Leadership. Despite hearing citizen concerns, the Alachua school board appoints a longtime district hand as a temporary stand-in for ousted chief Owen Roberts. Gainesville Sun.
Administration. Five Broward schools get new principals. South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Administrative appointments are imminent in Hillsborough schools. Gradebook.
LGBT students. Lake County's legal battle over a stifled attempt to create a student gay-straight alliance heads to federal appeals court. Daily Commercial. A measure affecting transgender student rights is taken off the Hillsborough school board agenda amid fears of a contentious debate. Gradebook.
Accountability. Florida might "punish" rural Liberty County for pushing large numbers of middle school students into algebra, which may benefit those students in the long term. Bridge to Tomorrow.
Summer. A Pinellas summer bridge program continues to see rising participation. Gradebook.
Video-famous. A Jefferson County school administrator's video singing the national anthem in the Lincoln Memorial goes viral. WFSU. Tallahassee Democrat.
Elections. State Sen. John Legg, a Pasco County Republican and key figure on education issues, is bowing out of the Legislature for the time being, but is preparing to run for his old seat in 2022. The Buzz.
There's a reason school district policies requiring home school parents to show proof of gaurdianship, or more details about their reading materials, or other information that isn't required by state law can draw dozens of parents to school board meetings.
It's worth recalling the history recounted in this 1997 article in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, which looked back at what was then 12 years of home schooling in the state.
Not long ago, home schooling was practiced on the fringes of the educational world, in secret, in defiance. Until 1985, home schooling had no legal status in Florida. Those few parents who were determined to do it could operate a "private" school, or just keep quiet and hope their neighbors didn't turn them in to the truant officer.
"It was drastic, I can tell you," said Jeannie Hochstettler of West Palm Beach, one of Palm Beach County's pioneer home-schoolers. "We were fearful of authority. You never knew who would call you in. We never let our children outside before 2 p.m. because people would say, "Why are your kids not in school?'''
Twelve years later, the article noted, home education was becoming more accepted.
