New rules for scholarships: The Florida Board of Education approves rules for two new scholarship programs created by the Legislature. The Hope Scholarship gives students who are victims of bullying, intimidation, sexual offenses or violence the opportunity to ask for a transfer to another public school or to receive a scholarship to a private school. Students may apply in October. The scholarships for struggling readers in 3rd through 5th grades who don't pass the state test will be open for applications next month. Both are administered by Step Up For Students, which hosts this blog and also helps administer the state's tax credit and Gardiner scholarship programs. redefinED. News Service of Florida. Orlando Sentinel. Gradebook. Politico Florida.
Charter rejections reversed: The Florida Board of Education also overturns the Palm Beach County School Board's rejection of two charter schools' applications. Board members followed the recommendation of the Charter School Appeal Commission, which said the school board did not have good cause to reject the applications from the South Palm Beach Charter K-8 school and Renaissance Charter High School. Sun-Sentinel. redefinED. The board also approved, with conditions, turnaround plans for struggling schools in several Florida districts. Tampa Bay Times. Florida Times-Union.
Tax hikes for raises: The Miami-Dade County School Board will ask voters in November for an increase in property taxes to give teachers and other employees a pay raise, and to hire additional security personnel for schools. If approved, the tax would raise about $232 million a year for four years. Superintendent Alberto Carvalho is proposing that 90 percent of the money raised be used for salary hikes, which could mean pay raises of up to 20 percent for some teachers. Miami Herald. WLRN. The Palm Beach County School Board unanimously decides to ask voters in November to approve higher property taxes. If approved, the measure would generate an additional $200 million a year for four years, which the district would use for higher teacher salaries, school security and mental health counseling, and to maintain its arts, music, physical education, career and technical education programs. The measure does not set aside a set percentage for charter schools. Palm Beach Post. Sun-Sentinel. Members of the Bay County Citizen’s Oversight Committee tour schools as they consider security upgrades and future half-cent sales tax projects. Panama City News Herald.
Alternative tests: The Florida Department of Education is proposing to toughen the passing standards for students who use alternatives to the Florida Standards Assessments 10th-grade language arts and algebra 1 exams in order to graduate. In 2017, more than 35,000 of the 168,000 Florida high school graduates used the SAT, ACT or other tests instead of the FSA. If approved by the Florida Board of Education, the higher standards could be in place as early as Aug. 1. Orlando Sentinel. Gradebook.
Voucher capital: Florida already leads the nation in the amount of tax money given to school voucher programs, and the expansion is continuing. The Legislature just passed a law to pay for students who are bullied to go to private schools, and spends nearly $900 million a year on various scholarship programs for almost 140,000 students. Ohio has the second-largest program, spending about $266 million last year, according to the school choice advocacy group EdChoice. House Speaker Richard Corcoran, R-Land O'Lakes, recently said in a speech: “You voucherize the entire system and put that power in the hands of parents, you change education.” Step Up For Students, which hosts this blog, helps administer the tax credit and Gardiner scholarship programs. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Despite the charter-friendly atmosphere in the state, two additional voucher proposals won't make it to the state ballot in November. redefinED.
Home-schooling bill signed: Gov. Rick Scott signs H.B. 731, which restricts the amount of information school districts can require from parents who want to home-school their children. Some parents had complained that certain districts were making it hard to register for home-schooling. Among the 17 other bills Scott signed were ones giving refunds to university students with excess credits who graduate within four years and establishing a statewide program accountability system for school readiness providers. redefinED. WKRG. Florida Politics. (more…)
School safety bill: After a second straight day of eight-hour debates, the Florida House approves the school safety bill by a 67-50 margin. The bill now goes to Gov. Rick Scott, who said he would review it line-by-line and talk to families of the Parkland shooting before deciding whether to sign it. The bill provides $67 million for a program to train and arm select school employees who volunteer for the duty, requires a three-day waiting period to purchase guns and hikes the legal age limit to buy rifles from 18 to 21. It also sets aside $300 million for mental health services and security programs in schools, and $26 million for tearing down the building at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School where the shooting took place, and building a memorial on the site. Sun-Sentinel. Associated Press. Tampa Bay Times. Tallahassee Democrat. Politico Florida. Palm Beach Post. GateHouse. Officials in 10 of the largest school districts in Florida say that even if Scott signs this bill, they are not likely to take part in the program to train and arm school personnel. Tampa Bay Times. A cursory review of state records shows at least 19 times that school workers who could be armed under this bill have threatened or hurt students or used firearms illegally. In 13 of those cases, the workers threatened to shoot students. Tampa Bay Times. The Haines City Police Department and Florida Highway Patrol will provide officers for every school in Haines City through the end of the school year. Lakeland Ledger.
Budget deal: The House and Senate reach an agreement on an $87 billion state budget that boosts spending for education and school safety. The last hurdle to the deal was the Senate agreeing to adopt the House's formula to reimbursing hospitals for Medicaid expenses. The final vote on the budget is expected Sunday or Monday, since the law requires 72 hours between an agreement and a vote to give legislators a chance to read the bill. The Legislature had been scheduled to conclude Friday. News Service of Florida. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Miami Herald. Associated Press. The deal also adds $25 million to provide Gardiner scholarships to more children with special needs. There are about 1,300 children on the waiting list. Step Up For Students, which hosts this blog, helps administer the program. redefinED. The state's K-12 schools will get $120 million in construction money for charter schools and $50 million for district schools under the budget agreement. Politico Florida.
New superintendent: Donald Fennoy is named superintendent of the Palm Beach County School District. The school board chose Fennoy, 41, the district's chief operating officer since May 2016, over two other candidates to succeed Robert Avossa, who is leaving in June to take a job with an educational materials publishing company. The district is the 11th largest in the country with 190,000 students, and has 25,000 employees. Palm Beach Post. Sun-Sentinel.
Charters get payments: Under protest, Broward and Orange school districts distribute about $15 million in local construction funding to charter schools after being ordered to do so by the Florida Department of Education. The districts wanted to hold the money in escrow until their lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the law requiring the payments is decided. DOE officials said the pending decision was not a basis to withhold payment. Both districts allege the state threatened to withhold regular school funding if the payments were not made, a charge the DOE denies. WLRN.
Gay teacher fired: A Miami Catholic school 1st-grade teacher says she was fired from her job after marrying her girlfriend. Jocelyn Morffi was apparently asked to resign after officials at Sts. Peter & Paul Catholic School found out about her marriage. When she refused, she was fired. Now her story is being turned into an issue in the Democratic primary for Florida’s 27th Congressional District, according to Politico Florida. Miami New Times. Miami Herald. Associated Press. WPLG.
Baker Act policy: A widely seen video of a 7-year-old boy being taken away from a school in handcuffs prompts a change in the way Miami-Dade County schools will handle children with behavior issues. School officials have been instructed to exhaust all options in dealing with a student before calling police and using the Baker Act for an involuntary psychiatric exam. When called, police officers also will need clearance from a high-ranking officer before transporting a child under the Baker Act. Miami Herald. Children under the age of 18 were taken for an involuntary psychiatric evaluation under the Baker Act about 32,000 times between the summers of 2015 and 2016, according to a report by the Florida Department of Children and Families. WLRN.
State budgeting: The Senate and House pass budgets that are close in size, but at odds on how to pay for education, among other things. The House's $87.2 billion budget includes tying the changes in education proposed in H.B. 7055 to the overall budget. But senators used a procedure to force the House to uncouple the education bill from the budget, and passed its own $87.3 billion budget. H.B. 7055 will now have to pass through several Senate committees. Tampa Bay Times. News Service of Florida. Associated Press. Politico Florida. A discussion of the House education bill, its chances of becoming law, and how it's connected to the overall state budget. Gradebook.
Senate moves bills: Bills that would provide scholarships for bullied students and increased oversight of private school choice programs are approved by the Senate Education Appropriations Subcommittee. S.B. 1172 would allow victims of bullying and violence to transfer to other public schools or receive a state scholarship to attend a private school. The House also passed its version of the bill, known as the Hope Scholarship. S.B. 1756 calls for tightening state oversight of those private schools that accept state scholarships. It also requires those private schools to employ only teachers with degrees. But that stipulation has run into some resistance, so Sen. David Simmons, R-Altamonte Springs, is proposing that the language be amended to apply only to teachers hired after July 1, 2018, and who are assigned to grade 2 or higher. Those teachers with experience but no degrees would be grandfathered in. Step Up For Students, which hosts this blog, helps administer the tax credit and Gardiner scholarship programs. redefinED. Gradebook. WFSU. Naples Daily News.
Teacher-student romances: Two bills being considered in the House would crack down on romantic entanglements between teachers and students. H.B. 515 would make any such relationships, regardless of the age of the student, a second degree felony for the teacher. Another bill, H.B. 1391, would hold schools and school officials accountable if they fail to report certain misconduct to law enforcement officials or to other prospective employers checking references. Both have been approved by the House Education Committee. Miami Herald.
Scholarship oversight: The Florida House Education Committee is proposing new rules governing private schools that accept state scholarships. The legislation, still in draft form, would require state visits to all private schools before they can participate in one of the state's three K-12 scholarship programs, compel schools to provide a list of teachers and their credentials to parents, make it more difficult for the schools to falsify fire and health inspection reports, and increase financial oversight. But private schools could continue to to hire teachers without college degrees. Step Up For Students, which hosts this blog, helps administer the tax credit and Gardiner scholarship programs. Orlando Sentinel. redefinED.
Argument against law: The school districts challenging six provisions in the new state education law argue in a motion for dismissal that even if some of the provisions are judged to be constitutional, they're part of the larger package that unlawfully undermines the authority of local school boards. The districts cite several cases that they say affirms districts' authority over Florida’s public schools, and forbids the Legislature from creating “parallel,” publicly funded alternatives. redefinED.
Proposed amendments: The Constitution Revision Commission (CRC) meets today to consider amendment proposals, including several that could affect the state's school choice movement. Among them: one that would extend relaxed regulations now enjoyed by charter schools to traditional public schools that receive state grades of B or above for three straight years; getting rid of the state’s restriction on public funding of religious activity; eliminating limits on the Legislature’s authority to create educational programs; and allowing the Legislature to create non-district charter school authorizers. redefinED. By allowing members to engage in secret talks, the CRC risks the invalidation of all its work, according to a dozen open government advocacy groups. Those kinds of private policy discussions are "just part of the process," says CRC member Erika Donalds. Politico Florida.
Legislative preview: Fighting over the state budget is expected to dominate the Legislature in this election year. The top education issues being considered are potential revisions in H.B. 7069, which boosts charter schools, expanding Bright Futures scholarships and a bill providing scholarships for bullied K-12 students. Other issues include a bill requiring completion of a financial literacy course to graduate, an effort to expand computer coding, the use of schools as emergency shelters and a bill that would allow some employees to carry guns into schools. Tampa Bay Times. Tallahassee Democrat. Orlando Sentinel. News Service of Florida. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Associated Press. Palm Beach Post. Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
Schools face sanctions: Thirty-one Florida private schools face possible sanctions for failing to file financial reports as the state requires by the Sept. 15 deadline. The law requires any private school that receives $250,000 or more in Florida Tax Credit Scholarships for low-income students or Gardiner Scholarships for students with special needs to submit reports to the nonprofits that administer the scholarships. Step Up For Students, which hosts this blog, helps administer both scholarship programs. redefinED. A troubled Pine Hills private school will close if it can no longer receive money from the state's scholarship programs, the school's attorney tells the Department of Education. Agape Christian Academy filed false fire inspections, hired people with criminal records and failed to pay its employees, according to records, leading to a state ban on any state scholarship money going to the school. Education Commissioner Pam Stewart will make a decision on the school's appeal of the ban. Orlando Sentinel.
Private school restrictions: A bill is filed that would prohibit individuals who have filed for bankruptcy within the past five years from operating private schools that accept students who receive state scholarship money. Filed by Sen. Linda Stewart, D-Orlando, the bill would apply to the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship program, which serves more than 100,000 students. Orlando Sentinel.
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.
Schools as shelters: A bill is filed that would require any K-12 school that receives construction funding from the state to be available as an emergency shelter or, if it doesn't meet the requirements to be a shelter, for any other use officials think is necessary. That requirement would include charter schools. H.B. 779 was filed by state Rep. Janet Cruz, D-Tampa. No companion bill has yet been filed in the Senate. Gradebook.
School choice growth: New research suggests that the growth of Florida's tax credit scholarship program has not led to a corresponding increase in the number of schools that perform poorly academically. Urban Institute researchers conclude: "This analysis indicates that participation in the [tax credit scholarship] program has not shifted toward schools with weaker track records of improving student outcomes, as measured by two broad categorizations. But it provides less guidance on the ideal level of government regulation in private school choice programs." Step Up For Students, which hosts this blog, helps administer the tax credit scholarship program. The program has grown from 50,000 low-income students receiving scholarships in 2012 to more than 100,000 this year. redefinED.
District consultant: The Duval County School Board will spend $480,000 for a consultant to help turn around eight struggling schools. Turnaround Solutions Inc. was founded by James Young, a former Duval principal with experience in turning around failing schools. Three of the schools have less than a year to boost their grades from the state, while the others have until the end of the 2018-2019 school year. If they don't improve to at least a C grade, state law requires the district to close the schools or allow them to be taken over. Florida Times-Union.
Panel: Turn over school: An oversight committee at Oscar Patterson Elementary School is recommending that the struggling school be turned over to an outside manager. The Bay County school has gotten poor grades from the state the past two years, and under state law the district has to contract with an outside entity to manage the school, close it and transfer the students, or close it and reopen it as a charter school. The recommendation now goes to Superintendent Bill Husfelt. If he agrees with the recommendation, the district must have a signed contract with a management company by Jan. 31, 2018. Panama City News Herald.
Blaine Amendment: The Constitution Revision Commission's Declaration of Rights Committee approves a proposal to put repeal of the Blaine Amendment before voters in 2018. The amendment prohibits the use of tax money “directly or indirectly in aid of any church, sect or religious denomination." In 2006, the Florida Supreme Court cited the amendment when it ruled that a state violated the law with its scholarship program for students to attend private schools. House Speaker Richard Corcoran, R-Land O'Lakes, has long called for a repeal of the amendment. The proposal now goes to the full commission, where 22 of the 37 members would have to approve it to put it on the November 2018 ballot. Sixty percent of voters would then have to approve the repeal to put it into effect. Tallahassee Democrat. News Service of Florida.
Education spending: Gov. Rick Scott continues a state tour to promote his education budget, which he says will boost spending on K-12 education to a record $21.4 billion. “We’re going to have historic funding for the sixth year in a row,” says Scott about his proposal to increase per-student spending from $7,297 to $7,497. But an analysis in Folio Weekly magazine questions that statement. Using the Consumer Price Index calculator, the magazine says it would take $8,377.89 per student today to match the $7,126 per student from then-Gov. Charlie Crist's 2007, pre-recession budget. Florida Politics. WJCT. Florida and 28 other states are spending less on education now than they were before the 2008 recession after an adjustment for inflation, according to a study by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. And Florida and six other states each spent at least 15 percent less per-student in 2015 than in 2008. The 74.
Superintendent honored: Pinellas County School Superintendent Mike Grego is named Florida superintendent of the year for his work to close the achievement gap between black and nonblack students. Grego, 60, has been superintendent in Pinellas for just over five years. He now represents Florida at the national competition in Nashville in February. Gradebook. WUSF.
