Education amendment: A proposed constitutional amendment that bundles three education issues will appear on the November ballot. The Constitution Revision Commission, in a 27-10 vote, approves Proposal 6003, which calls for eight-year term limits on school board members, gives the authority to approve charter schools to an entity other than local school boards, and requires civics to be taught in public schools. It was one of eight amendments approved on Monday. Another education proposal, which would have allowed “high-performing” public school districts to apply for an exemption from following some state laws and regulations, as charter schools can now, was rejected by the CRC. There will be 13 amendment proposals on the ballot. Each must be approved by 60 percent of voters to take effect. Miami Herald. News Service of Florida. Gradebook. redefinED. Orlando Sentinel. Associated Press. Politico Florida.

Education funding: The state's school superintendents say that if legislators are going to be called for a special session on gambling, they should also reconsider funding for education. The Florida Association of District School Superintendents wants the Legislature to increase the base allocation by $152 per student, which would cost the state about $300 million. It also wants to be able to use money from the program that calls for arming school employees to instead hire school resource officers. A previous request by the group for a special session to take another look at education funding was denied. Gradebook. (more…)

Marching students: Students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland lead a march of about 800,000 people in Washington, D.C., to call for stricter regulation of guns and safety in schools. Seventeen people were killed in a shooting at the school Feb. 14, launching the #NeverAgain movement and marches in Washington and around the world on Saturday. Sun-Sentinel. Miami Herald. New York Times. Associated Press. Tribune News Service. Politico. Tampa Bay Times. Politico Florida. Naples Daily News. The 74. Education Week. Students around the state also participate in local marches. Associated Press. Tampa Bay Times. Orlando Sentinel. Palm Beach Post. Florida Times-Union. Politico Florida. Tallahassee Democrat. Pensacola News Journal. Florida Today. Fort Myers News-Press. TCPalm. Naples Daily News. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Bradenton Herald. Gainesville Sun. Daytona Beach News-Journal. Flagler Live. Northwest Florida Daily News. Daily Commercial. Citrus County Chronicle. Villages-News. Key West Citizen. The story of how Stoneman Douglas High students turned their grief into action is the subject of a documentary called 39 Days. CBS News. What's next for the Stoneman Douglas student-activists? Miami Herald. USA Today. An online poll shows that two-thirds of U.S. high school students think gun laws should be stricter. Orlando Sentinel.

School security: Another battle is shaping up between school districts and the state over the requirements of the new school safety law. Districts say the Legislature didn't provide enough funding for putting an armed officer in every school, and there isn't enough time to comply by the start of the next school year. “People want school security, right now,” says Andrea Messina, executive director of the Florida School Boards Association. “But just having this legislation in place doesn’t mean anything is going to improve right away." Sun-Sentinel. GateHouse. Tampa Bay Times. Gov. Rick Scott sends a letter to every school superintendent and school board with a list of things they must do to comply with the new Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act. Florida Today. WCJB. A school safety pilot program developed by Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd in 2016 is incorporated into Florida's controversial new law, and is the basis for Brevard Sheriff Wayne Ivey's program. It calls for arming teachers and other school workers with concealed weapons at schools. Florida Today. Jewish school leaders in south Florida praise state leaders for setting aside $2 million in the budget to harden non-public schools. Sun-Sentinel. The Leon County School District denies a request from a charter school company to provide Governors Charter Academy in Tallahassee a school resource officer by April 1. Tallahassee Democrat. Gradebook. A company is testing a school alert system at the National Navy UDT-SEAL Museum in Fort Pierce that initiates a loud siren and strobe lights to alert and disrupt in an active-shooter situation. TCPalm. The Clay County School District begins a series of community meetings about school safety today. Florida Times-Union. St. Johns County school and law enforcement officials struggle with an increased sense of anxiety in schools. St. Augustine Record. (more…)