K-12 spending: Legislators are touting the record spending on K-12 education in this year's budget. But Orange County school officials and the Florida Education Association say the increase of about 1 percent doesn't even cover inflation. Orlando Sentinel. News Service of Florida. House Speaker Steve Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island, says there are greater differences between the House and Senate on education spending than on any other budget issue. Politico Florida. Lawmakers defend their compromise agreement on education spending. Politico Florida.

Education bill: Amendments are being added to one of the two major education bills in the Legislature. Several involve the teacher bonus program. Among them: deleting it, allowing teachers to use LSAT scores to qualify in addition to ACT and SAT, allowing teachers to qualify if they graduated from a college or university ranked among the top 25 nationally by the Princeton Review or other national publication at the time of their graduation, and more. Politico Florida.

School testing: More than 200 Lee County students have opted out of the Florida Standards Assessments so far. WINK. A Pasco County School Board member agrees with parents who believe students ought to be able to read after finishing their Florida Standards Assessments tests. A few state districts allow it, but those in west-central Florida do not. Gradebook.

Recess benefits: Key lawmakers believe the decision to require daily recess for elementary students should be made at the local level. But advocates say the problem is local school boards won't commit, which is why the issue landed in the Legislature. The Senate bill won't be heard, but backers aren't quitting. They say the benefits of recess are too compelling. WTSP.

Workbook removed: A fifth-grade workbook is removed from the Walker Elementary School curriculum after a parent complained about the inclusion of the phrase "Muslims pray to Allah." The reference was in a lesson helping Okaloosa County students differentiate between the words pray and prey. Northwest Florida Daily News. (more…)