Teacher bonuses lawsuit: Forty-three Florida school districts have been dropped from the legal challenge to the state's teacher bonuses program known as the Best & Brightest scholarships. Those districts successfully argued that the bonuses program wasn't their idea and that they shouldn't be held responsible for simply following the law. The state's largest school districts and the Florida Department of Education remain defendants. The suit was brought by the Florida Education Association, the state's largest teachers union, which contends the program discriminates against veteran and minority teachers because college entry exam results are used to qualify. The U.S. District Court Northern District of Florida is handling the case. Gradebook.
After the storm: Bay County teachers get trauma training to help students who were devastated by Hurricane Michael, as schools prepare to reopen next week. “Our teachers, you guys are going to be on the front line of helping students,” says Jinks Middle School principal Britt Smith, who arranged training to prepare teachers to reassure students and help them talk about the effect of the hurricane on their lives. “How we act is going to affect how they react as well,” says Lori Allen, executive director of the Child Advocacy Center. Panama City News Herald. The Bay County School District has found emergency housing for 10 families of district employees left homeless by the storm, but is still looking on behalf of 86 more. “We’re just making these connections, one by one,” says Sharon Michalik, district director of communications. “We’re going to do this one home at a time. That’s how we’re going to solve this.” Panama City News Herald.
Governor's race: At an event at St. Peter Claver Catholic School in Tampa yesterday, Casey DeSantis, wife of Republican gubernatorial candidate Ron DeSantis, characterized Democrat Andrew Gillum's opposition to school choice "shameful & wrong." Gillum has sent mixed messages about his position on school choice on the campaign trail, calling in September to bring choice scholarships "to a conclusion" and most recently at the final gubernatorial debate saying he proposes no change to the current status quo. Florida Politics.
