In transit. The Pinellas school board talks start times and choice transportation. The "district has 2,500 bus stops exclusively for choice programs, which account for 229 out of 441 routes." Gradebook.
Educator misconduct. The state strips scholarships from a private school after the operator's sexual battery arrest. Orlando Sentinel. (Step Up For Students, which publishes this blog, helps administer the tax credit scholarship program.) A former Miami-Dade student wins a multimillion-dollar settlement from a teacher who had sex with her in his classroom and sent her lewd texts. Miami Herald. A former Pasco teacher is arrested for offering a student $500 for sex. Gradebook.
Teacher pay raises. Pasco teachers make the district a counter-offer. Gradebook. Polk's new pay plan is "very confusing." The Ledger. Tensions rise, and become public, over Palm Beach pay talks. Palm Beach Post.
Enrollment decline eases. A rural North Florida school district stops shrinking. Officials say students left for public schools in neighboring counties. WJHG.
Athletics. Florida's first female high school football head coach may be headed for the exits. Miami Herald.
School on MLK Day. The Collier County School Board may revisit the issue. Naples Daily News.
Where's the money? An audit finds tens of thousands dollars missing from school parking meters. Sun-Sentinel.
Student safety. A reported fire forces evacuation of a Palm Beach charter school. Palm Beach Post. A high school student is arrested after threatening a shooting spree. Orlando Sentinel. Elementary school students get medical checks after they're found playing with a syringe. Orlando Sentinel.
Human trafficking. Educating young people is key to prevent exploitation, experts say. WFSU.
