Superintendent honored: Barbara Jenkins, superintendent of the Orange County School District, is one of four finalists for the national superintendent of the year award given by the American Association of School Administrators. The winner will be announced March 2. Last month, Jenkins was named Florida's superintendent of the year for 2017. Orlando Sentinel.

Satanic banner denied: The Palm Beach County School District temporarily bans the hanging of advertising banners on school fences by religious organizations. The decision came after the Church of Satanology and Perpetual Soirée wanted to hang a banner alongside others on a fence at Boca Raton High School. That request came a few days after a teacher placed a Satanic display in a park. Sun-Sentinel.

School impact fee: The Pasco County School Board is asking county commissioners to increase the school impact fee from $4,800 to $9,174 per single-family detached house. If approved, the higher fee would generate $245 million over the next 10 years and would help pay for new schools. Tampa Bay Times.

Administrators backed: The Broward County School Board approves a transfer for a former Miramar High School principal and rejects a recommendation to suspend the school's assistant principal. Both were implicated for their failure to stop cheating, questionable grade changes and favoritism toward football players at the school in 2014. Sun-Sentinel. (more…)

Federal inquiries: The federal government is launching yet another investigation into the way black students are treated by the Pinellas County School District. The Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights will look into a complaint filed by the Southern Law Poverty Center that contends the district disproportionately disciplines black and disabled students. In April, the Office for Civil Rights began an investigation of the district's assignment of students by race into gifted programs, and whether black students were given equal access to district resources. Tampa Bay Times. The Office for Civil Rights has also opened an investigation into a claim that the Bay County School District failed to evaluate several students’ eligibility for special education services, The inquiry will be added to an existing one filed in 2012 that accuses the district of disproportionately disciplining minority students. Panama City News Herald.

Funding squeeze: Key state senators say they remain committed to public education, but funding will be tight as resources are stretched. They told the Florida School Boards Association on Thursday that their priorities for this legislative session are higher teacher pay, less testing and added accountability measures for choice programs. Tampa Bay Times. The Central Florida Public School Boards Coalition issues a 10-point legislative agenda. The coalition, which includes school officials from 13 central Florida districts, is asking for more local authority over funding from the state, and to restore state funding to 2007 levels. Bradenton Herald.

Report card fail: Florida grades poorly on how it provides online data to parents, according to the Data Quality Campaign's Show Me the Data study of all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Florida makes its information available in English only, requires parents to make three or more clicks on district websites to view report cards, and doesn't include all the information required by the federal government. Florida did have the most up-to-date data online. Gradebook.

Bush on reform: At the Foundation for Excellence in Education’s annual conference, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush calls for massive changes in federal education funding and policy. He urged cutting federal requirements on state and local education decisions and allowing increased school choice. redefinED. The 74. Sun-Sentinel. (more…)

Superintendent elections: Rocky Hanna soundly defeats incumbent Leon County School Superintendent Jackie Pons. Tallahassee Democrat. WFSU. Addison Davis is elected superintendent in Clay County. Florida Times-Union. Putnam County voters choose Rick Surrency as superintendent. Florida Times-Union. Kathy Burns is elected superintendent of Nassau County. Florida Times-Union. Malcolm Thomas wins a third term as Escambia County superintendent. Pensacola News Journal. Russell Hughes is elected superintendent for Walton County schools. Northwest Florida Daily News. Bill Husfelt is re-elected superintendent in Bay County. Panama City News Herald.

School board elections: School board results from around the state. Pinellas. Hillsborough. Hillsborough. Hernando. Miami-Dade. Orange. Lake. Lake. Palm Beach. Duval. Brevard. Lee. Polk. Polk. Indian River. Martin. Manatee. Manatee. Manatee. Flagler. Citrus.

School tax elections: Results of state school tax initiatives. Pinellas. Osceola. Palm Beach. Palm Beach. Manatee. Manatee. Alachua.

Retention rules: The Florida School Boards Association is lobbying legislators to clarify the law regarding the retention of third-graders. The group wants clearly defined promotion alternatives for students that consider both testing and achievement, an end to the reliance of a single testing result to determine retention, and local control over promotion decisions. Gradebook.

New superintendent: Tim Forson is picked by the school board to be the new superintendent of the St. Johns County School District. Forson, who retired last spring as deputy superintendent of operations after 36 years in the district, was the unanimous choice over Vickie Cartwright, who is the senior executive director for exceptional student education for the Orange County School District. Forson takes over Jan. 4 for the retiring Joe Joyner. St. Augustine Record. Florida Times-Union. (more…)

More appeals: Seminole and Broward counties are joining the Florida Department of Education and Orange and Hernando counties in appealing a judge's ruling last week against the state's policy for retaining third-graders. All say that Leon County Judge Karen Gievers improperly ignored their requests for a change of venue from Tallahassee to local courts. Gievers ruled that the state was wrongly holding back third-graders who do poorly on the state Florida Standards Assessments tests or opt out from taking them. She ordered the state and six districts that were sued to allow students to present a portfolio of work to demonstrate their readiness for fourth grade. Orlando Sentinel.

Primary election results: Here are some of the results from Tuesday's primary election. From the Tampa Bay Times: Pinellas. Hillsborough. Hernando. Miami Herald: Miami-Dade. Orlando Sentinel: Orange, Seminole. Sun-Sentinel: Broward. Palm Beach. Palm Beach Post: Palm Beach. Florida Times-Union: Clay, where Superintendent Charlie Van Sant Jr. is ousted. WJAX: Duval school board. Ocala Star Banner: Marion, where Superintendent George Tomyn loses, and school board. Pensacola News Journal: Santa Rosa. Escambia. Florida Today: Brevard. Fort Myers News-Press: Lee. Lakeland Ledger: Polk. TCPalm: Martin. St. Lucie. Indian River, Indian River school tax. Bradenton Herald: Manatee. Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Sarasota. Manatee. Naples Daily News: Collier. Gainesville Sun: Alachua. Tallahassee Democrat: Superintendent, District 2, District 4. WFSU: Leon school board, superintendent. Daytona Beach News-Journal: Volusia. Flagler. Northwest Florida Daily News: Okaloosa superintendent. Panama City News Herald: Bay superintendent. St. Augustine Record: St. Johns. Keynoter: Monroe. Citrus County Chronicle: Citrus. Highlands Today: Highlands school tax. (more…)

Charter company indicted: Newpoint Education Partners and three other companies are indicted for grand theft, money laundering and aggravated white collar crime by an Escambia County grand jury. Newpoint managed charter schools for 21st Century Academy of Pensacola. The indictment alleges that Newpoint and its vendors fraudulently billed the academy hundreds of thousands of dollars for supplies, equipment and services and laundered the proceeds through multiple bank accounts. In 2015, the school board revoked the charters of two Newpoint-run schools in Escambia for tampering with grades and misusing public funds. Newpoint also has had financial problems with four of the five schools it manages in Pinellas County. Pensacola News Journal. Tampa Bay Times.

Top teacher finalist: Donald Blake, a technical education specialist at Marchman Technical College in Pasco County, is one of five finalists for Florida Teacher of the Year. The winner will be announced in July. Tampa Bay Times.

School lunch laws: A proposed change in the federal school lunch program could cut off free meals for thousands of Florida students. The law now says any school with 40 percent of its students eligible for free or reduced-prices lunches can also offer free breakfasts and lunches to all students. The change, which is now before the U.S. House, would raise that threshold to 60 percent. Florida Politics. WJCT.

Impact of new laws: A summary of the impact of the state's new education bills on school districts has been issued by the Florida School Boards Association. Florida School Boards Association.

Crime in schools: Violent crimes and bullying are down in the nation's schools, according to a report by the National Center for Education Statistics and the Justice Department. "Bullying is down, crime is down, but it's not enough," says Peggy G. Carr, acting NCES commissioner. About 3 percent of students 12 to 18 years old said they were victims of crimes at school in 2014, and about 1.3 million students were suspended for at least one school day for violence, weapons possession or alcohol violations. Associated Press. Education Week. (more…)

Bright Futures: Incoming Senate President Joe Negron, R-Palm Coast, says he intends to bolster the Bright Futures program to cover full tuition and fees. When the program started in 1996 it covered full tuition for 179,000 students. By 2015, it covered about half the tuition for 100,170 students. GateHouse Florida.

Education on trial: Closing arguments are made in the civil trial accusing Florida of not fulfilling its constitutional mandate to provide a quality education for all public school students. Attorneys for Citizens for Strong Schools argue that the state's racial achievement gap, emphasis on testing and lack of adequate funding keep it from fulfilling a 1998 constitutional amendment. Attorneys for the Department of Education and the Legislature say the state is a national leader in education and still improving. Circuit Court Judge George Reynolds III is expected to rule within the next several weeks. Orlando Sentinel. Miami Herald. Associated Press. Politico Florida. News Service of Florida.

Charter schools: A state auditor general report shows that the Broward County School District failed to make closing checklists of items such as books, computers and furniture for 5 of 22 charter schools that shut down from 2012-2015. And for 11 of 17 schools with checklists, items on the checklist either weren't returned or weren't documented. Sun-Sentinel. The Bay Haven Charter Academy Board of Directors approves spending up to $300,000 toward a new North Bay Haven Elementary School in Panama City. Panama City News Herald.

School board group: A relatively new school board association is receiving $200,000 in state money to help set up training for members. The Florida Coalition of School Board Members, which champions conservative values, was founded in 2015 as an alternative to the 80-year-old Florida School Boards Association. The FSBA has opposed the Legislature's support for voucher-like programs. Miami Herald.

Pre-K ratings: For a second straight year, no grades will be issued for the 6,200 preschools in Florida's voluntary prekindergarten program. Failures in the ratings process the past two years have prompted the state to skip the ratings for the next two years while officials try to find a better way to rate the schools. Palm Beach Post. (more…)

After pulling out of a lawsuit challenging Florida's largest private school choice program, the group that represents the state's school boards is looking to turn over a new leaf.

In the months after a lawsuit was filed challenging Florida's largest private school choice program, the Florida School Boards Association saw would-be leaders beaten in elections, a group of pro-school choice members form a rival organization, and legislation that would have limited lawsuits by associations that receive public funds.

The day before the association's board of directors voted leave the suit, a majority of Indian River School Board members agreed to leave the association.

"We didn't realize how divisive it was going to be," said Patty Hightower, who became the FSBA's president after some of its leaders lost school board seats in last year's elections. "It was very divisive and hopefully we can move forward." Caroline Zucker, who succeeded Hightower as president, told the Sarasota Herald-Tribune the conflict over the lawsuit had been "disruptive" and that she hoped the organization could renew its focus on things like member training.

By the time it wrapped up its annual gathering in Tampa last week, the association had not only put the lawsuit behind it, but introduced members to a new executive director and launched a strategic planning process Hightower said could lead to a retooling of the organization. (more…)

Note: This post has been updated. See below.

The lawsuit challenging Florida's tax credit scholarship program stoked a debate at the Escambia County School Board last week, as members voted to pay membership dues for the state school boards association.

One board member, Jeff Bergosh, is a critic of the lawsuit and a member of a new association for school board members. He said he wanted to "opt out" of funding his share of Florida School Boards Association dues. Like dissident school board members who spoke up elsewhere, Bergosh prompted a discussion, but did not receive backing from fellow members, who eventually out-voted him 4-1.

Earlier in the meeting, several parents weighed in supporting the program that helps 70,000 low-income students attend private schools. The scholarships are administered by non-profit organizations like Step Up For Students, which co-hosts this blog and employs the author of this post.

"Allow us the opportunity to continue to keep out children in schools where they are flourishing," said Deaundrice Kitchen, a scholarship parent who has been recognized for her work as a teacher assistant in the school district and said she has "seen many success stories" in public schools. "If this scholarship is taken away, it will be stripping us of our right of freedom of choice."

Bergosh wanted the board to hold off on paying  nearly $22,000 in dues, noting the issue is getting attention in the Legislature. Bills under consideration would bar membership organizations from using public funds to pay for lawsuits against the state.

Patty Hightower, the school board's chairman and president of the FSBA, said the board joined the association as a group, not as individuals. The association's main purpose, she said, is to provide training for its members.

(more…)

Education reform. State Board of Education chairman Gary Chartrand champions reforms, and sometimes draws critics, in Jacksonville and beyond. Florida Times-Union. Pensacola outlets, including WUWF and Pensacola Today, look at the past 15 years of education reform in Northwest Florida.

School boards. A cadre of school board members around the state forms an alternative to the Florida School Boards Association. Pensacola News-Journal. Fort Myers News-Press.

Lawsuits. WFSU looks at the legal battle over tax credit scholarships. The program is administered by organizations like Step Up For Students, which co-hosts this blog and employs the author of this post. The scholarships help students, and the legal challenge is more complicated than the program's critics claim, Step Up's Jon East writes in the St. Augustine Record.

Community schools. Grant applications aim to turn a Pensacola middle school into a community school with wraparound services. Pensacola News-Journal.

Testing. Are Florida's schools ready for computerized testing? Tampa Bay Times. Recess reductions may be helping to fuel the testing backlash. Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

STEM. A Sarasota high school retools its science classrooms. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. A state college invites elementary school students onto its campus for science experiments and more. Orlando Sentinel. Some parents are baffled by new math homework. Florida Today. A conference promotes STEM fields for girls. Naples Daily News.

GED. Fewer students are receiving the alternative credential, and tougher tests may help explain why. Tampa Tribune.

Class size. Recent comments by former Gov. Jeb Bush rekindle a debate over Florida's class size amendment. Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

(more…)

The historic march at Selma in 1965 and the current battle over school choice in Florida have a lot in common, writes Florida civil rights icon H.K. Matthews in an op-ed in today’s Fort Myers News Press.

Matthews participated in the Selma march, which is again the focus of national discussion thanks to a powerful new movie. He also helped lead the 2010 march on Tallahassee that drew nearly 6,000 people in support of tax credit scholarships for low-income children.

Watching the movie revived painful memories, Matthews writes. But it wasn’t the first time he had flashbacks to that pivotal moment in the civil rights movement, pointing specifically to the 2010 rally in Florida.

“Incredibly, nearly 6,000 people showed up — that's roughly 10 times the number who marched across that Selma bridge,” he writes. “Over 1,000 people slept on buses overnight to be there. They came to celebrate their own empowerment — the ability to choose the best school for their children.”

The 2010 march preceded passage of a bill, later signed by then Gov. Charlie Crist, that expanded the scholarship program. Last August, the Florida teachers union, Florida School Boards Association and other groups filed suit to end the program, which is administered by nonprofits such as Step Up For Students, which co-hosts this blog. A key hearing in the case is set for Feb. 9.

“When I heard about the lawsuit, I had another flashback to the old movement,” Matthews writes in the op-ed. “The parallels were striking to me. Here were citizens demanding empowerment. A march symbolized that demand. And here were powerful groups trying to deny it.

“I suppose that this lawsuit will eventually end up in the Florida Supreme Court. One thing I'm fairly sure of: If nearly 6,000 people showed up just to demonstrate that they supported the program, how many will come if the most important thing to them — their right to choose the best school for their children — is threatened to be taken away?”

Read the full op-ed here.