a charter school funding proposal. Gradebook. A Pensacola charter faces grade-tampering allegations. Pensacola News-Journal.
Special needs. The Palm Beach Post praises Senate President Andy Gardiner’s efforts to expand higher education and other opportunities for children with special needs.
Reading. Top lawmakers say extra time for reading instruction has been effective, and should continue at schools that have struggled. Orlando Sentinel.
Nutrition. South Florida schools expand supper programs in schools with high poverty concentrations. Sun-Sentinel. Manatee County uses a bus to serve food to students over Spring Break. Bradenton Herald.
Teachers unions. Volusia’s teachers union dogs school board members with protests after salary talks hit a stalemate. Daytona Beach News-Journal.
Investigation. Manatee County’s school board attorney calls for a state probe of a district contract. Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
Testing. Testing and accountability legislation has improved over the course of the legislative session as lawmakers heard from the public, a Leon County school board member writes in the Palm Beach Post.
Guns. A measure that would have allowed certain school employees to carry firearms is laid to rest in the Senate. Gradebook. Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
Discipline. There have been fewer arrests and more suspensions after a year of a new approach to discipline in Broward schools. Sun-Sentinel.
Audits. The Palm Beach school district may have improperly billed the federal government in the wake of Hurricane Wilma nearly a decade ago, auditors find. Sun-Sentinel.
Contracts. A judge dismisses a Manatee County lawsuit over a school security contract. Bradenton Herald.
Communication. Hillsborough may soon set social media guidelines for teachers. Tampa Bay Times.
