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…)
Indiana State Superintendent Tony Bennett
Indiana: The race for state superintendent is a referendum on the direction of education reform, including expanded school choice (Associated Press).
Florida: The state's teachers unions are among the weakest in the nation, according to a new Fordham Institute report (Orlando Sentinel). The Duval County school district agrees to settle with a proposed virtual charter school, run by online provider K12, that it had initially opposed (State Impact Florida).
Washington: Education leaders from around the state sign a letter saying they oppose the charter school initiative on Tuesday's ballot (Seattle Times).
Tennessee: Education Commissioner Kevin Huffman, also a member of Jeb Bush's Chiefs For Change, urges parents to use his state's latest education report card to ask questions and consider options (The Tennessean). Groups pushing for education reform and school choice spend heavily in campaign contributions (The Tennessean).
Michigan: Critics question the state's decision to okay new charters from companies whose existing schools are not performing well (Detroit News).
Wisconsin: One school district hopes to stem declining enrollment by expanding online offerings (Oshkosh Northwestern).
Maine: Five proposed charter schools apply to open next year (Kennebec Journal).
Georgia: A lawsuit claims language in the proposed charter school amendment is purposely misleading (Athens Banner Herald). Students from historically black colleges in Atlanta rally for the amendment (Atlanta Journal Constitution.)
