Budget agreement: The state's proposed $88.7 billion budget includes $21.1 billion for K-12 schools, an increase of $485 million over last year to boost per-student spending by $101.50, to $7,408. Much of the overall 7.6 percent budget hike is driven by increased spending for school security. “It put everything else we were working on, on a back burner,” says Sen. Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton. “A lot of projects have fallen out. And money had to be reprioritized. It’s not often that you go into session and have to make a $400 million adjustment midstream.” The earliest a budget vote can be taken is Sunday, since state law requires a 72-hour "cooling off" period after a budget agreement is reached. News Service of Florida. Tampa Bay Times. GateHouse. The budget deal boosts the amount of construction money for charter schools, and the way the money is raised and distributed could ease tensions between charters and their local districts. redefinED. A $500,000 grant for a famed Miami arts high school was cut from the state budget by legislative leaders. New World School of the Arts was the home of Tarell Alvin McCraney, who won the 2017 Academy Award for his screenplay for Moonlight, which won the award for best picture. Politico Florida.
School shooting developments: According to law enforcement communications during the Parkland school shooting, released by the Broward County Sheriff's Office, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School resource officer Scot Peterson radioed that gunfire was happening inside Building 12, and he warned other officers to stay away. Peterson, who was called a coward by President Trump, has insisted publicly that he believed the gunfire was happening outside. Miami Herald. Sun-Sentinel. Listen to some of the 911 calls. Miami Herald. Sun-Sentinel. A judge will review the video from outside the shooting scene before deciding if it will be made public. Sun-Sentinel. Accused school shooter Nikolas Cruz withdraws his not guilty plea to 17 counts of murder and 17 counts of attempted murder and is instead "standing mute," his lawyers say. Sun-Sentinel. Student activists from Stoneman Douglas High lease office space as they prepare to launch their #Never Again movement nationwide. CBS News.
School safety bill: Lawmakers from both parties say they expect Gov. Rick Scott to sign the $400 million school safety bill that would, among other things, allow some employees to carry guns in schools. Scott has said he doesn't want to arm teachers, but the final bill calls for school personnel other than fulltime teachers to be armed voluntarily, and most of the rest of the bill is in line with what he has advocated. Scott meets with families of the school shooting today. The bill also increases the legal age to buy long guns to 21, imposes a three-day waiting period to buy weapons, bans bump stocks and allows police to take guns from people judged to be mentally defective or in danger of harming themselves or others. Politico Florida. Miami Herald. The Florida Education Association urges Scott to veto funds for arming school personnel. Orlando Sentinel. Putting an armed resource officer into all the state's schools would cost about $116 million, according to a recent Florida Department of Education survey. Gradebook. Legal experts say a school employee carrying a gun could be sued in civil court in an accidental shooting or if the gun is lost or stolen and later used in a crime. Reuters. Is the 132 hours of gun training for school employees detailed in the school safety bill enough? USA Today. Flagler County School Superintendent James Tager says his district won't be arming any school workers other than law enforcement officers. Daytona Beach News-Journal. Bay County School Superintendent Bill Husfelt says he would consider arming school employees. Panama City News Herald. (more…)
Education bill: The Senate is expected to vote today on the massive education bill, which would create a state scholarship for bullied students, boost the money available for special-needs students that would be funded through a corporate lease tax credit, offer $500 savings accounts for tutoring to low-performing readers in elementary schools, and decertify teachers unions that don't have 50 percent of their eligible employees as dues-paying members, among other things. If approved, the bill goes back to the House for a vote. Tampa Bay Times. redefinED. News Service of Florida. State Sen. Tom Lee, R-Thonotasassa, calls the Senate's leadership "third world" after his failed attempt to amend the provision that could decertify teachers unions. Tampa Bay Times. Politico Florida. As the Legislature enters its final week, it still has to pass the education bill, the school safety bill, and a budget that includes a small hike for K-12 schools and a boost for Bright Futures scholarships, among other things. Associated Press. Tampa Bay Times.
School safety bill: The Florida Senate, in a rare Saturday session, finalizes a school safety bill that allows teachers to carry guns in schools but does not ban assault weapons. The amendment banning assault weapons passed in a voice vote, but was then rejected in a roll call vote. The proposed bill would require a three-day waiting period to buy all firearms, boost the legal age to buy a rifle or a shotgun from 18 to 21, ban bump stocks, put an armed police officer in every school, and boost funding for mental health care. Here are the amendments that passed, and those that failed. The Senate is expected to take a final vote today. News Service of Florida. Associated Press. Tampa Bay Times. Orlando Sentinel. Palm Beach Post. Politico Florida. If the Legislature passes a school safety bill that includes a provision that allows teachers to be armed, it's unclear if Gov. Rick Scott could veto it. He opposes having teachers carrying guns. Palm Beach Post. During Saturday's debate, Sen. Kelli Stargel, R-Lakeland, says thoughts and prayers are the only thing that can stop the evil behind mass shootings. Miami Herald. A review of school shootings seems to indicate that any one preventative measure being proposed could have stopped at least one of the assaults, but not all of them. Miami Herald. Experts say the legislation not only won't stop the next Nikolas Cruz, but it creates a parallel mental health system that duplicates services. Politico Florida. Leon County officials work to improve security at schools while waiting to see what comes out of the Legislature. Tallahassee Democrat.
Teacher removed for podcast: A social studies teacher at Crystal River Middle who has been hosting a white nationalist podcast under a different name and boasting that she's pushing her views to her students has been removed from the classroom while the Citrus County School District investigates. On her podcast Unapologetic, under the pseudonym Tiana Dalichov, 25-year-old Dayanna Volitich has promoted the idea that some races are smarter than others, that terrorism won't end until all Muslims are "eradicated," and praised the work of anti-Semitic authors and white supremacists. Volitich says her statements were political satire. Huffington Post. Citrus County Chronicle. WFLA. (more…)
Desegregation order: Indian River County School Board members renew their discussion about getting free from a court desegregation order, which it has been under since 1967. Board members feel the district has made progress toward fulfilling the court's requirement of "having racially balanced schools taught by diverse staffs to establish an equitable education system for minority students." The local NAACP chapter disagrees, saying the district still doesn't have enough minority teachers or a success plan for minority students. TCPalm.
Home education: The number of Florida students being home-schooled increased by more than 4,000 from 2016 to 2017, according to the state Department of Education's annual report. Since 2008, the number has increased by more than 30,000. redefinED.
Raising the bar: Florida and other states must continuously raise the standards for academic achievement, argues the CEO of the Foundation for Florida’s Future and the Foundation for Excellence in Education. “It is inevitable that when rigor is increased, student test scores and school summative grades initially will decline," writes Patricia Levesque. "But once teachers and students adapt to the higher expectations, the scores will begin trending back up. This is how we drive better learning gains — through a continuous but realistic raising of the academic bar.” Politico Florida.
H.B. 7069 lawsuit: Indian River County School Board members meet about joining a lawsuit against the newly signed state education bill, H.B. 7069, but make no decision. Several districts are committed to suing the state over the bill, which requires districts to share tax money with charter schools. TCPalm. Bay County School Board members will vote Tuesday on whether to join the lawsuit against the education bill. Superintendent Bill Husfelt and board members have complained about the bill and the secret manner in which it was put together. Ginger Littleton, board chair, calls the bill “slimy, underhanded, treacherous and very expensive for taxpayers.” Panama City News Herald. (more…)
Charter schools: Florida charter schools could get an extra $96.3 million from school districts that will now have to share the tax money they collect for capital projects, according to Florida House estimates. That's nearly 7 percent of the money school districts could have after debt service is subtracted, as H.B. 7069 stipulates. The $96.3 million is a maximum estimate, says Rep. Manny Diaz Jr., R-Hialeah. Charter schools need to meet certain academic and financial standards and have been operating for two or more years to be eligible for the money. Miami-Dade and Broward will be among the districts hardest hit in sheer dollars, but tiny Sumter and Franklin counties will have the highest percentages of shared dollars, at 33 and 24 percent, respectively. Miami Herald. Manatee and Sarasota counties are two of the counties that will have share higher percentages of their capital funding with charter schools under the new education law. Sarasota is third in the state at 13.54 percent, and Manatee is 11th at 9.26 percent. Manatee School Superintendent Diana Greene says the district will continue with plans to build three new schools, but the law could have an impact on smaller projects. Bradenton Herald. Wayman Academy of the Arts is one of five charter schools in Duval County to earn an A grade from the state this year. The school, which draws its students from a poor neighborhood in Jacksonville, now has received every possible grade from the state in its 17-year existence. Florida Times-Union.
District hacked: The St. Lucie County School District's Twitter account was hacked last week, and several racially charged messages were posted and stayed online for more than nine hours before being removed. The cyberattack was just one of several against school districts around the United States, according to St. Lucie School Superintendent Wayne Gent. School officials are unhappy with the difficulty they had contacting Twitter and its response time. “It took way too long,” Gent said. “It should’ve been done immediately.” TCPalm.
Fighting failure: As the 2016-2017 school year began, another first year of a rebuilding process began at Fairmount Park Elementary School. It had a new principal, new and inexperienced teachers, and a history of failure. Fairmount is located in a poor St. Petersburg neighborhood and in 2014, was one of five city elementary schools labeled a "failure factory." But this year it had a plan, and better resources, and hope. Tampa Bay Times. (more…)
Managing the boom: The Palm Beach County School Board will consider a plan to hire a company to manage the district's building boom, at a cost of $26.4 million over 10 years. California-based AECOM would act as the program manager in exchange for a 2.2 percent cut of the $1.4 billion the district is spending to repair old schools and build new ones. Voters approved a sales tax initiative in November to raise the sales tax for school infrastructure. “I think, at 2.2 percent, that is a terrific deal for the district,” says Mike Burke, the district’s chief financial officer. Palm Beach Post.
Financial problems: Hillsborough County School Superintendent Jeff Eakins acknowledges at a budget workshop that the district's financial problems are even worse than previously known. The district's reserve account lost $83.6 million between 2014 and 2015, and that was after the district transferred $55 million into it, and was on track to lose $130 million or more the following year. School board members brainstormed cost-cutting ideas, but no decisions were reached. Tampa Bay Times. Budget cuts could put the brakes on a proposed technology upgrade for the Pasco County School District. Chief finance officer Olga Swinson is recommending the elimination of $724,000 budgeted for new televisions and projectors to help teachers with presentations. She also suggests not spending the previously budgeted $642,000 for telecommunications upgrades and maintenance, and $310,000 in computer hardware, servers and software. Gradebook. Pasco County Superintendent Kurt Browning has been pushing the state to return to paper-and-pencil standardized testing, but he's recommending the district continue to use computer tests because doing so will save money. Gradebook.
Sharing with charters: Under the new state education law, the Duval County School District will be compelled to turn over $16 million from its capital fund in the next five years to charter schools. School officials say the first payment will be $2.4 million for the next school year. Florida Times-Union. In Sarasota County, charter schools' share of capital funds will be $9.3 million, up from the $5.5 million the board allotted this past school year. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. The Flagler County School District will have to send $570,000 from its capital fund to the county's two charter schools. Flagler Live. (more…)
Student-funding bill: House PreK-12 Appropriations chairman Manny Diaz, R-Miami, files a bill that details the specific amounts the Legislature would allocate for per-student funding and other education initiatives. H.B. 3A would boost the base student allocation by $43.24 over the amount legislators initially approved, and slightly cut the required local tax effort for districts. Most of the other amounts for projects align with Gov. Rick Scott's proposals. Gradebook. Several school superintendents continue to call Gov. Scott privately to lobby for a veto of H.B. 7069. Politico Florida. Volusia County school officials say the extra money for education Gov. Scott is proposing will help, but still isn't enough to meet the district's needs. Daytona Beach News-Journal. An education analyst discusses the pluses and minuses of the charter schools funding provisions in the education bill. WUSF.
School schedules: Lake County School Superintendent Diane Kornegay proposes an extension of the school day by an hour, and the school year to 11 months. She's also asking for a boost in college-readiness efforts and for more opportunities for associate degrees and industry certifications. Kornegay is urging school board members to shift funding from existing resources to pay for the changes. “Everyone wants to hold onto everything,” said Kornegay, who began her job in January. “And we can do anything we want — but we cannot do everything we want.” Orlando Sentinel. The Brevard County School District is sticking to its spring break schedule for 2018, from April 2-6, despite complaints from parents and students. Forty-four percent of those who took an online survey voted for that week because they think it will have a "lesser impact on testing" and allow "more instructional time in classroom prior to testing window." Florida Today. (more…)
Sales tax holiday: Gov. Rick Scott approves a three-day sales tax holiday for back-to-school shoppers. It's Aug. 4-6, and gives shoppers a tax break on clothes, school supplies, computers and computer accessories. Scott also approves a three-day sales tax holiday to buy hurricane supplies. In signing the bill, Scott again criticizes the Legislature's budget and education bills, but gave no indication of whether he would veto either. Palm Beach Post. Gradebook. News Service of Florida.
Education bill: Parents of Gardiner scholarship students are lobbying Gov. Scott to sign the education bill, which would greatly expand the program that benefits children with special needs. Step Up For Students, which hosts this blog, helps administer the Gardiner scholarships redefinED.
Interim's goals: Patricia Willis, the interim superintendent for the Duval County School District, says she will focus on improving third-grade reading and graduation rates. Willis, a former deputy superintendent for the district, will run the system until the school board finds a permanent replacement for Nikolai Vitti, who left last week to lead the Detroit school system. Florida Times-Union.
Reading test results: School districts in Charlotte, Collier, Glades, Hendry and Lee counties all show gains in the Florida Standards Assessments reading test for third-graders. Fort Myers News-Press. (more…)
Education bill: State Rep. Michael Bileca, R-Miami, appears before the Florida Board of Education to promote the education bill passed by the Legislature, saying legislators were trying to find ways to "consistently close the achievement gap" and "erase the negative effects of poverty." Board member Andy Tuck pointed out that 18 counties, including some of the poorest in the state, will receive less money for education next year than they got this year. Gradebook. Miami-Dade County School Superintendent Alberto Carvalho, also appearing at the state board meeting, says he, his school board and the state superintendents association are"vehemently, strongly ... advocating for a veto of HB 7069." Politico Florida. redefinED. The Florida School Board Association, which represents 64 of the state's 67 school boards, is the latest organization to urge Gov. Rick Scott to veto the Legislature's education bill. In a letter to Scott, the association calls the bill "substantially flawed and unworthy of your approval to be enacted into law." Miami Herald. News Service of Florida. Florida Politics. Associated Press. WMNF. More local school leaders urge a veto of the education bill. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Citrus County Chronicle.
Philosophical fight: Whether Gov. Scott vetoes the education bill or not, the philosophical battle over who control the state's public schools is likely to continue. redefinED.
Eakins declines raise: Hillsborough County School Superintendent Jeff Eakins turns down a proposed 3 percent raise from the school board, which extended his contract by three years. He will get a $2,000 bonus on top of his $225,000 salary if the district's graduation rate improves. "My bonus is going to be when every student, every teacher, every employee becomes successful," Eakins told the board. Tampa Bay Times.
New superintendents: In a 4-1 vote, the Alachua County School Board selects deputy superintendent Karen Clarke as the new school superintendent. Clarke has been with the district since 1992. Contract negotiations begin today, with an advertised contract range between $160,000 and $180,000. Gainesville Sun. The Flagler County School Board approves a three-year contract at $135,000 a year for new superintendent James Tager. Flagler Live. (more…)
Selling the bill: House Speaker Richard Corcoran, R-Land O'Lakes, posts a cartoon on YouTube to explain and defend the education bill that was passed last week. Corcoran calls it “#toontruth for anyone who likes the truth in animated video format.” Orlando Sentinel. How the education bills passed in Tallahassee on recess, testing and charter schools could affect St. Johns County schools. St. Augustine Record. Teacher bonuses would be smaller and many more teachers would earn them under the new education bill. Bridge to Tomorrow. The school choice movement is breaking into two camps: one that wants to use choice to improve public schools, and one that wants greatly expand choice by using tax money. Associated Press.
Title I, Medicaid concerns: The Legislature's decision to distribute federal Title I funding directly to schools and spread it to more schools could have devastating long-term effects on poor students, say district officials. Districts will be forced to cut special programs for low-income students, including after-school and summer school, or shift money from other programs to make up the difference. "A number of our community members and parents are aware of the services we provide in our 63 Title I schools," said Felita Grant, Title I director for Pinellas County schools. "It would be a shock to them, if this bill goes through, the number of services we would have to cut back on." Tampa Bay Times. School districts around the country say proposed cuts in the Medicaid program will have a significant impact in schools. Associated Press.
Teachers honored: Diego Fuentes, who teaches music to students with severe disabilities at the Hillcrest School in Ocala, is chosen as one of five finalists for the Department of Education’s 2018 Florida teacher of the year award. Fuentes was awarded $5,000. The winner will be announced July 13. Ocala Star Banner. Palm Beach County's teacher of the year and school-related employee of the year are surprised with free, two-year leases of BMWs. Palm Beach Post.
Teaching incentives: Experienced teachers are being offered up to $70,000 in incentive pay over three years to work at struggling Carver Middle School in Orlando. More than 100 teachers have already applied, school officials say. Those hired will get an extra $20,000 for the 2017-2018 school year, and $25,000 in each of the next two years. Carver has received two Fs and a D in school grades in the past three years, and nearly 80 percent of its students failed their Florida Standards Assessment exams. Orlando Sentinel. (more…)
Education bill: Most of the legislative session's major education issues are tied into a single bill that lawmakers will vote on today as part of the state's overall budget. Testing reforms, teacher bonuses, mandatory daily recess and expansion of charter schools are all part of the bill, which can only pass or fail. No amendments are permitted. Miami Herald. Politico Florida. Sunshine State News. News Service of Florida. A guide to what's in the 278-page, $414 million education bill. Politico Florida. The Florida Legislature is back in session today to vote on the state's $82.4 billion budget. Tampa Bay Times. News Service of Florida. Politico Florida. WFSU. Advocates for mandatory daily recess for elementary students are angry that the bill was lumped into the omnibus education bill and watered down with an exemption for charter schools. “This is not just about recess anymore. This bill is a mishmash of some policies that have never even been vetted before,” says Angela Browning of Orlando, one of the parents who have been fighting for years to get daily recess for students. Miami Herald. Other parents and school leaders also are urging that the Legislature reject the education bill. Miami Herald. Palm Beach County School Superintendent Robert Avossa often says his county is a "donor" to the state education budget. Here's why. Palm Beach Post. State school districts say they will be hurt by the state education budget. Daytona Beach News-Journal. Panama City News Herald. St. Augustine Record. WJAX. Charter schools, school choice and universities are among the winners in this year's legislative session. Ocala Star Banner. Sunshine State News.
Material challenges: Parents and members of the community will have greater power to challenge textbooks and other classroom materials used in schools under a bill passed by the Legislature. Supporters say the measure gives members of the community a say they weren't always getting from local school boards. Critics contend the bill makes it easier for objections on religious and philosophical grounds on things like the Holocaust, slavery, climate change and evolution. Miami Herald.
Scholarships expanded: The Legislature approves a bill that increases scholarship opportunities for poor students and those with disabilities. The amount of money poor students receive under the tax credit scholarship program is increased, and more disabilities will be covered by the Gardiner scholarship. Step Up For Students, which hosts this blog, helps administer both programs. Miami Herald. redefinED. Associated Press. Politico Florida.
Sports choice: Private school students in Florida will be able to play sports at the public school of their choice, based on that school district's open enrollment policy, if Gov. Rick Scott signs a bill the Legislature has passed. redefinED.
Charters and testing: A report from the Florida Department of Education concludes that charter school students outperform their peers on state assessment tests in most subjects and for most age groups. And the report says most poor and minority students also perform better at charter schools. A little less than 10 percent of Florida's students attend charter schools. Sun-Sentinel. Miami Herald. (more…)
