Bullying. Gov. Rick Scott signs the anti-bullying bill into law. Gradebook.

Teacher conduct. A private school teacher in West Delray is under investigation for allegations of sex with a student, reports the South Florida Sun Sentinel. State officials are investigating whether a Collier County teacher verbally abused students, reports the NBC-2. A fired Duval teacher appeals, claiming age discrimination, reports the Florida Times Union.

Gays and lesbians. A federal judge rules in favor of a Lake County middle school student who wants to create a Gay Straight Alliance at her school. Orlando Sentinel.

K-8 schools. Orange County is going to create more of them. StateImpact Florida.

Spelling bee. A home school student from South Florida makes it to the semifinals, reports the Miami Herald. The winner, Arvind Mahankali of New York, is the sixth straight Indian-American to win and the 11th in the last 15 years. (more…)

Common Core. Tony Bennett promises the most aggressive deployment of Common Core in the country. StateImpact Florida.

Teacher raises. Guidance from the governor's office, reports Gradebook. Alachua teachers are getting a 2 percent raise., reports the Gainesville Sun.

Teacher conduct. Snoozing teacher, two day suspension. South Florida Sun Sentinel.

Teacher evals. Needs tweaking, says a panel that includes Duval Superintendent Nikolai Vitti. Florida Times Union.

School spending. StateImpact Florida takes a closer look at the state ed budget. The Broward school board decides to outsource most of the facilities department, reports the South Florida Sun Sentinel. More from the Miami Herald. Pasco's still looking for ways to fill a projected $26.4 million deficit, reports the Tampa Bay Times. Flagler's decision to eliminate some paraprofessionals draws criticism, reports the Daytona Beach News Journal. (more…)

Teacher evals. Governing looks at whether teachers unions in other states will file suits similar to Florida's.

Teacher conduct. A veteran Broward County teacher is suspended for 13 days without pay for allowing an "overly permissive" classroom environment in which, among other things, she talked about her sex life. Her reassignment to a school for at-risk kids prompted a board member to ask, "How long are we going to continue to pay people to fail kids?” Miami Herald.

School spending.  Hernando projects a $4 million budget deficit, reports the Tampa Bay Times. Pinellas should be getting $37 million more next year, reports Gradebook. The Flagler school board considers cutting paraprofessionals in an effort to fill a budget gap, reports the Daytona Beach News Journal. Broward is considering outsourcing its facilities department, reports the Miami Herald. The Volusia school board votes to outsource custodial services for an estimated savings of $30 million over five years, reports the Daytona Beach News Journal. The Miami-Dade district auditor says a health care firm may have overbilled the district more than $1 million, the Herald also reports.

School choice. Pasco Superintendent Kurt Browning talks about expanding district choices. Tampa Tribune.

Rick Scott. The Republican Party of Florida unveils two ads supporting Gov. Rick Scott's education record. StateImpact Florida.

Jeb Bush. The next Foundation for Excellence in Education summit will be in Boston in October. EdFly Blog. (more…)

Teacher pay. Gov. Rick Scott embarks on his Teacher Pay Raise Pep Rally Tour. Coverage from the South Florida Sun Sentinel, Palm Beach Post, Florida Times Union, Associated Press, StateImpact Florida. Teachers are "fed up with being used as political pawns," says Pinellas teachers union president Kim Black in this Steve Bousquet piece.

Charter schools. Gradebook pulls up some stats before today's discussion about charter schools at the Pasco County School Board. An amendment to the charter school bill makes it easier for charter schools to fire teachers, Gradebook also reports.

School security. The elementary school principals in Hillsborough who have armed guards in their schools like them. Tampa Bay Times.

School discipline. Hillsborough needs to follow up on conversations to address high suspension rates for black males. Tampa Bay Times.

School spending. Freeze in financially troubled Manatee. Bradenton Herald. (more…)

School turnarounds. Tampa Bay Times education editor Tom Tobin offers his take on what it takes: "a long, slow slog that requires principals and teachers to keep on task, stay inspired and fight through times when things don't seem to be working." The Times also offers a statistical snapshot of the five Pinellas schools on the turnaround list.

Legislature. Fund Education Now co-founder Christine Bramuchi offers her take on what happened in this year's session in a Q&A with the Orlando Sentinel. John Romano does here. The Palm Beach Post does here. Orlando Sentinel rundown here. Tallahassee Democrat here. Times/Herald here.

Florida's progress. Accountability through school grades has made a positive difference, writes Matt Ladner at Jay P. Greene Blog.

Teachers unions. The Florida Education Association has been operating without its tax-exempt status since January. Florida Center for Investigative Reporting.

Teacher pay. The Broward County School Board agrees to give extra money to high-performing teachers at low-performing schools. Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel.

Teacher conduct.  A Broward County band teacher is accused of marijuana-fueled, sexual trysts with a student, reports the South Florida Sun Sentinel. In another teacher conduct case, the Palm Beach Post has the latest on a former private school teacher accused of giving students candy in return for sex acts.

Parent trigger. StateImpact Florida does a Storify on the post-trigger battle over #parentempowerment. Margo Pope from Florida Voices: "Parents already have options in state law that empower them. They don’t need another law. They need to know how to use what is already on the books." (more…)

Charter schools. The Pinellas school board will again consider whether to sell a vacant middle school building to a proposed charter school, reports Gradebook. A new charter school in Immokalee that will use blended learning is now enrolling students , reports the Naples Daily News.

Data. The Bradenton Herald editorial board: The data access bill by Sen. Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, won't compromise student privacy.

School choice. Jewish educators and leaders lobby for expanded school choice in the Capitol. Lubavitch.com.

Teacher evals. State Impact Florida: "A new study says error rates for teacher evaluations based on student test scores is “quite high,” but that the evaluations may still be more accurate than traditional measures."

Gays and lesbians. U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen files legislation to better protect gay and lesbian students from bullying, reports the Miami Herald. In support of the bill, a Leesburg eighth-grader tells reporters about being harassed, reports the Orlando Sentinel. (more…)

Parent trigger. Parent trigger passes House 68-51, with seven Republicans voting no. Tampa Bay Times, Orlando Sentinel, Associated Press. Orange County School Board Chair Bill Sublette paints a nightmare scenario against the parent trigger in this Orlando Sentinel op-ed.

Digital learning. The House passes a bill to expand access to online classes, with some Democrats voting yes, reports the Tallahassee Democrat. More from SchoolZone.

Charter schools. The House passes a charter school bill that beefs up accountability and makes it easier for high-performing charters to expand, reports the Orlando Sentinel. A proposed Montessori charter school in Lake County asks for more time, for a third time, to answer questions about finances and other issues, reports SchoolZone. The Naples Daily News profiles the Marco Island Academy charter school.

Tutoring. A House committee adds a provision to a bill that would undo a requirement that districts spend a portion of Title I dollars on parent-selected, private tutors for low-income kids. The Buzz.

More school choice rally. Sunshine State News, WFSU. (more…)

Florida Formula. South Carolina is looking at third-grade retention and other parts of the Florida model. The State.

Parent trigger. The Senate Education Committee passes the parent trigger along - altogether now - party lines. The Buzz, WFSU, Tallahassee Democrat.

Charter schools. StateImpact Florida writes up a bill sponsored by Sen. Bill Montford, D-Tallahassee, that would allow districts to create charter-like "innovation schools." (The Senate Education Committee passed the bill unanimously.) The Orlando Sentinel notes passages of another charter bill that would beef up accountability requirements.

Dual  enrollment. The DOE picks the College of Central Florida to create a website promoting dual enrollment. Ocala Star Banner. (more…)

Charter schools. The Tampa Tribune suggests a compromise is in the works on bills dealing with charter schools funding, facilities and accountability. Senate education leaders want a broader discussion about a proposal to give charter schools dibs on unused school buildings, reports Gradebook. Tampa Bay Times columnist John Romano lists support for "for profit charter schools" as another example of the Legislature not caring about popular opinion. A St. Lucie County School Board member raises the idea of converting a soon-to-be-shuttered school into a charter, reports TCPalm.com.

Private schools. The ones in Marion County are hurt by the recession, but the pain is mitigated by McKay and tax credit scholarships, reports the Ocala Star Banner. Unpaid volunteer teachers come to the rescue of a Brandon private school that experienced an enrollment dip. Tampa Bay Times.

Magnet schools. The Miami-Dade school district is looking to create a new MAST magnet school on one of the FIU campuses, but it hinges on funding from local communities. Miami Herald.

Parent trigger. The Panama City News Herald writes up Friday's vote in the House Education Committee.

The Florida model. Education Commissioner Tony Bennett and Patricia Levesque, executive director of the Foundation for Excellence in Education, are among those participating in Maine Gov. Paul LePage's education summit, reports the Kennebec Journal. More from WABI TV. (more…)

Charter schools. A charter school and the Pasco school district disagree about whether the school can increase its enrollment this fall. Tampa Bay Times.

Teacher pay. Republican lawmakers are moving ahead with a merit-pay alternative to Gov. Rick Scott's proposal for an across-the-board teacher pay raise, reports the Tampa Bay Times. More from Central Florida Political Pulse, StateImpact Florida, The Florida Current. Some Board of Education members push back against Scott's proposal, reports WFSU.

Parent trigger. Former state Sen. Paula Dockery weighs in on parent trigger with a no in this Florida Voices op-ed.  Flagler Live writes up Tuesday's debate on parent trigger in the House Education Appropriations Committee.

Magnet schools. Duval Superintendent Nikolai Vitti is pushing to restore buses for magnet schools. Florida Times Union.

School choice. The St. Lucie County School Board makes changes to its choice and student assignment plans for high school students. TCPalm.com.

Special needs students. Another incident involving students with disabilities in Hillsborough, this one involving a bus driver who is caught on camera kicking an 8-year-old autistic girl, reports the Tampa Bay Times. More from the Tampa Tribune. (more…)