Panel's recommendations: The state commission investigating the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shootings rejects a move to require a sworn police officer at every school in the state, saying such a mandate would cost about $400 million a year. Instead, the panel approves a recommendation to require at least one police officer at every high school and middle school in the state, with elementary schools being covered by armed security guards or school employees. Associated Press. TCPalm. WLRN. A video combining surveillance footage, animation of the school shooter's action and recordings of police calls is shown to the panel. It depicts Broward deputy Scot Peterson hiding during the massacre. Peterson will testify at the commission's October meeting. Sun-Sentinel. Miami Herald. Chairman Bob Gualtieri says he wants to make the commission's final report open to the public. Sun-Sentinel. Criminal law experts say the addiction and propensity for violence of accused shooter Nikolas Cruz's birth mother could be used as an argument against his execution. Miami Herald. Sun-Sentinel.
Amendment 8: Florida Supreme Court justices hear arguments for and against proposed constitutional Amendment 8. The amendment, put forward by the Constitution Revision Commission, would set term limits for school board members, require civics education in schools and create an entity other than local school boards that can approve charter and public schools. The League of Women Voters is asking the amendment be removed from the ballot because it's "misleading." Attorneys for the state dispute that. A decision is expected soon. Meanwhile, Amendment 8 was removed from another court challenge to six bundled amendments. "It didn't make a lot of sense for us to spend a lot of time here on issues that are being heard across town," says Leon County Judge Karen Gievers. News Service of Florida. Orlando Sentinel. Florida Politics. Miami Herald. Gradebook. Florida Phoenix. (more…)
Lead in schools' water: The Hillsborough County School District knew for 16 months that there were high levels of lead in the water at many schools before it informed parents. Deputy superintendent for operations Chris Farkas and communications chief Grayson Kamm acknowledge the district should have told parents sooner. The district still hasn't released the results of most of the tests, and schools start next week with the scope of the problem still unknown. The district has tested about 20 percent of its schools, and lead has been found in the drinking water in every one. Tampa Bay Times. Hillsborough parents can search a database to see if their child's school has been tested for lead. Tampa Bay Times.
Turmoil in Broward: A group of parents whose children died in the shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School blasts the Broward County School Board for its "lack of decisiveness," and is urging voters to remove all incumbents in the primary elections Aug. 28. Five of the nine board seats are being contested. The group also is critical of Superintendent Robert Runcie's actions, but stopped short of calling for his removal even as others were making that case. Sun-Sentinel. Miami Herald. News Service of Florida. WLRN.
Charter school rulings: The state's Charter School Appeal Commission unanimously agrees that the Leon County School Board had no evidence to support its denial of a charter school's application in April. The commission's recommendation now goes to the Florida Board of Education for a vote, though Leon school officials say they accept the recommendation and will allow the K-8 Tallahassee Classical School's application to move forward. Tallahassee Democrat. redefinED. An administrative law judge backs the Orange County School District's decision to deny capital funding to a low-performing charter school in Ocoee. Kid’s Community College Charter School Orange County Inc. challenged the state rule prohibiting capital funds to go to charters that receive a grade below C for two consecutive years. News Service of Florida. (more…)
Hope Scholarship delays: While the new state scholarship for bullied students technically begins when school resumes in August, funds for the Hope Scholarships won't be available until after Oct. 1 and possibly not until later in November. The scholarships will be funded through voluntary donations of the $105 from the sales tax that drivers pay for vehicle transactions. The collections do not begin until Oct. 1 and car dealers have 20 days to report their previous month's tax collections, which could delay the money being available until Nov. 20 or later. The scholarships are available on a first-come, first-served basis, and state analysts project a demand of about $27 million in the first year. Step Up For Students, which hosts this blog, will help administer the program. News Service of Florida.
Kavanaugh and education: U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh has defended then-Gov. Jeb Bush's Florida school vouchers program against a constitutional challenge in 2000, publicly praised attempts to break down the barriers between religious schools participating in programs financed with public funds, and supported the use of public address systems for student-led prayers at public school events in Texas. The 74. Miami Herald. Politico. Sun-Sentinel. Education Week. (more…)
School crime reporting: The Broward County School District has failed to report many students' crimes to the state as required by state law, according to records from the Broward Sheriff's Office. For example, the district reported 193 weapons were found in schools during the 2016-2017 school year, but officials acknowledge they no longer were counting such things as ammunition, small knives, throwing blades, nunchucks, BB guns and combustible materials. District spokeswoman Cathleen Brennan says the data sent to the state is meant only to capture “the most serious of incidents, while other incidents are recorded and addressed locally.” Lisa Maxwell, executive director of the Broward Principals and Assistants’ Association, adds, “The state statute is really kind of unclear and open to interpretation, so it leads to subjective decisions.” Sun-Sentinel.
Scholarship oversight: Several legislators say they want to standardize education curriculum for all state schools. Sen. Victor Torres, D-Orlando, was among those calling for the change after a newspaper report detailing some of the materials used by some private schools that enroll students who get scholarships from the state. Among those lessons: people and dinosaurs lived on Earth at the same time, slaves who "knew Christ" were better off than free men who did not, and God intervened to prevent Catholics from controlling North America. The state doesn't track curriculum used by private schools with scholarship students, and bars the Florida Education Department from regulating academics at those schools. Step Up For Students, which hosts this blog, helps administer two scholarship programs students use to attend private schools. Orlando Sentinel.
One lawsuit on hold: Leon County Circuit Court Judge James Shelfer rules that the Palm Beach County School Board's challenge of the Legislature's 2017 education law, H.B. 7069, is on hold until an appeal on a broader lawsuit against the law is settled. Palm Beach is challenging only the part of the law that requires the district to share local property tax revenue with charter schools it authorizes. The other lawsuit, brought by several districts, claims the law is unconstitutional because it has "encroached on the authority vested by the Florida Constitution in locally elected district school boards to operate, control, and supervise the local public schools located in their respective jurisdictions." redefinED. (more…)
School safety task force: The Broward County School District's controversial alternative discipline program, Promise, is the focus of the second meeting of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Safety Commission. School officials defend the program, saying it has reduced the schools-to-prison pipeline that has been a problem in Broward. Members of the panel are skeptical that the program changes behavior, and want more answers at the next meeting July 10 and 11. “We need to dig deep into this ... program,” says commission member Grady Judd, who is the sheriff in Polk County. News Service of Florida. Associated Press. Sun-Sentinel. Miami Herald. TCPalm. Politico Florida. Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, who chairs the state safety commission, says he believes lawmakers did set aside enough money to pay for an armed safety officer at all schools. Politico Florida. Andrew Pollack, whose daughter Meadow died in the Parkland shootings, resigns from the commission, saying he wants to concentrate on his own investigation of the tragedy and on electing new members to the Broward County School Board. Sun-Sentinel. Miami Herald. Politico Florida.
School security: Members of the Marion County School Board say the $5.3 million cost to put certified law enforcement officers in every school may force them to consider arming employees at some elementary schools. Ocala Star-Banner. Volusia County school officials want to add six more school resource officers and hire 44 school guardians for school security, but are having trouble reaching an agreement with local law enforcement agencies on how to pay for them. Daytona Beach News-Journal. Many city officials in Brevard County disagree with the school district's plan to put school resource officers where it can and fill the gaps with security specialists, and are finding money for SROs. Florida Today. The Jackson County School Board approves the creation of a police department for the school district. WMBB. A report commissioned by the Palm Beach County School District suggests the district should proceed with its plan to create its own police force. Earlier this week, a consultant hired by the sheriff recommended that the school police force merge with the sheriff's office. Palm Beach Post. (more…)
Education lawsuit: The group suing the state over its funding of public education is asking the Florida Supreme Court to send the case back to lower courts for another review. Both a trial court and an appeals court have rejected the arguments made by the plaintiffs in the Citizens for Strong Schools v. Florida State Board of Education case, ruling that the language used in the constitutional standard for funding a high quality public education is not measurable. The plaintiffs disagree, saying the court's traditional duty has been to interpret constitutional terms and decide if the other branches of the government have acted constitutionally. Gradebook. redefinED.
School safety commissions: The federal school safety commission set up after the shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School will not consider the role of guns in school violence, U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos tells a Senate subcommittee. “That is not part of the commission’s charge per se,” DeVos said. “We are actually studying school safety and how we can ensure our students are safe at school.” Associated Press. NBC News. Politico. Washington Post. Meanwhile, the chairman of the state commission looking into the shootings at Parkland acknowledges that its investigation and recommendations won't stop school shootings in Florida. "Nobody should be mistaken about this: It's not a question of if this is going to happen again," says Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri. "The question is when and where, and most importantly, what has been done to put things in place to mitigate the impact." TCPalm. (more…)
Tax hike votes: Voters in Sarasota and Manatee counties approve an additional 1 mill on property taxes for schools, by a wide margin in Sarasota and a narrow one in Manatee. In Sarasota, the extra $55 million in each of the next four years will help pay for 30 extra minutes of classtime a day, higher teacher salaries and more art teachers and behavioral specialists. In Manatee, the extra $33 million a year for the next four years will be used to lengthen the school day by 30 minutes, pay teachers and other employees more, expand STEM and career programs and support charter schools. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Bradenton Herald. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Martin County School Board members are considering asking voters to approve a hike in property taxes to pay for teacher bonuses and construction projects. If approved, the measure could raise about $11.2 million a year for four years. TCPalm.
School security, finances: Putting a resource officer in every Pinellas County school by July 1 will cost $23.6 million, Sheriff Bob Gualtieri tells the county commission. The state's contribution is $6.1 million, and the sheriff's office and municipal police departments' contribution is $1.6 million, leaving the school district to find $12.4 million to put 201 school resource officers in the 139 district schools and 18 charter schools. And, Gualtieri notes, there would be an additional $11.2 million needed for upfront costs such as cars, weapons, uniforms and computers. Neighboring Hillsborough County school officials say the district will get an additional $41 million from the state, but still is projecting a $16 million deficit because of new state requirements on school security, an expected 3,000 extra students and other expenses. Tampa Bay Times. Hillsborough County School Board member April Griffin talks about the district's finances, and the new education and school safety bills. WMNF. The head of one of Florida's largest charter school networks is asking the 13 districts where it has schools to provide resource officers on every campus by April 1. Gradebook. The Gulf Breeze City Council votes to fund the placement of part-time officers in all the city's elementary schools through the end of the school year. WEAR.
Teacher bonuses: The Miami-Dade School District is asking the state for $2.3 million grant though the "schools of hope" program to pay highly rated teachers extra to work in five of the district's failing schools. If the schools are selected by the state for the program, teachers who are rated "highly effective" could earn up to $11,500 in bonuses if they transfer in or stay at one of the five schools, help students improve and have good attendance. Broward County is also asking for money for teacher recruitment and retention bonuses for teachers at three struggling schools. If the schools are among the 25 selected by the state for the program, those teachers could earn an extra $8,000 or $9,000 in bonuses. Miami Herald.
Charters warned: Charter schools are in line to get an extra $10 million from the Palm Beach County School District this year because of the new education law. But school officials are warning the charters to not commit that money to any projects before the legal fight over H.B. 7069 is over. “If the school board’s challenge is successful, these provisions will be struck down,” wrote Mike Burke, the district’s chief financial officer, in a letter to the 48 charter schools. “Therefore the purpose of this notice is to advise you and all relevant parties to refrain from pledging any and all future revenue(s) derived from (the property tax dollars).” Palm Beach Post. There's a lot in the new state education bill that Brevard County school officials don't like, but they are not likely to be joining other districts in suing the state over H.B. 7069. Superintendent Desmond Blackburn says he will "turn the corner" in his disappointment over the bill to make it work in Brevard County. Most school board members agree, with saying joining the lawsuit could damage their relationships with local legislators who supported the bill and potentially affect future funding. Florida Today. Text messages obtained through a public records request show Republican legislators lobbying black Democrats to support H.B. 7069 during the last legislative session. Politico Florida.
Years of mold: In 2003, a Broward County grand jury ordered the school district to fix the mold problem in schools that was making teachers and students sick. But records recently obtained indicate the district is slow to respond to complaints, with many unresolved even years after they were filed, and doesn't have accurate records on repair orders or if they were completed, or even if the repairs fixed the reported problem. “The information that you’re trying to extract is information that we would love to extract, but we cannot,” says Leo Bobadilla, chief facilities officer. Sun-Sentinel.
