School safety bill: The Florida House votes today on the school safety bill passed by the Senate on Monday. Tuesday, representatives turned away every amendment to put limits on guns beyond those already approved by senators and agreed to the provisions in the Senate bill, including a voluntary program to arm some school personnel, a three-day waiting period to buy firearms and an increase in the legal age for buying guns from 18 to 21. The House vote is expected to be close. Sun-Sentinel. Tampa Bay Times. Orlando Sentinel. Palm Beach Post. GateHouse. Tallahassee Democrat. News Service of Florida. Politico Florida. Families of all 17 victims of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting urge the House to pass the bill. Miami Herald. There's plenty to like - and hate - in the school safety bill. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. The U.S. House will vote next week on the STOP School Violence Act of 2018, a bill that would create a grant program to train students, teachers and other school staff on identifying and intervening when someone shows signs of violence. Associated Press. About a dozen Florida senators receive jars filled with tar and feathers after the school safety bill passed, labeled “From the Children of Bradford County.” Miami Herald. Politico Florida. House leaders pull at least $10 million worth of projects out of the budget that had been requested by Republicans who oppose the school safety bill. Politico Florida.
Districts' actions: The Broward County School Board passes a resolution calling for the ban of semiautomatic weapons and tougher federal background checks for gun buyers. Sun-Sentinel. Hillsborough County School Board members vote unanimously against arming anyone on campuses other than law enforcement officials. Gradebook. Pasco County School Board members say that school safety measures called for in the Legislature's bill could take money away from other district priorities, such as boosting teacher pay, adding guidance counselors and expanding prekindergarten programs. Gradebook. Superintendent Jacqueline Byrd says Polk County schools won't be arming teachers and staff. Lakeland Ledger. St. Lucie County Sheriff Ken Mascara says there is now an armed deputy at all county schools. TCPalm. Sarasota County School Board members agree to a five-year, $25 million plan to improve school security. Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
State budget: A disagreement over how to fund hospitals will force the Legislature to work overtime to complete a budget. House Speaker Richard Corcoran, R-Land O'Lakes, told representatives to expect to work through Saturday, or even Monday. The House and Senate agree on K-12 and university spending, on the expansion of Bright Futures and on teacher bonuses, but could not come to a consensus on how to reimburse hospitals for Medicaid. There's a 72-hour hour cooling off period after agreement is reached on a budget, which meant it had to be completed Tuesday night for the Legislature to finish as scheduled on Friday. News Service of Florida. Tampa Bay Times. Politico Florida.
Carvalho to NYC: Miami-Dade County School Superintendent Alberto Carvalho will be introduced today as the new New York City schools chancellor, according to reports. Carvalho, 53, who has been the Miami-Dade school chief since 2008, replaces the retiring Carmen Farina. His start date has not been set. Carvalho won the national superintendent of the year award in 2014, and was said to have been a top contender for the U.S. education secretary job if Hillary Clinton had won the presidency. “Alberto Carvalho is a world-class educator with an unmatched track record of success,” New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a statement. “I am very confident that our extensive, national search has found New York City the best person to lead the nation’s largest school system into the future.” The Miami-Dade school board meets today to discuss “the stability of the executive management leadership.” Politico Florida. New York Times. Miami Herald. Associated Press. The 74. Chalkbeat.
School safety bills: The Legislature's collective desire to create a bill that improves school safety is already showing signs of fraying. Both the Senate and House bills call for arming teachers, which Gov. Rick Scott opposes. Thirteen of the Senate's 15 Democratic members say they won't support the bill unless it has stronger gun control provisions. Two Republican senators say they may vote against it because it calls for a three-day waiting period for most gun purchases and raises the legal age for buying rifles to 21. Polls show a strong public sentiment for tightening gun laws, and family members of victims are worried that gun advocates are using the tragedy to introduce guns in schools. Miami Herald. Florida Politics. President Donald Trump urges Congress to move quickly on tougher background checks on gun purchases, raising the legal age for some gun purchases, improving school safety and allocatng more money for mental health treatment. Politico Florida. Associated Press. New York Times. USA Today. Experts say hardening schools against shootings is not as effective as identifying threats early and intervening quickly. Politico Florida.
Education budget: Senate and House negotiators are moving toward an agreement on spending for education. In the first conference committee negotiations, senators agreed to the House's position on funding for public schools and will use increases in local taxes from new construction, but lower the tax rate on existing properties to offset tax increases driven by rising property values. The committees meet again today and Friday, with a goal of sending a final agreement to the Senate president and House speaker by Sunday morning. News Service of Florida. Politico Florida. Gradebook.
Students return: Students returning to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School for the first time since the Feb. 14 shootings that killed 17 people describe the day as "odd but calming." Surrounded by a heavy police presence, they observed 17 seconds of silence, ate bagels and cream cheese and got comfort from therapy animals and hugs from fellow students and staff. About 95 percent of the 3,300 students came for the four-hour day devoted to healing. Thursday and Friday also will be four-hour days, with the regular schedule expected to resume next week. Superintendent Robert Runcie says the massive police presence will gradually ease. “We have to strike a balance in security," says Runcie. "This is not some armed camp.” Sun-Sentinel. Miami Herald. WQAM. Associated Press. Students talk about their anger and hope. Sun-Sentinel. (more…)
Education bill: The Senate Education Committee unanimously approves a major rewrite of the House's omnibus education bill, H.B. 7055. The Senate version would put armed law enforcement officers at every school in the state, make state scholarships available to bullied students with substantiated claims, boost oversight of private school choice programs, require charter schools to return facilities to districts if they close, and create a comprehensive mental health program for schools, among other things. It also removes the provision that would decertify teachers unions if membership falls below half of the members represented. The revised bill now moves on to the Senate Appropriations Committee. redefinED. Associated Press. Gradebook. Politico Florida. Florida Politics. News Service of Florida.
Parkland and politics: The Florida House overwhelmingly rejects a proposal to ban assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines as about 100 students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School look on. The vote was 71-36 against H.B. 219, Students say the shootings have changed them, and vow to continue fighting for school safety. Miami Herald. Sun-Sentinel. Palm Beach Post. Politico Florida. Tallahassee Democrat. After meetings with superintendents and law enforcement officials, Gov. Rick Scott says he will have a plan of action in response to the shootings in Parkland to take to legislators by Friday. “We have two weeks left in session at that point, and my goal is to get something accomplished," says Scott. Politico Florida. WKMG. News Service of Florida. Florida Politics. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. A Senate hearing on a bill that would allow designated people to carry concealed weapons at schools is postponed Tuesday. Miami Herald. President Donald Trump calls on the Justice Department to ban all devices like bump stocks, an attachment that can turn a semi-automatic weapon into an automatic one. Associated Press. New York Times. The Broward County Charter Review Commission says it will consider giving voters the chance to decide what guns should be permitted in the county. Sun-Sentinel. Pinellas County School Board member Linda Lerner wants the board to officially support a ban on assault weapons. Gradebook. Leon County School Superintendent Rocky Hanna is criticized by the chairman of the county's Republican Party for giving excused absences to students who wanted to join a rally at the Capitol. Tallahassee Democrat.
Teacher bonuses: More than 163,500 Florida teachers qualify for bonuses under the state's Best and Brightest Teacher Scholarship Program, according to Florida Department of Education data. The bonuses range from $800 to $7,200. More than 9,000 will get the top awards. They qualify by being rated highly effective and scoring in the top 20 percent when they took the ACT or SAT. Also receiving bonuses of $4,000 or $5,000 are 638 principals. The state will spend almost $215 million on the bonuses, which will be paid by April 1. The bonus program was created in 2015 but has been controversial, and the Legislature is considering bills this year to amend it. Orlando Sentinel.
More on Nikolas Cruz: Suspected school shooter Nikolas Cruz would plead guilty to killing 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland to avoid the death penalty, according to his lawyer. Sun-Sentinel. The FBI apologizes for not following up a tip in January that Cruz may have been planning a school shooting. Miami Herald. Associated Press. The Florida Department of Children and Families investigated Cruz after he made threatening posts on social media, but determined he was a low risk to harm himself or others. Sun-Sentinel. Miami Herald. Cruz was regularly in trouble for cussing, insulting people and disrupting classes when he attended Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, according to his disciplinary file. Sun-Sentinel. The couple who took Cruz into their home after his mother died say, “We had this monster living under our roof and we didn’t know. We didn’t see this side of him.” A longtime friend also called Cruz "lonely and ostracized." Sun-Sentinel. Miami Herald.
Other developments: Broward Superintendent Robert Runcie says the district is proposing to tear down Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Legislators agree. Runcie also says the school will remain closed through at least Wednesday. Sun-Sentinel. Palm Beach Post. A hospital spokesperson says the last critically injured victim of the shooting is improving. Sun-Sentinel. Stoneman Douglas principal Ty Thompson posts an emotional video message for the community. Sun-Sentinel. These are the heroes of the massacre. Miami Herald. CNN. More than nine out of 10 U.S. public schools now hold regular active shooter drills. Vox. An expert on school security warns officials to avoid "knee-jerk" reactions to improving security, and lists several things districts can do now to lead to safer schools. New Orleans Times-Picayune.
Deadly shooting: Broward County detectives say Nikolas Cruz has confessed to killing 17 people and wounding more than a dozen others in a shooting spree Wednesday at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. He said he arrived at the school via Uber, fired more than 100 shots, dropped his gun and ammunition at the scene and escaped by blending in with a crowd of fleeing students. Then he got a drink at a Subway in Walmart and walked to McDonald's before being arrested. No motive for the shootings has been disclosed. Meanwhile, the names of the victims are released and thousands mourn the victims in a candlelight vigil. Sun-Sentinel. Miami Herald. Palm Beach Post. Associated Press.
Other developments: Florida legislative leaders acknowledge they've failed in providing mental health care in schools, and vow to commit more money to it. But a bill that would limit assault weapons hasn't even been scheduled for a hearing. Tampa Bay Times. News Service of Florida. TCPalm. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Palm Beach Post. Politico Florida. Nikolas Cruz legally purchased the AR-15 rifle he used in the shootings. Miami Herald. How did Cruz get around school security? Sun-Sentinel. A YouTube user claims he alerted the FBI last fall about online threats by Cruz to become a “a professional school shooter.” CNN. President Trump's proposed budget would cut millions of dollars to help schools prevent crime and recover from tragedies. Politico.
Districts react: School districts around the state beef up security and discuss ways to tighten it further. Naples Daily News. Tampa Bay Times. Gradebook. Florida Today. TCPalm. Ocala Star-Banner. Fort Myers News-Press. Lakeland Ledger. Bradenton Herald. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Gainesville Sun. Tallahassee Democrat. Daytona Beach News-Journal. Northwest Florida Daily News. Daily Commercial. Charlotte Sun. WUSF. WEAR.
Refugee influx: The academic performances of most students who came to Florida schools after Hurricane Maria will not be counted when the state figures grades for districts and schools, says Florida Education Commissioner Pam Stewart. She says the federal government approved the exception for English language learners, which covers most of the nearly 8,000 students who fled the hurricane and have enrolled in Florida schools. Most of the extra students - 7,212 - are from Puerto Rico, and 710 are from other islands. Orange County has gotten the most refugee students, 1,793 for an 0.8 percent increase, while Osceola County has enrolled 1,218, which is a 2.2 percent increase. Housing remains the biggest problem for the refugees, members of the state Board of Education are told. Gradebook. Orlando Sentinel. News Service of Florida. Florida Politics. Daily Commercial.
Teacher evaluations: Several states, including Florida, have begun to change the way they evaluate teachers. Florida still uses testing and student performance indicators to determine one-third of teacher evaluation scores, but now allows districts to decide whether they want to use a state-approved formula for student growth to determine the other two-thirds. Six other states - Alaska, Arkansas, Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina and Oklahoma - now let districts decide what data to use to evaluate teachers. Education Week.
Housing for teachers: Broward County School Board members are considering ways to convince developers to build more housing that teachers can afford. Among the ideas is to waive school impact fees for those developers who build homes for people with incomes of up to $42,700 for a single person or $61,000 for a family of four. “We have a drastic need for teachers and many of them can’t afford to live in the county,” says board member Patti Good. The median home price in Broward is about $355,000, which is more than most teachers can afford. Sun-Sentinel.
Teacher bonuses suit: A legal challenge to the state's teacher bonuses program will be allowed to proceed, a federal judge has ruled. The Florida Department of Education had asked the judge to dismiss a suit, filed by the Florida Education Association, which alleges the state discriminates against older teachers and minorities because it uses teacher scores on ACT and SAT college-entrance exams to help determine eligibility for the bonuses. U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle wrote, “These allegations may or may not be true, but they are not implausible, and the truth of the allegations cannot properly be resolved on a motion to dismiss." News Service of Florida.
Constitutional amendments: The education committee of the Florida Constitution Revision Commission approves two of three proposals, and postponed consideration of a third. The committee approved proposals to impose term limits on school board members and end the elections of school superintendents. They advance to the commission's local government committee. Tabled was a proposal to end salaries for school board members. Commission member Erika Donalds, who proposed all three measures, says she's not sure if she'll revise the tabled measure. News Service of Florida. Gradebook. WJXT. WFSU. Escambia County School Superintendent Malcolm Thomas says a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow schools to comply with class-size limits based on average numbers of students wouldn't help his district or any others that already allow school choice. WUWF.
District's suspensions: The number of suspensions in Duval County schools is down for the seventh straight year, but the number of students who got at least one out-of-school suspension rose 7 percent. And the heaviest punishments fell predominantly on black students. Jacksonville's NAACP wants the district to make cultural sensitivity training mandatory for teachers and school staff. Florida Times-Union.
Suit dismissal sought: The Florida Department of Education is asking a court to dismiss a challenge to the new education law, H.B. 7069. The suit was filed by the Palm Beach County School Board, and focuses on the portion of the law that requires school districts to provide money to charter schools for construction and other building-related expenses. The DOE says the lawsuit is “based on erroneous interpretations of the Florida Constitution.” News Service of Florida.
Dual enrollment: More than 15,000 south Florida high school students are now taking dual-enrollment courses to earn college credits, saving both time and money as they work toward a college degree. Several high schools are even set up specifically for students to take college courses. Sun-Sentinel.
Textbook challenges: Since the Legislature approved a law making it easier for anyone to challenge classroom material as pornographic, biased, inaccurate or a violation of state law, seven Florida school districts say they have received challenges to textbooks. Associated Press.
Amendment proposals: The Constitution Revision Commission's education committee will consider three proposals today: ending pay for school board members, requiring superintendents to be appointed instead of elected, and setting term limits for school board members. All are proposed by Collier County School Board member Erika Donalds. Politico Florida. More than 10 of the 103 constitutional amendment proposals focus on education. Here are summaries of all 103. Sun-Sentinel.
Bright Futures: A bill that would make the expansion of Bright Futures scholarships permanent passes a Florida Senate committee and is headed to the Senate Appropriations Committee next month. S.B. 4, filed by state Sen. Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, provides full funding for tuition and fees and summer classes to Bright Futures academics scholars, plus $300 for books. Bright Futures scholars must have a 3.5 GPA and score a 1,290 on the SAT test or a 29 on the ACT. The bill also covers 75 percent of the expenses for medallion scholars. Sunshine State News.
Help for states: The U.S. Education Department is making $2 million available for Florida officials to help students and educators who were affected by several devastating hurricanes. The money will go to the Florida Department of Education for mental health assessments; overtime pay for teachers, counselors and law enforcement; substitute teachers; and emergency transportation. The U.S. department has already awarded the Texas Education Agency $2 million, and the Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands education departments also will get $2 million each. U.S. News & World Report. The 74.
ESSA plan questioned: Civil rights and education groups are lobbying U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to reject Florida's plan to comply with the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). In a letter to DeVos, the groups allege Florida's plan does not protect minority, disabled and low-income students and those who are learning English. "ESSA plans that allow schools to shirk their responsibility to all children, especially groups of children who have been shortchanged for too long, fail to meet the intent of the law and should be rejected," the letter states. Gradebook. Politico Florida. Education Week.
Scholarship oversight: Florida's school scholarship programs serve about 140,000 students and redirect almost $1 billion a year to private schools, but state regulation of those schools is so weak that many employ teachers who aren't college graduates, falsify safety records but continue to stay in business, and fail to educate students without suffering the consequences public schools face, according to a newspaper’s investigation. The number of students using tax credit, Gardiner or McKay scholarships has more than tripled in the past decade. Step Up For Students, which hosts this blog, helps administer the tax credit and Gardiner scholarship programs. Orlando Sentinel.
Testing the tests: The Florida Department of Education hires a company to evaluate whether the SAT and ACT tests can replace the state's 10th-grade language arts Florida Standards Assessments and algebra I end-of-course exams. The Legislature required the review as part of the new education law, H.B. 7069. The assessment is expected to be finished in time for Education Commissioner Pam Stewart to make a recommendation on the substitution by Jan. 1. Meanwhile, Stewart says the department won't decide on whether to delay the spring assessments testing window until after the hurricane season is over. Gradebook.
Charters schools: For the first time, the 50 or so charter schools in Palm Beach County were banned from this year's "Showcase of Schools," an event to show parents some of the most popular programs offered in county schools. School Superintendent Robert Avossa says the charter movement is "about spurring competition. So if that’s the case, why would you invite the competition to your event?” The incident is the latest in the escalating fight between district officials and charter schools. Palm Beach Post. The Florida Commission on Ethics rules that charter schools are not public agencies, but instead are more similar to business entities. Politico Florida.
