Hope Scholarships: The first two-dozen Hope Scholarships for Florida students who have been bullied or physically abused are being awarded this week. Those public school students may use the scholarships, which range from $6,519 for K-5 students to $7,111 for high school students, to attend a private school or arrange transportation to a different public school. People who purchase or register vehicles can designate $105 of the tax for the scholarship fund, and about $3 million has been raised since Oct. 1. Step Up For Students, which hosts this blog, helps administer the scholarship. Politico Florida.
Change in justices: Florida Supreme Court Justice Ricky Polston recently recused himself from the lawsuit that alleges the state has not fulfilled a 1998 constitutional amendment requiring it to provide a "high quality" system of public schools. No reason was given for the recusal. Chief Justice Charles Canady has temporarily assigned Edward LaRose, chief judge of the 2nd District Court of Appeal, to the case, Citizens for Strong Schools v. Florida State Board of Education. The court heard oral arguments Nov. 8. Two courts have already ruled in favor of the state. News Service of Florida. (more…)
Back to school: Several Bay County schools are now scheduled to reopen Nov. 5, according to district officials. All district schools have been closed since Hurricane Michael made landfall in the county Oct. 10. At least one will operate under a split schedule and two others will include students displaced from other schools. The rest of the schools are expected to open no later than the week of Nov. 12. Superintendent Bill Husfelt says district officials are working with the Florida Department of Education on an adjusted schedule for the rest of the school year that they hope to announce this week. WMBB. WJHG. Jackson County students return to school today. Tallahassee Democrat. Donations are pouring in for Bay County students. Panama City News Herald. Arnold High School will be used as a long-term shelter for displaced Bay County residents. Panama City News Herald. A private school in Bay County, Holy Nativity Episcopal School, resumes classes today. Panama City News Herald. Students from counties affected by the hurricane who started attending schools in nearby counties will have to return to their schools when they reopen unless they had a "complete family move." WTXL. The Indian River County and Charlotte County school districts donate books and other school supplies to Panhandle schools affected by the hurricane. WPTV. Charlotte Sun.
Teachers trying to recover: Like students, teachers in the Florida Panhandle are struggling to regain a sense of normalcy after the devastation caused by Hurricane Michael. “I don’t have a home, so how can I be effective at my work when I can’t shower or cook food?” asks Denise Hinson, who teaches 7th-graders language arts at New Horizons Learning Center. “Maybe I will live at the school? I don’t have anything else to do.” Bay County School District spokeswoman Sharon Michalik says the district is meeting with community leaders to find housing options for teachers. “We have a delicate balance between the humanitarian needs and the need to open schools in order to show our community that normal will exist again,” she says. “We have teachers who have lost everything and they are camping out in their classrooms. We’ll have to find them somewhere else to live.” Associated Press. (more…)
Hurricane Michael: Hurricane Michael blasted ashore near Mexico Beach on Wednesday as a Category 4 storm with 155 mph winds, making it the strongest hurricane to hit the United States in nearly 50 years and the most powerful to hit the Panhandle since records have been kept. Schools in 21 Florida counties are closed again today while officials assess the damage, and five of those districts will be closed again Friday. Associated Press. News Service of Florida. GateHouse Media. Panama City News Herald. Pensacola News Journal. Northwest Florida Daily News. Citrus County Chronicle. Florida Department of Education. Tallahassee Democrat. Miami Herald. Tampa Bay Times. Orlando Sentinel. Palm Beach Post. WJCT. The Sarasota County School District cancels a digital town hall meeting because of the hurricane. Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
Hair policies protested: The NAACP Legal Defense Fund is asking the Florida Department of Education to review what it calls "racist" hair policies at private schools that receive money from state scholarship programs. Several students have been banned from schools recently for wearing dreadlocks, braids and other traditionally African-American hairstyles. “The forms of racial discrimination most commonly seen in education have evolved. It is now rare to find a policy that explicitly excludes potential students based on skin color,” says the letter. “However, subtle rules and restrictions based on racial stereotypes and proxies have the same force and effect.” Step Up For Students, which hosts this blog, helps administer four state scholarship programs. Huffington Post. (more…)
Schools and guns: U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is reportedly considering a plan that would allow school districts to use federal funds to buy guns. The proposal would use money from the $1 billion Student Support and Academic Enrichment program, which was set up to help the country's poorest schools by improving school conditions and technology. If the proposal goes into effect, Education Department officials believe it would be the first time a federal agency has allowed the purchase of weapons without a mandate from Congress. Educators and some politicians react with criticism. New York Times. Politico. Association Press. The 74. Education Week.
School security: Marion County School Board members say the district delayed informing parents about a school threat this week for four hours "under guidance from Ocala Police Department." They're urging district officials to meet with the police to reach an agreement that allows the district to notify parents sooner without disclosing details. Board member Kelly King says the district should be permitted to send a message such as: “All students are safe. More details later.” Ocala Star-Banner. (more…)
School security concerns: A survey of all 67 Florida school districts reveals the struggles officials are having paying for the state directive to place armed guards in all public schools, finding enough qualified applicants and getting them trained before schools start this month. All districts say schools will be covered. Forty-five districts are using only sworn police officers in schools, though some have yet to complete hiring and are paying overtime to officers for coverage. Nine districts are hiring security guards, and 13 are using armed volunteer administrators, custodians and other non-classroom staff members. Associated Press. The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission is expected to hear from experts on school hardening and federal privacy laws at its monthly meeting that begins today. Associated Press. The city of Deltona will reconsider its refusal to help the Volusia County School District pay for armed guardians in city schools. Daytona Beach News-Journal. Citrus County commissioners sign a contract to help the school district pay for school resource officers, and are urging Sheriff Mike Prendergast to do the same. Citrus County Chronicle.
Turmoil on Broward board: The attorney for the Broward County School Board made the decision to ask for a contempt order against a newspaper for disclosing information that was supposed to be redacted from a district report on accused school shooter Nikolas Cruz's educational history. Barbara Myrick says she and another school district attorney made the decision without notifying board members or district officials, even though it was filed on the behalf of the board. Board members are unhappy. “Communication to the board must improve,” says chairwoman Nora Rupert. “The aspect that we’re getting our information from the news is ridiculous.” Board members also argued about Superintendent Robert Runcie's decision this week to delay putting metal detectors in Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School when schools reopen Aug. 15, then abruptly recessed the meeting. Sun-Sentinel. Miami Herald. Privacy experts say the Broward County School District violated federal law when it failed to properly redact the report on Cruz's educational background, but is unlikely to be penalized. Sun-Sentinel. (more…)
