Florida Gov. Rick Scott delivered the State of the State Address to the Legislature on the opening day of its session Tuesday, stressing jobs and education. Here are his remarks on education, as prepared for delivery:

Our work to cut spending and live within our means over the last two years has allowed us to once again invest in education.

The workers of tomorrow are in Florida classrooms today.

When I first stood before you in 2011, I said, “The single most important factor in student learning is the quality of teaching.”

Since that time, we eliminated teacher tenure. We signed performance pay into law, and it will take effect in 2014.

Florida’s education system is making tremendous progress, due in large part to our great teachers and the work begun by Governor Bush and many in this legislature.

Our students and teachers were recently ranked sixth for educational quality; and our fourth-graders scored among the highest in the world on a recent reading evaluation.

Accountability is working.

The best way we can build on this progress is to reward our hard-working teachers with a $2,500 pay raise.

Some say they are afraid that giving raises to all teachers may mean that a teacher doing a bad job gets rewarded. But, thanks to our work, we are now in a better position than ever before to reward good teachers and move bad teachers out of the classroom.

We don’t want a war on teachers; we want a war on failure. (more…)

Private schools. What happens to private school records when private schools close? Sometimes, they disappear. Palm Beach Post.

Charter schools. The Broward school district is taking a closer look at how much it charges charter schools for bus transportation after a citizens task force complains the district is losing money on the deal and subsidizing the competition. Miami Herald. (The district is considering other ways to reduce busing costs, too, reports the South Florida Sun Sentinel.) A K-8 charter school that teaches boys and girls separately is proposed for Palm Beach Gardens, reports the Palm Beach Post.

School choice. The Palm Beach district gets 17,500 applications for about 9,000 district choice seats. Palm Beach Post.

Digital education. Florida's mandates on digital offerings brings opportunities and challenges, editorializes the Palm Beach Post.

Privatization. The Volusia school district is right to consider outsourcing custodial services to save money, editorializes the Daytona Beach News Journal. The move could save about $5 million a year, the News Journal reports.

Florida's progress. Matt Di Carlo at the Shanker Blog: "Again, Governor Bush and supporters of his reforms have some solid evidence to draw upon when advocating for the Florida reforms, particularly the grade-based accountability system. The modest estimated effects in these high-quality analyses are not as good a talking point as the “we quadrupled the number of A-rated schools in six years” argument, but they are far preferable to claiming credit for what’s on the scoreboard after having changed the rules of the game."

Pace of change. Sweeping changes to teacher evaluations, academic standards and testing have district officials on edge and lawmakers considering changes. Tallahassee Democrat. (more…)

Rick Scott's proposed budget. Includes $1.2 billion more for public schools. Coverage from South Florida Sun Sentinel, Gainesville Sun, Fort Myers News Press, TCPalm.com, Associated Press, Pensacola News Journal. "A relief to educators," reports the Lakeland Ledger.

Digital education. Jeb Bush on CNN's Schools of Thought Blog: "Digital learning is just one important element of the overall school choice movement being celebrated during National School Choice week – and rightfully so. There is no silver bullet. There is no one-size-fits-all option. There can and must be only a proliferation of ever-growing options so that students and parents can embrace whatever educational scenario is best for them."

Exposed, day two! The Tampa Bay Times plugs the Jeb-Bush-corporate-connections-conspiracy "story" by offering a link from the front of its web site to The Buzz, which channels the "news" from, of all places, The Answer Sheet blog, which The Buzz curiously describes as merely "the Washington Post's education blog."

PTA activism award. The Florida chapter is honored for successfully defeating parent trigger legislation last year. Gradebook.

School spending. The Brevard school board considers a bus fee for students in choice programs. Florida Today.

Teacher pay raises. A constitutional amendment for that is a bad idea. Palm Beach Post.

ESE changes in Hillsborough. Latest from Tampa Bay Times and Tampa Tribune.

Concordant scores. They're out now. Tampa Bay Times.

PARCC. StateImpact Florida relays a DOE overview of the coming tests.

Superintendents. Manatee adds a sixth candidate, reports the Bradenton Herald and Sarasota Herald Tribune. Whoever he or she ultimately is "must have the skill set, character and strength to bring this district back from disaster," editorializes the Bradenton Herald.

Race to the Top. Florida is back on track a year after federal education officials warned it for falling behind on grant-funded projects. Associated Press.

Tony Bennett. The Orlando Sentinel hopes the new commissioner, who begins work today, “treads with discretion.” The Associated Press recalls his tenure in Indiana and ties to Jeb Bush.

Expand school choice now! Sort of. The Tampa Bay Times means options under district control: “The broader answer to improving public education in Pinellas is not a massive expansion of fundamental schools. It's raising the quality of all schools. But increasing the seats for fundamental schools and popular magnet programs to more closely match demand is a discussion district leaders should begin. Otherwise, they risk losing more families to charter schools and private schools — and further undermining broad support for public education.”

Slow down on charter schools. The Palm Beach Post says in one editorial that the Legislature should prioritize traditional public schools over charters. It says in another that the Palm Beach County district’s decision to transfer a troubled principal into administration will give lawmakers an excuse to continue favoring charters.

Checking out choice. In Alachua County, 600 middle school students turn out to see career academy options, reports the Gainesville Sun. In Duval, magnet students spread the word about their programs to prospective students, reports the Florida Times Union. In Miami-Dade, tens of thousands of parents are expected to apply for hundreds of magnet programs, reports the Miami-Herald. In Manatee, the Rock Your Robot Fair lets parents know about STEM options in public and private schools, reports the Bradenton Herald. (In Collier County, businesses urge students to explore STEM, reports the Naples Daily News.) The Tampa Bay Times annual school search section for Pinellas includes information about public and private options, including tax credit scholarships.

Amendment 8. The ACLU saw the proposed amendment, which despite perception had little to do with private school vouchers, as part of a "wide-ranging assault" on Floridians' rights last year by Gov. Rick Scott and the Republican-led Legislature, reports the Florida Current.

“Sagging schools.” Tampa Bay Times business columnist Robert Trigaux: “Beneath the top tier of students, our schools at all levels are struggling to educate our kids. Businesses need to help more. And the state needs to spend less time bragging about the educational system and admit it needs assistance.” (more…)

Critiquing the Florida Formula. Matt Di Carlo at the Shanker Blog is a critic to be taken seriously. In his latest post, he looks at the research that has evaluated different components in Florida’s reform effort, including the competitive pressures from vouchers, tax credit scholarships and charter schools. “As usual,” he writes, “it is a far more nuanced picture than supporters (and critics) would have you believe.”

Legislative wish list. What do education groups want from the coming legislative session? Florida Voices asks Ruth Melton at the Florida School Boards Association; Patricia Levesque at the Foundation for Florida’s Future; Mindy Gould at the Florida PTA; and Kathleen Oropeza at Fund Education Now. Lawmakers, Oropeza writes, are out to “starve public education” and have been “intentionally bringing districts to the brink of catastrophe.”

StudentsFirst report card. Coverage from Florida Today, Orlando Sentinel, StateImpact Florida, Education Week, Fort Myers News Press. Sherman Dorn’s take here.

Online testing problems. They’re still affecting the DOE’s FAIR system. Gradebook.

Jeb Bush headed to Arkansas. He’s scheduled to visit for National School Choice Week, reports Arkansasmatters.com.

More Newtown reaction. Tampa Bay Times. Palm Beach Post. Lakeland Ledger. In Lake County, a school board member wants teachers and principals to carry district-purchased guns, reports the Orlando Sentinel. In Manatee, the interim superintendent wants local law enforcement to inspect every inch of every public school campus, reports the Bradenton Herald.

Delinquency. In public schools, a Florida Department of Juvenile Justice report finds it's down by nearly half over the last eight years, reports News Service of Florida. (more…)

School funding. Gov. Rick Scott wants to spend additional revenue on public schools, reports the Florida Current. Funding and other education issues are woven through a mid-term progress report on Scott from the Tampa Bay Times.

Rezoning. The Seminole school district is swamped with proposals, reports Orlando Sentinel. Affluent parents respond with “snobbery,” writes Sentinel columnist Beth Kassab. (Image from coolsprings.com)

Florida gets a B- for ed reform policies, according to a StudentsFirst report out today, the New York Times reports. That ties it with Louisiana for the top grade. A dozen states get F’s.

Best year ever. 2012 was a year of unprecedented accomplishments for the Miami-Dade school district, writes Superintendent Alberto Carvalho in the Miami Herald.

Career and technical. The Manatee school districts spends $44 million on a new main campus for Manatee Technical Institute. Bradenton Herald.

School grading. Poor grades for Polk high schools should be taken seriously. Lakeland Ledger.

School security. Editorials from Tampa Bay Times, Tampa Tribune, Palm Beach Post. More coverage from the Tribune and South Florida Sun Sentinel.

School enrollment. It's up in public schools by 30,000 statewide, in part because of declines in private schools. Palm Beach Post. A district audit finds a Palm Springs charter school overstated its enrollment, resulting in a $160,000 overpayment, the Palm Beach Post also reports.

Home schooling. Enough with the stereotypes, writes Mike Thomas at the EdFly Blog. (more…)

Tony Bennett on testing voucher students. From Gradebook: “I do believe we have a responsibility, be it at a public school or whatever, when we are spending taxpayer dollars - and I go back to what I believe we should do, set expectations, set standards and hold people accountable - that we should be able to prove that schools perform for the money they are given.” Full Q&A in Tampa Bay Times here.

More Tony Bennett. Lakeland Ledger: “Let's just hope he brings to the position a more inclusive management style than that of his predecessors."

“Life is combat.” From the Palm Beach Post’s Jac Versteeg: “Good morning, children, and welcome to your first day of first grade at Eddie Eagle Charter School. We will be piloting the new NRA curriculum the Florida Legislature has mandated for all public schools. My name is Mr. LaPierre.” Putting deputies in elementary schools makes more sense that arming teachers, editorializes the Northwest Florida Daily News.

Ed funding. The Gainesville Sun’s Ron Cunningham references the Legislatures “slash-and-burn approach to funding education” in his year-ahead column. The Ocala Star-Banner’s editorial board says the state’s “cheap route on education” is to blame for the Marion school district’s failure to meet class-size requirements. The Sun makes the same case for noncompliance in Alachua County.

On the right track. Broward Community College President J. David Armstrong notes how much academic progress Florida has made in the past decade. South Florida Sun Sentinel.

Career academies. Students in Palm Beach County’s career academies will get a chance to shadow professionals at their jobs, thanks to a partnership with the business community, reports the Palm Beach Post.

Rocky year in the rearview. A glance at the past year in Florida education from the Tallahassee Democrat. Some superintendents want a break from new mandates in 2013, the Democrat also reports.

School grades don’t show much. Editorializes the Palm Beach Post.

Charter school debate. Interesting debate in Duval over the performance of charter schools. Says new superintendent Nikolai Vitti, according to the Florida Times Union: “I want the conversation in Florida and in Jacksonville to shift toward what’s best for kids, what’s best for communities, and not a conversation driven by ideology. The conversation in Florida regarding charters has been too focused and dominated by ideology and not data.”

More paths to graduation. Sen. John Legg, R-New Port Richey, says the ed policy committee will look at expanding the list of courses that can satisfy graduation requirements and find ways to make 11^th and 12^th grades more meaningful, reports Gradebook.

Disabled students. The Hillsborough school district asks for dismissal of a case involving the death of a disabled 7-year-old on a school bus. Tampa Bay Times. More from the Tampa Tribune.  New school board chair April Griffin says finding solutions to the district’s problems with disabled students is a top priority, the Tribune also reports.

More class size. Alachua County is one of the districts most out of compliance, reports the Gainesville Sun. So is Marion County, reports the Ocala Star Banner.

From ports to … education? Democrats criticize Gov. Rick Scott’s position on a pending strike by Florida port workers, then pivot to get in a word about education funding. The Buzz.

Synthetic marijuana. School officials in Santa Rosa see progress in a crackdown on students who use “spice.” Pensacola News Journal.

Ed stories to watch in 2013. StateImpact Florida.

Tweaks coming to teacher evals? Gradebook: “Patricia Levesque, executive director of Jeb Bush's education foundation and a key voice in state education legislation, meanwhile, is floating a draft bill that would alter the evaluation system, too. She sent an e-mail to superintendents last week seeking input.”

Tony Bennett on charter schools. In a Q&A with the Orlando Sentinel, Bennett is asked whether lawmakers should tighten scrutiny on charter schools. His response: “When the charter movement began, the intent of charter schools was to trade increased freedom and flexibility for a higher level of accountability. Somewhere along the way, we lost track of that, and in too many cases, charter schools are held to lower standards than traditional public schools.”

Arming teachers? Teachers don’t like the idea, floated in the wake of Newtown, reports the Tampa Bay Times. Miami Herald columnist Fred Grimm agrees. Brevard schools go into lockdown after a man makes threats referencing Newtown, reports Florida Today. Rumors of violence in Hillsborough, reports the Tampa Bay Times and Tampa Tribune. More security discussions in Broward, reports the Miami Herald. A stranger trespassing on an Alachua middle school campus raises questions, reports the Gainesville Sun. Florida parents are among those ordering stacks of $300 bulletproof backpacks, reports the Orlando Sentinel. (Image from americablog.com). “Schools can’t be prisons,” editorializes the Pensacola News Journal.

More contracting issues. Four employees in the Division of Blind Services, which is under the Department of Education, are ousted after an audit reveals a sweetheart deal in the works over a contract, reports the Tampa Bay Times.

A day in the life. Orlando Sentinel columnist Beth Kassab spends a day with a teacher.

More poor kids. In Broward and Palm Beach counties, reports the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

Budget cuts. Brevard Superintendent Brian Binggeli recommends $39 million in cuts in the wake of a failed sales tax referendum. Florida Today.

Fallout over LGBT vote. SchoolZone.

More Jeb Bush summit. Checker Finn’s a fan. EdWeek writes up Arne Duncan’s speech. More from Bloomberg, Stateline, the Getting Smart blog.

New ed leadership. John Legg, the former state rep and new state senator from Pasco is the new chair of the Senate K-20 Education Policy Committee, reports Gradebook. (The post also includes a listing of all committee members.)

Weeding out low-performing charters. EdWeek. StateImpact Florida.

Per-pupil spending by state. A new federal report shows Florida at No. 42, at $8,863 per student in the 2009-10 school year, reports the Orlando Sentinel School Zone blog.

More on $10,000 degrees. The Daytona Beach News-Journal editorial board likes Gov. Rick Scott's idea. The Sentinel's Beth Kassab does not. More from the Lakeland Ledger.

More on low grad rates. Palm Beach Post.

Voucher accountability. A problem private school in Manatee County should prompt more oversight from the state, editorializes the Bradenton Herald.