Superintendent of year: Malcolm Thomas, leader of the Escambia County School District, is selected as Florida's superintendent of the year by the Florida Association of District School Superintendents. "He's a visionary, and above all there's never any question in anybody's mind where is heart is, and that is in the classroom," says State Sen. Bill Montford, executive director of the association. Thomas was first elected superintendent in 2008, then re-elected twice. He's retiring when his term expires in 2020, and the Escambia superintendent position will then become an appointed one. Pensacola News Journal. Gradebook.
H.B. 7069 lawsuit: In a court filing, the state disputes the contention of 11 district school boards that a 2017 education bill is unconstitutional. The boards allege that H.B. 7069 illegally takes authority from local boards to approve charter schools, and exempts some charter schools, called "schools of hope," from regulations public schools must follow. The law was upheld by a circuit judge last spring, which prompted appeals from boards in Alachua, Bay, Broward, Hamilton, Lee, Orange, Pinellas, Polk, St. Lucie and Volusia counties, and a separate appeal from the Collier County board. News Service of Florida. (more…)
Test investigation requested: Two members of Florida school districts and the Florida Coalition of School Board Members are calling for an investigation of significant decreases in the number of students from Duval, Manatee and Polk counties who took the state's civics end-of-course exams. Polk had 3,736 fewer 7th-grade students take the exam this year, Duval 2,910 and Manatee almost 1,000, and all three districts had significantly higher pass rates. Sarasota board member Bridget Ziegler, Duval board member Scott Shine want the state to hold up the release of school grades until the issue is investigated. Manatee County Superintendent Diana Greene says her district simply allowed 7th-graders who struggle with reading to delay taking the test until 8th grade, as the state permits districts to do. “Don’t try to act like we did something wrong,” says Greene. Duval school officials also deny any impropriety. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Florida Times-Union. Florida Politics. WJCT.
Weighting for grades: By state law, end-of-course exams must constitute 30 percent of a student's final course grade. But different districts apply the law in different ways, and now Levy County Superintendent Jeff Edison is pressing state officials to specifically define what constitutes 30 percent of a student's final course grade. "What we would like to be able to do is get the [lawmakers] to allow the Department of Education to have the rule-making authority to create a consistent definition of what 30 percent is," says Edison. "Give us a uniform way of applying it. It doesn't matter to us [what it is]. We just want it the same." Gradebook. (more…)
Scholarship fund empty: The state's Gardiner scholarship, which is awarded to students with special needs, has exhausted all its available funding for the first time since it began in 2014. About 10,500 students are receiving the scholarship this year, and another 1,270 have been approved but are on a waiting list. “We have definitely exhausted every last dollar, every last penny,” says Gina Lynch, vice president of operations for Step Up For Students, which helps administer the program and hosts this blog. “There is healthy demand for the program.The program allows families to pay for a wide range of education-related expenses, from therapy and homeschool curriculum to public school courses and private school tuition, for qualifying children with special needs." redefinED.
Schools and Scientology: Several Florida private schools participating in school choice scholarship programs use learning concepts developed by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard, reports the Huffington Post.
Sales tax squabble: Members of the Manatee County School Board still can't agree on a date for an election asking voters to increase property taxes for schools, how to sell the referendum or even how much to assess voters. The squabbling has led board member Dave Miner to call for the removal of Scott Hopes as board chairman. Miner says Hopes misled the board about his support for the special election when he was chosen as chairman just two weeks ago. Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
Class size changes: A proposal is filed with the Constitution Revision Commission that would make it easier for school districts to comply with the 2002 amendment capping class sizes, and redirect all savings toward increasing teacher pay to the national average. Patricia Levesque, CEO of the Foundation for Excellence in Education and a member of the commission, made the proposal to would allow schools to average out the number of students rather than require them to have a maximum number in each class. If the commission approves the proposal, it would appear on the November 2018 and have to receive 60 percent support to go into effect. News Service of Florida. Gradebook.
Back-to-school tax holiday: Gov. Rick Scott is proposing a 10-day back-to-school tax holiday as part of the $180 million tax cut package in his budget. The holiday, which would run from July 27 to Aug. 5, 2018, would apply to clothing, shoes, school supplies and some computers and accessories. Associated Press. News Service of Florida. Naples Daily News and Fort Myers News-Press. Sunshine State News.
H.B. 7069 lawsuit: Florida school officials will hold a series of workshops this week to work on a draft rule for the "Schools of Hope" provision in H.B. 7069. The Department of Education is proposing to loosen the requirements by which a charter school company can be designated a "hope operator," which could then open a school within 5 miles of a persistently struggling traditional public school. Politico Florida. Miami-Dade County School Board chairman Lawrence Feldman wants to set a Jan. 16 deadline for the Legislature to amend the state's new education law, H.B. 7069. If lawmakers don't act, Miami-Dade would then join other districts in the suit challenging the constitutionality of the law. The school board is expected to vote on the proposal next week. WLRN. (more…)
Help for failing schools: Ninety-three failing Florida schools can apply to the state for up to $2,000 more per student to fund such services as after-school programs and community partnerships, the Department of Education announces. The schools are eligible through the "schools of hope" provision of H.B. 7069 because they have received grades below a C from the state for the past two years. They have less than a month to apply, and only 25 will get the money because of a cap limiting payouts to $58 million of the $140 million set aside by the law. The rest will go to charter schools that set up within 5 miles of the failing schools. Miami Herald.
H.B. 7069 suit: The Palm Beach County School Board votes unanimously to support a proposal to sue the state over the new education law, H.B. 7069. Board attorneys were directed to research the best way to challenge the law, which increases money for charter schools at the expense of traditional public schools and limits local districts' authority over charters. Board members say they may not join a proposed lawsuit by Broward and St. Lucie counties. Board member Frank Barbieri says separate suits could make a defense harder for the state. “If we are going to sue, which we certainly should, we should make it as difficult and painful for the state Legislature as they have made it for us to operate this school district, the highest performing large urban school district in Florida,” he said. Palm Beach Post. Sun Sentinel. The Florida Charter School Alliance says Palm Beach County Superintendent Robert Avossa signaled an intention to "wage war" on charter schools when he urged the school board to join the lawsuit. Lynn Norman-Teck, executive director of the alliance, says the board should remember that charter schools and their students are in the public school system. Palm Beach Post.
Duval may join suit: Duval County School Board members ask Jacksonville's city attorney to investigate how much it would cost to sue the state over H.B. 7069 or join the current movement toward a suit by Broward and St. Lucie counties, the likelihood of success, and whether the city would join the board in the suit. At least six Duval schools are in danger of being closed or turned over to charter companies under the new law. Other districts that have discussed joining the suit are Pinellas, Palm Beach, Sarasota, Manatee and Alachua. Florida Times-Union. WJCT. WJXT.
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Charter funding: Superintendents from around the state tell members of the Florida Board of Education that the new education bill provision requiring districts to share capital funding with charter schools could result in traditional public schools crumbling. "You really could see the potential unraveling of long-term maintenance and construction for public school systems across the state," says Miami-Dade School Superintendent Alberto Carvalho. "It is not a good indicator when one of the two largest credit rating agencies declares a negative condition for school systems on the basis of a policy statement out of Tallahassee." WTVY. News 13.
Appeal denied: The Florida Board of Education declines an appeal by a Clay County charter school to remain open after the school received F grades from the state the past two years. The board cited data showing that students from Orange Park Performing Arts Academy performed “significantly lower” than similar schools, and also pointed out that no other public school in Clay County received a grade below C. redefinED.
Turnaround plans: The Florida Board of Education approves a turnaround plan for the new Gadsden High School, but with conditions: The district must hire a charter company to operate the school by the 2018-2019 school year, fire teachers with unsatisfactory ratings, and provide monthly progress reports to the board. WTXL. Tallahassee Democrat.
School may close: The Palm Beach County School Board is expected to vote Wednesday to close the half-empty Odyssey Middle School. If it does, the closing would be the first of a traditional public school in the county in more than 25 years. The school opened in 2001 in Boynton Beach at a cost of $21 million. In the past 13 years, enrollment has gone from 1,360 to 730. Palm Beach Post. (more…)
