by Doug Tuthill and Travis Pillow The recent Florida adequacy lawsuit decision by Leon County Circuit Judge George Reynolds provides a window into the power struggles within public education and the constitutional contradictions that need to be resolved if public education is to achieve excellence and equity. The lawsuit, which Reynolds dismissed, was originally designed… Read more »
Nonexistent loans: Two charters schools in Jacksonville have been paying interest to Newpoint Education Partners for loans that do not exist, according to a lawyer for the schools. San Jose Academy and San Jose Preparatory High School list loans totaling $235,000 made by Newpoint in 2014 and 2015. Gary Wheeler, the schools’ attorney, says the boards… Read more »
Plumbers praised: Two plumbers are credited with saving a student’s life at Royal Palm Beach High School last month. Aaron Glover and Jimmy Johnson were working in a girls bathroom when they heard a commotion in a boys bathroom. They investigated and found one student stabbing another. The attacker saw Glover with a 9-inch pipe wrench, dropped… Read more »
Football contact: The Florida High School Athletic Association is adopting guidelines to limit contact in high school football practices to 30 minutes a day during the season, and just 80 minutes a week, in an attempt to reduce the risk of injuries. During the preseason, contact would be limited to 40 minutes a day. The new… Read more »
Desegregation case: The plaintiffs in a 50-year-old Pinellas County desegregation case are asking a federal court for help in enforcing the settlement. They allege the district is not fulfilling its commitment to provide safe schools for black students, isn’t treating them fairly in discipline cases, isn’t hiring and retaining black teachers, and is failing to increase the number of black… Read more »
In some ways, the tensions pushed to the forefront of the education reform conversation over the past week existed 100 years ago, when black families relied on faith-based institutions to educate their children in the segregated South, and educators like Mary McLeod Bethune cobbled together donations from white benefactors to expand opportunities for young African-Americans. They certainly… Read more »
Retention rules: Manatee County school officials say they will not consider a student’s portfolio to justify a promotion to fourth grade if the student has not taken the Florida Standards Assessments test or a state-approved alternative. They say the state Department of Education supports their position. Bradenton Herald. Even while school districts are threatening third-graders with retention because they… Read more »
Accountability guidelines: The U.S. Department of Education proposes accountability guidelines that allow states discretion in using test scores, academic growth and other measures to identify failing schools and struggling students. The transfer of authority to states is part of the Obama administration’s Every Student Succeeds Act, which replaced the No Child Left Behind Act. Associated Press. Education… Read more »
Bathroom rules: Eleven states are suing the Obama administration over its letter urging school districts to allow transgender students to use the bathroom that conforms to their gender identity or risk losing federal funds. Florida declined to join them, according to a spokesperson for Attorney General Pam Bondi. Gov. Rick Scott says the state is still reviewing the… Read more »
This afternoon, Leon County Circuit Court Judge George Reynolds threw out a wide-ranging lawsuit challenging multiple education reform policies in Florida. We’re compiling reactions and coverage from other outlets. See our own coverage here. The Institute for Justice represented parents who use two of the country’s largest private school choice programs — tax credit scholarships, and McKay… Read more »
