Amendment 8 off ballot: A Leon County judge rules that proposed constitutional Amendment 8 should be removed from the November ballot because it "fails to inform voters of the chief purpose and effect." The amendment would allow the Legislature to create an entity to authorize charter schools. It would also set term limits for school board members and require civics education in schools. Judge John Cooper agreed with the plaintiffs, the League of Women Voters, that the ballot language was misleading and that the Citizens Review Commission bunched the three separate proposals to boost its chance of passage. The state is expected to appeal the decision. News Service of Florida. Associated Press. Tampa Bay Times. Orlando Sentinel. Florida Phoenix. WFSU. Southern Poverty Law Center. Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi files a response to the Supreme Court to a separate challenge from former chief justice Harry Lee Anstead, who contends six amendments are unconstitutionally bundled and should be removed from the ballot. Bondi argues that only the ballot proposals put forward by the public through petitions need to adhere to the state's single-subject rule because they don't have the oversight that the Constitution Revision Commission and Legislature have when creating and adopting proposals. Gradebook. Florida Politics.
Education lawsuit: Each side in a nine-year-old lawsuit over the way the state funds education will get 20 minutes Nov. 8 to make their cases before the Florida Supreme Court. The group that filed the suit, Citizens for Strong Schools, claims the state is failing in its constitutional duty to provide a "high quality" public education system. The state argues that the constitutional language is aspirational and can't be measured. Two courts have already sided with the state. Gradebook. WFSU. News Service of Florida.
Videos won't be shown: After parents questioned plans to show elementary and middle school students videos of what to do during a school shooting, Pinellas County school officials change course and say the videos won't be shown to elementary students. Instead, the district will put the videos on its website so parents can decide whether to show them to their children. WTVT. Tampa Bay Times. WFLA. Parents in St. Johns County also object to videos the school district plans to show students about what they should and should not do during a school shooting. The district plans for all students to watch the videos by Sept. 15. WJXT. (more…)
Return to Stoneman Douglas: The first day of school at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland was bittersweet for students who lived through the massacre Feb. 14, with student emotions mixed with hope for the future but weighted by the grief of the past. “That’s something I’ve been wrestling with,” said 14-year-old sophomore Alexa Goel, who saw her first body on that dark day and had to run for her life. “Not wanting to let it go, but also moving forward with my life.” Security was tight, but even that wasn't reassuring for some students. “There’s literally no place that I am every day that I feel 100 percent safe and the thought doesn’t go through my head that someone could come in with a gun,” said 15-year-old Samantha Deitsch. Sun-Sentinel. Miami Herald. WLRN. Palm Beach Post. Associated Press.
School security problems: The Florida Legislature shortchanged the state's school districts by not providing enough money to pay for the security measures it mandated, says Damien Kelly, executive director of the Florida Department of Education’s Office of Safe Schools. “All 67 sheriffs are on the same page. They don’t think the funding is where it needs to be,” says Kelly. Orlando Sentinel. Fort Lauderdale police officers filled in to guard schools in the city on opening day Wednesday, just a day after the Broward County School District informed the city it was short of armed guards for 13 schools. Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis calls the district's last-minute plea for help "disappointing.” Sun-Sentinel. Despite the focus on school security, Broward County summer schools had no security presence. Miami Herald. Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs and Sheriff Jerry Demings trade accusations about who's at fault for a shortage of deputies to cover county schools on opening day. Orlando Sentinel. Safe Schools director Damien Kelly says the new app FortifyFL will be available in two weeks. It will allow people to anonymously report suspicious activities in schools. Associated Press. News Service of Florida. (more…)
Storm funds unspent: Florida received $84.5 million from the federal government to assist in the recovery of schools affected by the 2017 hurricanes, but hasn't spent any of it, according to Jason Botel, principal deputy assistant secretary in the U.S. Education Department’s Office of Elementary and Secondary Education. The grants were made through the Immediate Aid to Restart School Operations program to help Florida schools, colleges and universities recover from hurricanes Harvey and Irma. Puerto Rico, hammered by Hurricane Maria, received the most at $589 million, while Florida, Texas, California, Georgia and the U.S. Virgin Islands also were awarded aid for natural disasters. Politico.
First school day: Reports from schools around the state, as more than 40 districts begin their school year. Sun-Sentinel. Orlando Sentinel. Palm Beach Post. Florida Times-Union. Tampa Bay Times. Tampa Bay Times. Lakeland Ledger. Bradenton Herald. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Ocala Star-Banner. Gainesville Sun. Tallahassee Democrat. Daytona Beach News-Journal. Northwest Florida Daily News. Citrus County Chronicle. WFSU. WTXL. The Escambia County School District adopts a policy that prohibits parents from walking their children into their classrooms after tomorrow. Pensacola News Journal. Flashing school zone signals in front of the now-closed Eagle Arts Academy confused Palm Beach County drivers on Monday. County officials say it will take a couple of days to deactivate the signals. Palm Beach Post. (more…)
