Education bill signed: Gov. Rick Scott signs HB 7029, the sweeping education bill passed during this year’s legislative session. The law allows students to attend any public school in the state with an opening, lets high school athletes transfer and be eligible immediately, and gives charter schools a higher proportion of state money for construction. Miami Herald. Orlando Sentinel. Sun-Sentinel. Sunshine State News. Florida Politics. Pensacola News Journal. News Service of Florida. Politico Florida. Associated Press. St. Augustine Record. Here's a summary of what's in HB 7029. Pensacola News Journal. Here's a summary of the five education-related bills Scott signed. Gradebook. Small private, charter and Christian schools say the state’s education bill allows the Florida High School Athletic Association to prevent them from competing for state championships. Florida Politics.

Schools still going: Four financially troubled Pinellas County charter schools continue to operate even though its management company has apparently withdrawn. That company, Newpoint Education Partners, has been silent since it issued a false statement saying the company had been obtained by Alliance Ed of Florida. Meanwhile, parents and the boards of Windsor Prep and East Windsor Middle Academy in St. Petersburg and Newpoint Pinellas Academy and Newpoint Pinellas High in Clearwater continue to keep the schools going. Tampa Bay Times.

Recruiting success: The Leon County School District says it has recruited back about 500 students from private, charter and developmental research schools. It's a small portion of the 8,000-plus students who have left public schools for home-schooling, private and charter schools. Tallahassee Democrat.

Businesses and schools: Tampa Bay area business leaders are giving financial advice to Pinellas school principals as part of the Executive PASS program. The program operates in 34 Pinellas schools and in three other Florida counties. WUSF. (more…)

A digital learning advocacy group says Florida is one of 22 states that improved their policies over the past year.

Florida ranks second out of 50 states in Digital Learning Now's latest annual report card, trailing only Utah. That's where it stood last year, too, but several pieces of legislation passed in 2013 helped the state raise its score from a B-plus to an A-minus.

Overall, states passed 132 new digital-learning laws last year, according to the report. Florida accounted for seven of them.

They included SB 1514, a controversial overhaul of the funding formula for virtual courses that could eventually allow more online-course providers to receive state funding, and HB 7029, which among other things requires the Department of Education to create an online course catalog and lays the groundwork for more "course choice."

“In Florida, we are trying to expand access for students, while helping to demystify digital learning for the public so that they are more comfortable with these new models of learning,” Rep. Manny Diaz, R-Hialeah, is quoted as saying in the report.

The digital-learning group is backed by the Foundation for Excellence in Education, which is led by former Gov. Jeb Bush.

While Florida's polices get good marks in most areas, its score suffers in the categories that measure access to Internet-connected devices for teachers and students, and the availability of high-speed broadband connections for schools.

Some lawmakers say they plan to address those issues this session by requiring school districts to draft long-term technology plans and setting aside more funding for technology needs.

by Holly Sagues

Florida Virtual School began as an idea developed in the Florida Legislature. With a $200,000 “break the mold” grant, a small group was charged with attempting something truly disruptive: create the nation’s first online public school. From those early moments 16 years ago to present day, Florida Virtual School has changed the landscape of public education in Florida and nationwide. In 1997, FLVS had 77 students. In fiscal year 2011-12, we had more than 149,000 students in Florida alone.

Florida Virtual School keeps the student at the center of every decision we make. Seeing every student as an individual is one of the key reasons so many FLVS students achieve and exceed expectations. With our students in the center, FLVS has concerns with the way the language of two Florida House bills, HB 5101 and HB 7029, account for student access and opportunity.

The language used in these bills changes the lens through which the Legislature sees student funding. It moves from addressing unique student needs to a “one-size-fits-all” model that pits district against district. Essentially, the proposed language caps the amount that can be spent on an individual student to a single full-time equivalent (1.0 FTE). This dollar amount is static, and it does not change based upon the number of courses a student successfully completes.

Each student has individual reasons for taking FLVS courses, reasons that vary from acceleration to credit recovery to grade forgiveness and others. Most FLVS students are concurrently enrolled in a brick-and-mortar school, and many take FLVS courses in addition to their six- or seven-period day.

If HB 7029’s and HB 5101’s changes are implemented, the FTE associated with a student taking a full load at a zoned school will be divided between the two (or more) providers of that student’s education, based upon the individual district’s FTE calculation, which varies based upon district. The bill language says “proportionately” but this word is incorrect because FLVS already receives a reduced amount compared to brick-and-mortar schools. (more…)