Legislation. The Florida House advances a wide-ranging education bill over Democrats' objections. The minority party has taken a caucus position against HB 7055, which, among other things, would allow districts to provide greater autonomy to select schools, create new educational choice scholarship programs and impose new regulations on teachers unions. WLRN. redefinED. Gradebook. Times/Herald. News Service of Florida. The measure is also closely tied to budget negotiations between the chambers. WLRN.
Hope Scholarships. The plan to create a new scholarship program for victims of bullying and violence gets national attention. The 74. (Step Up For Students, which publishes this blog, would help administer the program if lawmakers create it.)
Private school closure. Arlington Country Day School, which closed abruptly late last month, is not under a state fraud investigation. WJXT. A columnist calls the episode an "ironic" ending to National School Choice Week. Florida Times-Union.
New K-8s. Hillsborough plans to add middle grades to more elementary schools, a move spurred, in part, by charter school competition. Gradebook.
Mary McLeod Bethune. The Florida Senate approves a plan to move the renowned educator's likeness into National Statuary Hall. News Service of Florida. WFSU.
Top teachers. Pinellas County's Teacher of the Year tries to instill a love of math. Gradebook.
Job searches. A Hillsborough district administrator will not be the next superintendent of Omaha public schools. Gradebook. The Duval County School Board picks three search firms it plans to interview as it begins to hunt for a new district chief. Florida Times-Union.
Teacher pay. Pasco teachers union reps prepare to count votes on their next contract ratification. Gradebook. The Hernando school board approves employee pay raises. Gradebook.
Influenza. Bay County district staff use an in-service day to sanitize classrooms amid widespread flu outbreaks. Panama City News Herald. No plans to close Leon County schools. Tallahassee Democrat.
Progress monitoring. More Duval students appear on track to pass their state reading assessments. Florida Times-Union.
Help for at-risk students. Clay County creates a new program for students with behavioral and mental health issues. Florida Times-Union.
Employee conduct. A Polk County paraprofessional is accused of abusing special needs children. Tampa Bay Times. A Sarasota district employee is fired after a video surfaces of her partying with students. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. An Okaloosa administrator resigns amid an ongoing investigation into distrcit employees' failure to report child abuse. Northwest Florida Daily News.
Mentors wanted. Bay honors its school volunteers and seeks to recruit hundreds more. Panama City News Herald.
Staff shuffle. Lake County school officials plan to move nurses to different schools. Daily Commercial.
