Parent trigger history repeated itself in Florida's Senate today. After deadlocking last year on a plan to let parents vote to take over struggling public schools, the Senate was offered a milder approach this year that put the parent trigger finger in the hands of the elected School Board in each county. It didn't matter. The bill again went down on a 20-20 vote.

Given that the Legislature is scheduled to adjourn on Friday and a parent trigger bill that passed earlier this month in the House contains more explicit language, the Senate vote likely signals an end to the fight for 2013.

The bill had been amended on Monday by a moderate Republican, David Simmons, to vest the final decisions about school turnaround strategies with school boards -- and not with parents. Sponsors were hoping the change would clear the way for approval on the floor. But key Republicans still voted against it. Most telling was the opposition of Jack Latvala, who voted in favor of the more stringent parent trigger bill last year as he was in the midst of fighting for votes to be elected Senate president. To date, Latvala has failed in that quest.

The Florida parent trigger bill cleared its third committee Friday – again along party lines – and is headed to a vote by the full House.

More than 20 people signed up to speak before the House Education Committee on HB 867, with a nearly even split between supporters and opponents. They and lawmakers echoed the same arguments that have circulated since last year, when a similar bill passed the House but failed the Senate on a 20-20 tie.

“When we let these corporate interests take over the schools” it won’t empower parents, said Rep. Mark Danish, D-Tampa, a teacher and teachers union representative. “It’s going to muzzle parents and prevent them from voicing their concerns.”

“Let’s not make this a partisan discussion. Let’s not be concerned of this boogieman of phantom interests,” said Rep. Carlos Trujillo, R-Doral, the bill sponsor. Opposition is coming from “the unions and the establishment that are trying to control the debate and trying to control jobs.” (more…)

Charter schools. Brooksville's first charter school, one with a STEM focus, will open this fall, reports the Tampa Bay Times. Competition from charter schools is forcing the Palm Beach County school district to think harder about its needs and priorities, reports the Palm Beach Post. Charters are also sparking debate among Palm Beach school board members about how much help they should give struggling charters, the Post also reports. An op-ed in the Miami Herald raises concerns about charter schools' diversity and financial incentives. The Sarasota Herald-Tribune profiles the principal of the Imagine charter school that is trying to break free from the parent company.

Magnet schools. The Tampa Tribune applauds the Hillsborough school district for creating a magnet tied to the maritime industry.

Alternative schools. Troubled girls get a fresh start at a sheriffs' youth  ranch in Polk County. Orlando Sentinel.

Tax credit scholarships. Great back-and-forth between scholars Kevin Welner at NEPC and Jason Bedrick at Cato, with Florida's program a big part of their debate. Cato at Liberty.

School choice. It's often partisan. Sunshine State News.

Parent trigger. Education Commissioner Tony Bennett raises a constitutional question. The Florida Current. (more…)

Kansas: Lawmakers are pushing for two new bills, which include recommendations from the National Alliance of Public Charter Schools, to bring the school choice movement to a  state with only 15 charter schools (The Topeka Capital-Journal).

Georgia: Proposed legislation looks to cap the state's private-school tax credit program and limit it to students with a financial need (Atlanta Journal Constitution). A parent-trigger bill that paves the way for traditional  public schools to convert to charters also gets a nod from legislators (Atlanta Journal Constitution).

New Hampshire: The House is set to vote on a measure that could end a Board of Education moratorium on charter schools (New Hampshire Union Leader). More from The Telegraph of  Nashua.

Tennessee: A $4 million Mathematica study finds KIPP students show significant learning gains in reading, math, science and social studies in the first four years (The Commercial Appeal).

Alabama: State school board members offer mixed reactions following the surprise passage of the Alabama Accountability Act, which gives tax credit scholarships to parents who want to remove their children from failing public schools and enroll them in private schools or a non-failing public school (AL.com). Also, a circuit judge blocked the signing of a controversial bill that created tax credit scholarships (The Anniston Star). (more…)

The parent trigger bill is back in the Florida Legislature this year and, judging by the spirited 8-5 party line vote it got in its first committee stop Thursday, perhaps as contentious as ever. But unlike last year, some Florida parents and child advocates not only voiced support, but drove to Tallahassee to tell lawmakers in person.

Former Marion County teacher Karen Francis-Winston trekked 200 miles from Ocala with her daughter to testify in favor of the bill sponsored by Republican Reps. Michael Bileca and Carlos Trujillo.

Pastor Alfred Johnson came from Tampa,where he said he serves a low-income community.

“I don’t understand what’s the matter with empowering parents to make a recommendation,’’ he told the Choice & Innovation Subcommittee. “We’re doing nothing but recognizing they have a voice, a say in the process.’’

House Bill 867, with an identical version filed by Sen. Kelli Stargel, R-Lakeland, allows parents with children in an F-rated school to petition the school district to consider a turnaround plan that could include bringing in a charter school operator. The petition would need signatures from a majority of parents. (more…)

Parent trigger. This year's version clears its first hurdle on a party-line vote. Miami Herald, Orlando Sentinel, Palm Beach Post, Associated Press, Tallahassee Democrat.

Charter schools. A state Department of Education reports says charter school students are outperforming traditional public school students in just about every head-to-head match up. Fort Myers News Press, redefinED, Gradebook, Sunshine State News.

Magnet schools. The Tallahassee Democrat applauds the Leon County school district for expanding them.

School spending. To deal with a projected budget shortfall, Pasco Superintendent Kurt Browning recommends eliminating all media specialists and reading coaches. Tampa Bay Times. Marion Superintendent George Tomyn, meanwhile, is planning to restore full-time music and art teachers, and media specialists, to all schools. Ocala Star Banner. The Manatee district has taken steps to recover from a $3.4 million budget deficit. Bradenton Herald.

Flipped classrooms. Some teachers are trying it into Flagler and Volusia. Daytona Beach News Journal.

Common Core. StateImpact Florida has three questions for Orange Superintendent Barbara Jenkins. (more…)

Editor's note: Another year, another legislative session, another stack of school-choice bills in Florida. Here's a roundup of choice legislation that lawmakers will consider in the annual session that begins today.

Career Academies:

SB 1076 by Sen. John Legg, R-Lutz. Expands the "Career and Professional Education Act (CAPE)," revising requirements for high school graduation and accelerated high school graduation, and allowing students to earn and substitute certain industry certifications for certain course credits. Also requires districts to make digital materials available to students and to use the Postsecondary Industry Certification Funding List in determining annual performance funding distributions to school districts and Florida College System institutions, etc.

Charter Schools:

HB 373 by Rep. Joe Saunders, D-Orlando. Provides that a contract for a charter school employee or service provider may not extend beyond the school’s charter contract, and that the employee or service provider is not entitled to compensation after the school’s closure. (Identical to SB 780 by Sen. Geraldine Thompson, D-Orlando.)

HB 453 by Rep. Victor Torres, D-Orlando. Requires the compensation and salary schedules for charter school employees to be based on school district schedules. (Identical to SB 784- Charter Schools by Sen. Geraldine Thompson, D-Orlando.)

SB 744 by Sen. David Simmons, R-Altamonte Springs. Requires charter school applications to demonstrate the applicant is financially qualified to open and maintain a high-quality charter school, requires the charter to set forth detailed reporting of the financial operations of the school to ensure employees are not paid unreasonable compensation, and requires that the term of the charter must provide for cancellation of the charter if the school becomes insolvent, fails to provide a quality education, or does not comply with applicable law.  The bill also clarifies that a charter school system shall be designated a LEA solely for the purpose of receiving federal funds if certain criteria are met.

SB 828 by Sen. Rene Garcia, R-Hialeah. Grants school districts the ad valorem tax exemption given to charter schools, and restricts the use of capital outlay funds for property improvements if the property is exempt from ad valorem taxes. It restricts charter schools or technical career centers having financial problems from certain activities, and grants flexibility to high-performing school choice districts.

HB 1001 by Rep. Karen Castor Dentel, D-Maitland. Prohibits charter schools from requiring, soliciting, or accepting certain student information before student's enrollment or attendance. Also requires charter schools to submit attendance plans to the school district for students enrolled in school; provide funding to the school district in event of student transfers; and report to the school district certain student enrollment and wait-list information.

SB 1092 by Sen. Geraldine Thompson, D-Orlando. Requires charter school to submit attendance information for each student to the school district, and requires the charter school to provide a prorated portion of per-student funding to the school district if a student transfers to another public school in the school district before the last day of the school year.

SB 1164 by Sen. Kelli Stargel, R-Lakeland. Revises the eligibility criteria for extracurricular activities to include students in charter schools, and revises the criteria for bylaws, policies, or guidelines adopted by the Florida High School Athletic Association. (Compare to HB 1279 by Rep. Larry Metz, R-Groveland.) (more…)

Legislative preview. Parent trigger will be a top education issue, reports the Fort Myers News Press.

Common Core. Sen. John Legg files legislation that would require the state to verify that districts have the technological capacity to carry out the switch to Common Core. Gradebook. More from StateImpact Florida.

Charter schools. The Orlando Sentinel takes a closer look at a failed charter in Orange.

Career academies. The number in the Bay County school district will rise from four to 12 next year. Panama City News Herald.

Conspiracy! The Tampa Tribune gets picked up by the Huffington Post.

School security. It'll be an issue during the legislative session. Palm Beach Post.

School recognition funds. Lower grades, less money for Marion schools. Ocala Star Banner.

School closures. A lawsuit backed by the Florida Civil Rights Association says proposed school closures in Brevard would disproportionately affect low-income, minority students. Florida Today.

Restraint. A couple is suing the school board over district officials' repeated use of physical restraints on their autistic son. Palm Beach Post.

Privatization. The union representing custodians and grounds maintenance workers in Volusia is seeking severance pay for 485 workers whose jobs are set to be outsourced. Daytona Beach News J0urnal.

Technology. Some Escambia high schools have BYOD policies. Pensacola News Journal.

Charter schools. Florida's first classical preparatory school, slated for opening this fall in Pasco, asks for a one-year delay so it can find better digs, reports Gradebook. A judge again rules in favor of  allowing a Sarasota principal to temporarily stay as head of an Imagine charter school that wants to split from the parent company, reports the Sarasota Herald Tribune.

Magnet schools. Magnet Schools of America names Roosevelt Middle in West Palm a National Magnet School of Distinction. Extra Credit.

"Progressive" agenda. Self-styled progressive groups put forward a legislative agenda that includes "rejecting efforts to revive the so-called “parent trigger” bill and curtailing the use of private school vouchers, both of which slash public education funding while privatizing public education for corporate gain." Central Florida Political Pulse.

School recognition money. Gov. Rick Scott wants to increase the per-student amount from $93 to $125, notes Extra Credit. In Palm Beach, he hands out $14 million in checks to schools, reports the Palm Beach Post.

Sequestration. Potential effects on Head Start, reports StateImpact Florida. More from Naples Daily News.

Teacher evaluations. More than 100 people show up - including a number of upset teachers - to a Department of Education hearing about the new evals in Orange County, reports the Orlando Sentinel. A different take from the EdFly Blog. (more…)

School recognition funds. About 1,700 schools will get about $134 million, reports Gradebook. More from SchoolZone, Miami Herald, South Florida Sun Sentinel, TCPalm.com, Florida Times Union, Naples Daily News.

Charter schools. Palm Beach Post: "Palm Beach County has pledged to help a nonprofit charter school sell $10.5 million in mostly tax-exempt bonds so it can open a new campus in Juno Beach — a move that has upset County Commissioner Paulette Burdick, who questions whether the county should aid privately run charters that pull students away from the public school district." More on Cape Coral charter schools asking the Lee County school district for facilities funding from NBC2.

Pre-K. Florida's pre-K isn't the reason its students are surging ahead of Nevada's. Heartland Institute.

Parent trigger. Lakeland Ledger weighs in.

Zero tolerance. Despite changes in the law, thousands of students are still arrested in Florida schools every year for minor infractions. StateImpact Florida.

FCAT. Time again for students to "brace" for the "dreaded" test, reports the South Florida Sun Sentinel. This year, teachers and students better prepared for tougher writing standards, reports the Orlando Sentinel.

Grad rates. Another report notes Florida's rate is low but improving. SchoolZone. (more…)