'Schools of hope': In Florida, 77,000 students attend public schools that have received grades of D or F from the state for three years or more. Those are the schools House Republicans plan to improve with their "Schools of Hope" legislation, which would set aside $200 million to bring in well-regarded charter schools to offer those students an alternative. Nearly half of the struggling schools are in south Florida and the Tampa Bay area. Critics say the legislation is a simplistic solution to a complex problem. Miami Herald. Backers of the bill find support in a ruling last year by a Leon County judge. Circuit Judge George Reynolds tossed out a suit claiming that the state's funding of public schools did not meet the constitutional requirement to provide a "high quality" education system. Reynolds' ruling also warned of school boards' seeming complacency in accepting long-term F schools, something the new bill aims to address. redefinED.
School testing: Most legislators share the opinion that the state testing system needs to be reformed. What's unclear is which of the competing bills will be chosen by the Senate to move forward. One compresses the testing schedule into the final three weeks of the school year and requires results back within a week. The other would also move testing later in the school year, eliminate some exams and allow districts to administer the tests in paper and pencil. School officials say either bill would present practical challenges. Tampa Bay Times.
Religious expression: The House will vote Tuesday whether to proceed with the original Senate bill guaranteeing students and employees freedom of religious expression in public schools or adopt the House's shorter and amended version. Gradebook.
Disappearing seniors: The Manatee County School District is among 10 districts that have drawn the attention of the state Department of Education for their high number of likely-to-fail seniors who transfer from public high schools to alternative schools. Since the 2013-2014 school year, at least 515 Manatee County seniors who would not have graduated have transferred to Smart Horizons, an accredited online private school. Manatee Superintendent Diana Greene says anyone who thinks the district is "cooking the books" to improve graduation rates doesn't understand the numbers. Bradenton Herald. (more…)
Education budget plans: The Senate appropriations subcommittee approves a plan to increase preK-12 education spending by $535 million. The panel chairman, Sen. David Simmons, R-Altamonte Springs, says retaining current property tax rates would let localities collect hundreds of millions of dollars more as property values increase. “We don’t consider the additional amount of taxes they pay to be a tax increase. We consider it incidental to the increase in value in the property,” Simmons said, as a response to the House's insistence that it is a tax increase. The Senate and House education budgets are now almost $540 million apart. The Senate budget also includes no money for the teacher bonuses program. Simmons implied the program would become part of negotiations between the Senate and House, which has $214 million set aside for the bonus program. News Service of Florida. Politico Florida. Miami Herald. Naples Daily News. WFSU.
School improvement: The House Education Committee takes up a school improvement bill today that would set aggressive requirements for districts to turn around academically struggling schools. Turnaround plans would be required for schools receiving D or F grades from the state just a few months after the grades are issued. If the plans do not raise the school grade to a C within three years, the schools would be labeled "persistently low-performing" and districts would have to close them, convert them to a charter, or bring in an outside operator. Districts would no longer have the option of carrying out their own turnaround plans. redefinED. Gradebook.
School HQ evacuated: An infestation of vermin and blow flies has forced the evacuation of the Okaloosa County School District Administrative Complex in Fort Walton Beach. The administration and school board members will work from the Niceville Central Complex until further notice. "I'm not going to have them stay some place that I'm not going to stay in," says Superintendent Mary Beth Jackson. "We've tried to put Band-Aids on and fix it, but I'm afraid we may be a bit past that now." Northwest Florida Daily News.
Charter school laws: Florida ranks eighth in the nation in a recent analysis of states' charter school laws, according to the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. Indiana was rated No. 1. Florida ranks highly on autonomy and accountability, for not having caps on the number of charter schools allowed, and for providing a strong appeals process for applicants that are denied. The report notes that state still provides inequitable funding to charter schools. redefinED. (more…)
