Retention lawsuit: Parents who launched a legal challenge against the state's policies on 3rd-grade retention are now asking a court to dismiss the case. They had challenged the policy that required students to take the Florida Standards Assessments reading test to be eligible for promotion, regardless of their academic performance. But they lost that case, and an appeal for the Florida Supreme Court to consider it, largely on the question of venue. The state contended the suits should have been filed in local courts. Gradebook.
H.B. 7069 lawsuit: Leon County school officials won't ask the school board to join the lawsuit challenging the state's new education law, H.B. 7069. The Florida Association of District School Superintendents also says it will not join the suit, saying those decisions are for local school boards. Eleven school boards have voted to join the suing coalition. They say the new law is unconstitutional because the bill covers more than one subject, and it forces districts to share tax money with charter schools while stripping those districts of authority over charters. WFSU.
DeVos visit: U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos tours a private religious school and a charter school during a stop in Tallahassee, and touted the schools as "examples of what schools should aspire to be.” Her trip extends into today, when she will visit another private religious school. News Service of Florida. Tallahassee Democrat. Miami Herald. USA Today. Sunshine State News. WFSU. Leon County School Superintendent Rocky Hanna is critical of DeVos' trip, saying "it’s insulting that she’s going to visit the capital of the state of Florida, to visit a charter school, a private school and a voucher school." Tallahassee Democrat. DeVos gave no indication during her trip if the U.S. Department of Education would be receptive to Florida's request for a waiver from requirements of the federal Every Student Succeeds Act. Politico Florida.
Schools of hope: The Florida House approves a $200 million plan to recruit charter schools as options to persistently low-performing public schools. The so-called "schools of hope" proposal creates a fund to attract charter school companies to enter areas where traditional public schools have received D or F grades from the state for three straight years. There are 115 such schools in Florida now. “This is our ‘Hail Mary’ to the kids of Florida to try to give them better opportunity and a better life,” says Rep. Chris Latvala, R-Clearwater. Miami Herald. News Service of Florida. Sunshine State News. Florida Politics. Sun-Sentinel. Here are some specific details in the schools of hope bill. Politico Florida. The House passes an $81.2 billion budget, which is about $4 billion less than the budget approved by the Senate. Tampa Bay Times. Politico Florida. Naples Daily News.
Educator bonuses: The Florida House approves a plan to expand the state's teacher bonuses program, and include principals in it. The bill widens the pool of eligibility and adds $200 million to the program. The Senate has no money proposed for teacher bonuses, but has indicated a willingness to negotiate an expansion that both chambers can agree on. WFSU.
Capitol statue: The Senate Appropriations Committee approves a measure to place a statue of educator and civil rights leader Mary McLeod Bethune at the U.S. Capitol, replacing the one of Confederate Gen. Edmund Kirby Smith. News Service of Florida.
Student screenings: Thousands of students in Duval and Clay counties never got the mental health screenings the state paid a Fernandina Beach company to do. Florida Psychological Associates was paid $1 million through Florida State University to do the screenings. The university is now offering to return $200,000 to the state for money it had held back for "indirect costs." WJAX. Tallahassee Democrat. (more…)
