Runcie holds onto job: In a 6-3 vote, the Broward County School Board decides not to fire Superintendent Robert Runcie. Runcie has been a lightning rod for criticism for his actions since the shooting deaths of 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018. Board member Lori Alhadeff, whose daughter Alyssa died in the shooting, pushed for the firing, saying “we are not under a grand jury investigation because the district is running so smoothly.” Runcie, who has been in the job since 2011, vowed to move the district forward, improve security in schools and help heal the community. Sun Sentinel. WPLG. Miami Herald. Associated Press. WLRN.

State of the State: Gov. Ron DeSantis reiterates his vow to end waiting lists for tax credit and Gardiner scholarships by expanding the state's school choice programs with general revenue funds. In his State of the State speech on the first day of the legislative session, DeSantis said, “Education opportunity shouldn’t be limited by parental income or ZIP code. ... We are a big, diverse state and one size doesn’t fit all when it comes to education." He also encouraged legislators to "be bold" on education, environmental, safety and other significant state issues. Step Up For Students, which hosts this blog, helps administer the tax credit scholarship program and the Gardiner scholarship for special needs students. redefinED. Associated Press. News Service of Florida. Tampa Bay Times. Orlando Sentinel. Tallahassee Democrat. GateHouse. Politico Florida. Capitol News Service. WUFT. Florida Phoenix. Democrats criticize DeSantis' speech and release their own agenda. Miami Herald. (more…)

Bullying scholarship verification: The Florida Department of Education is advising school districts not to verify students' bullying claims before deciding whether to award them Hope Scholarships to attend different public schools or private schools. Doing so would violate state law, the DOE told superintendents in a memo that also warned that "any district that is adding this requirement is in violation of statute and administrative rule and will be dealt with according to law.” The Pasco County School District, which had announced it was considering verifying incidents before offering the scholarship, has abandoned that idea. Gradebook.

Teachers protest: Teachers around the state rallied Monday for more financial support for schools from the Legislature. The “fund our future” events were organized by the Florida Education Association, the state's largest teachers union. The union wants a boost in per-student spending of $743, or about 10 percent, to better fund schools and would allow higher pay to combat the shortage of teachers statewide. The 60-day legislative session begins today, and Gov. Ron DeSantis will deliver his State of the State message at 11 a.m. Orlando Sentinel. Keynoter. Florida Phoenix. Florida Politics. WKMG. WINK. Daytona Beach News-Journal. (more…)

Legislative preview: Gov. Ron DeSantis, his fellow Republicans in the Senate and House and the new, more conservative Florida Supreme Court seem poised to overhaul public education by expanding school choice, changing the way schools are funded, adding a new scholarship program and more, beginning Tuesday when the 60-day legislative session begins. Some see it as a continuation of the transformation former Gov. Jeb Bush started 20 years ago, while critics call it a dismantling of the state's public school system. Tampa Bay Times. The Senate will take up the proposed educational landmark bill, S.B. 7070, on Wednesday. Politico Florida. Other education items on the Legislature's agenda are the expansion of school choice, arming teachers, accountability for charter and private schools and security in schools. Associated Press. News Service of Florida. Sun Sentinel. GateHouse. redefinED. WFSU. Tallahassee Democrat.

Testing in other languages: Bills are filed in the Senate and House that would allow Florida students still learning English to take state assessment tests in their native languages. Sen. Annette Taddeo, D-Miami, and Rep. Cindy Polo, also a Democrat from Miami, introduced companion bills SB 1590 and HB 1213. “I think it’s ridiculous that a place like Florida, where we have so many students in this circumstance (learning English), they’re not allowed to take their tests at least in Spanish or Creole, in their native language,” says Taddeo. Florida has resisted offering tests in languages other than English, ignoring federal guidelines urging states to "make every effort" to do so. Gradebook. (more…)