Charter schools. An Orange County charter that served dyslexic students is closing after seven months because of financial problems, reports the Orlando Sentinel. The parents of a charter in Miami-Dade are in limbo after a church decides unexpectedly to end the school's lease, reports the Miami Herald.

Virtual charter schools. In a repeat of last year, the charter school appeals commission sides with the Orange and Seminole school boards in their rejection of applications for Florida Virtual Academy schools. The state Board of Education will make the final call. SchoolZone.

Parent trigger. Two civil rights groups in Florida, LULAC and the NAACP, are opposed. StateImpact Florida.

Magnet schools. Parents plead with the St. Lucie County School Board to not close an arts magnet because of budget cuts, reports TCPalm.com. A new elementary school arts academy is in the works in Okaloosa, reports the Northwest Florida Daily News.

Career and technical. A bill filed by Sen. John Legg, R-Port Richey, would allow students to substitute industry certifications for other graduation requirements, reports Gradebook. More from the Orlando Sentinel. The Pinellas school district plans to create several new career academies for middle schools and put STEM labs in every elementary school in an effort to boost career education, reports the Tampa Bay Times. River Ridge Middle School in Pasco is realigning its curriculum to better reflect career education, the Times also reports. (more…)

Digital learning. Lawmakers are set to consider a digital education bill that would allow school districts to create "innovation schools" similar to charter schools. Gradebook.

Parent trigger. House version is filed, reports SchoolZone. Democrats concede they probably don't have the votes to stop it this year, reports Naked Politics.

Magnet schools. The Orange County School Board has a wide-ranging discussion about the district's offerings. SchoolZone.

Charter schools. The governing board of a charter school in Sarasota County votes to end its management contract with the Imagine charter network, but the company immediately files suit. Sarasota Herald Tribune.

Common Core. Having a Plan B is not a bad idea, writes EdFly Blog. Education Commissioner Tony Bennett notes the politics of CC are tricky, too, reports StateImpact Florida.

Teacher evaluations. Contrary to perception, charter schools have to abide by the new teacher evaluation law just like district schools. StateImpact Florida.

Wall of Shame. Teachers at Tampa's Jefferson High get an F for word choice, writes Tampa Bay Times columnist Sue Carlton.

Teacher shortage areas. Tallahassee Democrat. (more…)

More Rubio vouchers. U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio needs a Florida-style coalition - meaning some Democratic lawmakers who see the value in expanded school choice - to get his plan for federal tax credit scholarships off the ground, writes Adam Emerson at the Choice Words blog. Education Week logs it in.

More tutoring oversight. In light of abuses, the state-mandated program - which allows low-income parents to choose and access private tutors - should be scrapped, editorializes the Tampa Bay Times. The Miami Herald editorial board offers a more measured response, calling for better oversight and more regulatory accountability but acknowledging the predicament of low-income parents.

More parent trigger. Florida Times Union. FCIR.

Wall of shame. At Jefferson High in Tampa, teachers keep tabs on embarrassing questions from students with a "Wall of Shame" in the teachers' lounge. Tampa Bay Times.

School safety. A 14-year-old is arrested for allegedly molesting an 8-year-old at a school for special needs students in Clearwater. Tampa Bay Times.

Charter schools. Teachers need more options, too, says Senate President Don Gaetz, reports StateImpact Florida. A growing number of charters in Palm Beach County increasingly pits independent charters against charter networks, reports the Palm Beach Post.

Magnet schools. Palm Beach district officials hope they can land a federal grant to create and bolster magnets at three underutilized schools. Palm Beach Post.

Dual enrollment. Growing numbers of students are taking the classes, raising concerns about state college costs and high school curriculum. Tampa Bay Times. (more…)

Montana: House Republicans endorse three school choice bills - one to authorize charter schools, another to create a modest tax credit scholarship program and a third to create an education savings account program for students with disabilities (Independent Record). A day later, several defect on the charter school bill and it goes down - though maybe not permanently - on a 50-49 vote (Billings Gazette). The tax credit scholarship bill clears the Senate (The Missoulian).

Florida. U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., introduces legislation to create a national tax credit scholarship program (redefinED). A parent trigger bill that was defeated last year in a dramatic tie vote is back this year (redefinED).

Colorado: Two bills to expand private school choice through tax credits go down to defeat (Ed News Colorado). A student is in limbo after his mother withdraws him from a charter school to send him back to his zoned district school but the district says it's too late (9News.com).

Arizona: Charter schools would have to follow state purchasing laws and those that use management companies would have to post salary information under a bill filed in the wake of a newspaper investigation (Arizona Republic). Lawmakers nix a bill that would have required mailers be sent to parents informing them of school choice programs (Arizona Daily Sun).

New Mexico: Public schools, including charter schools, would be barred from contracting with private entities under a bill supported by critics who fear "a Trojan horse-type assault on the state to divert public education funds" (Santa Fe New Mexican).

Idaho: Lawmakers consider equitable funding for charter schools (Idaho Reporter).

Washington: The state public schools superintendent asks legislators to put charters under his watch, a move that conflicts with the new law voters recently approved that calls for a separate supervisory panel (King5).

California: The San Francisco school district triples the rent for charter schools, after charging less than other districts for years, prompting an outcry from some charters (San Francisco Chronicle). (more…)

Course choice. Florida students in K-12 and higher education could pick courses provided by entities outside the traditional public school system under bills filed Thursday by Sen. Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg. SchoolZone.

Jeb Bush. He meets with lawmakers in the Capitol and predicts passage of the parent trigger bill. Coverage from Palm Beach Post,  Miami Herald, Tallahassee Democrat.

More parent trigger. Senate President Don Gaetz and House Speaker Will Weatherford are enthusiastic, reports StateImpact Florida. More from Sunshine State News.

Gifted academy. Orange school board members discuss the possibility of a K-8 gifted academy in the face of competition, including one parent's call for a gifted charter school. SchoolZone.

Common Core. The language of key lawmakers and Education Commissioner Tony Bennett suggest an implementation delay is in the works. Gradebook.

Gays and lesbians. A Gay-Straight Alliance at Carver Middle School in Lake County could teach teens much-needed respect and tolerance, writes Orlando Sentinel columnist Lauren Ritchie.

Bullying. A girl's beating at school is captured on video and put on facebook. Tampa Bay Times.

Early learning. News Service of Florida.

School calendar. SchoolZone.

Rezoning in Seminole. Orlando Sentinel.

Parent trigger. Sen. Kelli Stargel, R-Lakeland, files a bill similar to last year's, drawing immediate fire from the Florida Democratic Party. News Service of Florida. More from the Tallahassee Democrat.

More tutoring oversight. The U.S. Department of Education is disturbed by what the Tampa Bay Times found with Florida's state-mandated tutoring program, reports Gradebook. Pinellas Superintendent Mike Grego asks Education Commissioner Tony Bennett to scrap the program completely, Gradebook also reports. The Miami-Dade school district also wants the mandate repealed, reports the Miami Herald. A tutoring company owner in Miami-Dade pleads guilty to 47 counts of fraud and grand theft and is sentenced to five years probation, the Herald also reports.

Charter schools. South Florida Sun Sentinel columnist Michael Mayo writes about the money feud that's pitting the successful Pembroke Pines charter school system against the Broward school district.

More Rubio vouchers. StateImpact Florida logs it in.

Teacher absenteeism. Florida teachers collectively have one of the lowest absentee rates in the country, according to a new Center for American Progress report, notes Gradebook. But with 29.1 percent missing at least 10 days in a 180-day year, it is still high.

Teacher evaluations. The Florida Times Union objects to the Florida Education Association's request to intervene in the newspaper's suit against the Department of Education for withholding teacher eval data. (more…)

The most contentious education bill in last year's Florida Legislature is back this year.Sen. Kelli Stargel, R-Lakeland, filed a "parent trigger" bill Wednesday that is similar to last year's.

Senate Bill 862 would give more power to parents in struggling schools that are mandated by state accountability rules to implement a "turnaround" strategy. A majority of parents could petition the school board to pursue one of several turnaround options, including conversion to a charter school. The school board would not be required to follow the majority's wishes, but the state Board of Education would ultimately determine whether the parent option or district option is pursued.

Last year's parent trigger bill drew national attention. It cleared the House along mostly party lines, but died in the Senate on a dramatic 20-20 vote. It has been widely assumed that the bill would get another shot this year.

Stargel's bill would also require school districts to notify parents when their children are assigned out-of-field teachers or teachers with poor evaluations. The notice would let parents know that virtual instruction with a higher performing teacher was available. The bill also bars districts from giving a student a low-performing teacher two years in a row.

So far, there is no House companion to Stargel's bill.

More from Gradebook and SchoolZone.

Charter schools. The Tampa Tribune writes up the latest report on charter laws from the National Association of Public Charter Schools and quotes Robert Haag, president and CEO of the Florida Consortium of Public Charter Schools: "You want choices for your child's education, just like anything else in life. You don't want to be stuck just going to Publix. You want to be able to go to Winn-Dixie or Whole Foods or any of those places."

The Pembroke Pines charter school system is battling the Broward school district for funding, reports the South Florida Sun Sentinel. An F-rated charter middle school in Orlando plans to ask the Orange County school district for designation as an alternative school, which wouldn't be graded, reports SchoolZone. The Orlando Sentinel editorial board doesn't like the idea of more construction money for charter schools - or the possibility of a parent trigger.

School spending. The Manatee school district's Fitch bond rating is downgraded from stable to negative, reports the Bradenton Herald. The district posts thousands of documents from the forensic audit into a $3.4 million deficit, the Herald also reports. The documents show a school board member forced former superintendent Tim McGonegal to resign after he learned of the deficit, reports the Sarasota Herald Tribune.

Following Florida: Nevada should adopt Florida's ed reforms, particularly its expansion of school choice options, says this op-ed in Nevada Business Magazine.

Rick Scott. As the governor woos teachers, the Tea Party scratches its head. Tampa Bay Times.

Exposed, again! Another news outlet gives space to the Jeb Bush corporate-connections-conspiracy story.

Teacher evaluations. The Tampa Bay Times offers an update on the Gates-funded effort in Hillsborough. A Flagler teacher will focus on teacher evaluations as a fellow with the Hope Street Group, a national public policy outfit, reports the Daytona Beach News Journal. (more…)

Next steps. Florida should adopt parent triggers and education savings accounts to keep the reform momentum going, writes William Mattox at the James Madison Institute. Florida Voices.

More on teacher raises. Gov. Rick Scott’s proposal is “long overdue,” writes the Miami Herald. Teachers deserve it, writes the Tampa Tribune. Agreed, writes the Florida Times Union. A "major leap in his new commitment to education," writes the Tallahassee Democrat. A good deal if it’s part of a long-term commitment, writes the Fort Myers News Press. A "naked political ploy," writes the Orlando Sentinel: "The best teacher in Florida will get the exact same raise as the worst teacher in Florida. We're having trouble seeing the merit in that."

It clashes with other items on the education wish list, notes StateImpact Florida. "A lot of details need to be worked out," writes Sunshine State News. A tradeoff for pension ruling? asks Education Week. State Rep. Kevin Rader, D-Boca Raton, has filed legislation for a constitutional amendment that would push teacher salaries to the national average, notes SchoolZone. Florida PTA likes the idea, SchoolZone also notes. Scott talks up his plan at Twin Lakes Elementary in Tampa, reports the Tampa Bay Times, and at Gainesville High, reports the Gainesville Sun.

Teacher evals. Gradebook: Work in progress, lawmakers say. StateImpact Florida: Districts have flexibility, a DOE official tells lawmakers. Associated Press: Race and poverty have little impact on evaluation scores, a DOE official tells lawmakers. SchoolZone: SB 736 may need some work, Gov. Scott says. Florida Times Union: A Duval middle school principal accidentally emails evaluation ratings to her entire staff.

Teacher quality. Gradebook logs in the NCTQ report that gives Florida a B- on teacher prep. So does the Associated Press.

School spending. An audit finds the Broward school district’s transportation department is missing about $1 million worth of equipment, including “two 2009 Ford Explorers worth $20,000 each, six generators worth $300,000, a forklift valued at $20,000 and 250 radios each priced at more than $1,000,” reports the South Florida Sun Sentinel. The Franklin County school district's financial crisis could mean 19.5 percent pay cuts for employees, reports the Tallahassee Democrat. (more…)

Florida earns a C- for policies and program aimed at empowering parents, but that’s good enough for a No. 4 ranking nationally, according to a report card released today by StudentsFirst.

Overall, the state earned a No. 2 rank – and a B- grade – from the report, which looked at progress in three areas: elevating the teaching profession; empowering parents; and spending wisely/governing well. Louisiana came in at No. 1, also with a B- grade. A dozen states earned F’s. StudentsFirst is led by Michelle Rhee.

In the parent category, Florida racked up points for grading public schools and requiring public school parents to be notified when their kids are placed with ineffective teachers. But the group says Florida should require consent from parents whose children are placed with such teachers. It also says Florida should pass a parent trigger bill.

Among other areas, Florida got dinged a bit for its tax credit scholarship program (which is administered by Step Up For Students, the co-host of this blog). In short, StudentsFirst doesn’t think the program is funded enough or accountable enough, although the report doesn’t spell out how it falls short on the latter.

The program is available to all low-income students – which we think is a good thing - but the report says it should be limited to low-income students in “chronically failing public schools.” The report also says Florida should amend the program to provide a scholarship amount “that is competitive with private school tuition.” The amount this year, $4,335, is far below the amount spent per student in Florida public schools.

With charter schools, the report says Florida should allow other bodies besides school boards to be authorizers (although that involves issues with the state constitution). It also says the state should reform "skimming provisions" that allow school districts to keep up to 5 percent of charter school funding.