Open enrollment: A bill that would allow any student to enroll in any school that has an opening is headed for a full House vote. Two changes were made to the bill. One would give enrollment preferences to those who live in communities that donated land for the school. The other would require middle and high school teachers to provide a class syllabus to any parent who asks for it. Three other education bills also moved along in the House. One would require daily recess in elementary schools. Another would eliminate the Florida School Board Association's ability to use taxpayer money to sue the state. The third would ask voters to approve a statewide body to govern charter schools. Miami Herald. Politico Florida. News Service of Florida. WFSU.

State testing: The Florida Department of Education is warning superintendents that some of their computer systems may not be able to properly run the 2016 Florida Standards Assessments tests. Gradebook. Fort Myers News-Press. Sunshine State News.

Computer coding: A House committee adds $79,326 in appropriations for a bill that would allow students to fulfill their foreign language requirements by taking computer coding. The bill is at odds with the Senate version. Politico Florida. Tampa Bay Times.

Charter construction: A bill that would require districts to finance charter school infrastructure moves ahead in the House. Districts now may use money from property taxes for charter school construction and maintenance, but it's not mandatory. The bill also places limits on how much school districts may spend, with penalties attached for exceeding those limits. Miami Herald. Politico Florida. News Service of Florida.

Superintendent loses support: Three of the seven Polk County School Board members say they no longer support School Superintendent Kathryn LeRoy. She was the target of a complaint that alleged sexual harassment, unprofessional conduct and mismanagement. She was cleared, but advised to take sexual harassment training. The board votes Friday whether to fire LeRoy. Lakeland Ledger. (more…)

School transfers: School board members, administrators and coaches are concerned about proposed bills in the Legislature that would allow students and athletes to transfer to any school, and in some of the bills permit athletes to be immediately eligible to play. Orlando Sentinel.

Regulation-free bill: Palm Beach School Superintendent Robert Avossa supports a bill in the Legislature that would exempt a handful of low-performing districts from most state regulations, saying he “wanted to be first in line” for the program if it becomes law. Palm Beach Post.

Charter schools: Bills in the Legislature would make it easier for High Impact Charter School Networks to set up charter schools, especially in areas with failing schools. New rules would hold charters accountable, but also waive some fees and shorten the time between approval and opening. WFSU. A charter high school in Clearwater is opting out of its automatically renewing contract with its management company. Newpoint Pinellas High has a $273,000 operating debt and owes management company Newpoint Education Partners almost $500,000. Gradebook. Limited capital funds present problems for both public and charter schools in Northwest Florida, charter school supporters and critics agree. Pensacola News Journal. Are charters schools in northwest Florida justifying taxpayer expenses? Pensacola News Journal. The Orange County School District is appealing a county advisory group's approval of plans to open two charter schools. Orlando Sentinel. Teachers at the Lake Wales Charter Schools are being trained to teach their students computer coding, which will become a requirement. Lakeland Ledger.

Racism lesson: A first-grade teacher's unauthorized attempt to demonstrate racism backfires when a parent complains. The Minneola Elementary Charter School teacher separated children by eye color, and then treated blue-eyed students to hugs and candy for several hours while brown-eyed students got nothing. School administrators say the teacher is under investigation and call the lesson inappropriate. WESH. (more…)