H.B. 7069 lawsuits: The Hillsborough County School Board chooses not to join other districts in suing the state over the constitutionality of the new education law, H.B. 7069. Board members say a suit would cost too much money, take too much staff time and potentially contaminate relationships with state legislators. Fourteen other districts have announced their intention to join the lawsuit, which has not yet been filed. Tampa Bay Times. The Palm Beach County School District files its challenge to H.B. 7069 in Leon County Circuit Court. The suit claims the law unconstitutionally forces districts to share local property tax revenue with charters, and specifically targets just those provisions that require districts to share property tax proceeds with charters. School board members chose to file their own suit instead of joining other districts. Palm Beach Post. redefinED.
Makeup days: The Hernando County School District will use extra minutes already built into its daily schedule to make up the time lost to Hurricane Irma. Only Moton Elementary does not have that time available, since it's a turnaround school and is required to have 60 extra minutes a day for reading. So eight minutes a day has been added to Moton's schedule. Tampa Bay Times. Duval County school officials detail the setting up of hurricane shelters in schools, and the ensuing teardown and cleanup to prepare for the resumption of classes. Florida Times-Union.
Social media boost: Lake County School Board members are encouraging the county's schools to launch and maintain Facebook and Twitter accounts in order to better communicate with students and parents. “I am pretty excited,” says board chairman Marc Dodd. “We definitely understand the value of communicating that way and how many people it can reach.” Existing employee and student conduct rules will apply to the use of the platforms, and the district will offer training. Daily Commercial.
School costs rise: Lee County school officials are asking the school board to approve an additional $13.9 million to build Bonita Springs High School. The board approved a budget of $49.9 million in April 2016, but the latest estimate of the final cost is $84.9 million. School officials blame a labor shortage, rising costs and changes to the design of the school, which is expected to open in the fall of 2018. Fort Myers News-Press.
School repairs: Marion County school officials say they will receive $164.38 million over the next five years for school repairs to their 51 schools and district offices. But the latest estimate of the cost of all the needed repairs is $530.25 million, leaving the district $365.87 million short. "Our state Legislature has dropped the ball." says Lake Weir Middle School principal David Ellers. "They are not taking care of the kids.” Ocala Star-Banner. Sarasota County School Board members say they were taken by surprise by renovations planned for the district's administrative offices. Superintendent Todd Bowden says the work is part of the staff reorganization he proposed in March, and well within the budget the board approved. Board member Eric Robinson says it was unclear what the board was approving. Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
Student absenteeism: The rate of Duval County students considered chronically absent doubled during the 2015-2016 school year. The rate has usually been 6-7 percent of students who miss 21 or more days a month of school, school officials say, but rose to more than 12 percent last year. School board members were shocked by the spike, and asked interim Superintendent Paula Wright to investigate. Florida Times-Union. Chronic absenteeism is also a problem in Palm Beach County, says school board member Erika Whitfield. She says there's a clear correlation between attending school and graduating. “If we can’t get our students to school on time or to be there, how are we ever going to teach them?” she asks. Palm Beach Post.
Eclipse schedules: School districts around the state are deciding if their students will be permitted to view the solar eclipse Monday, and if they will be, how they might do so safely. TCPalm. Northwest Florida Daily News. Citrus County Chronicle. St. Augustine Record. WUSF. WKRG. WPTV. Cape Coral Daily Breeze.
Video rebuttal: Florida House Republicans respond to a threat to sue over H.B. 7069 by releasing a promotional video touting the "schools of hope" provision in the bill, which creates incentives for charter schools to move into areas with persistently low-performing public schools. The video says those opposed to H.B. 7069 don't want to give tens of thousands of children in failing schools another public education option. Last week, the Broward County School Board voted to sue over the bill, claiming it improperly forces districts to share property tax revenue with charter schools and strips local boards of the authority to approve or deny charter applications. Miami Herald. At its July 25 meeting, the Manatee County School Board will consider joining Broward County in a lawsuit against H.B. 7069. Bradenton Herald.
New school rules: Here are some of the new rules in effect when schools reopen next month. Orlando Sentinel. Is H.B. 989 a threat to science teaching, or an expansion of accountability? Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
Charter school fees: Are charter schools charging questionable or even illegal fees? In the past five years, there are eight cases of charters doing just that in the United States. One of those cases was in Hillsborough County, where the school board felt compelled to caution one school against pushing parents for donations, using invoices for donations, and against dismissing students because parents didn't give even volunteer hours. Education Week.
Teaching climate change: A study financed by the National Science Foundation concludes that more than half of science teachers in Florida are passing along faulty information on climate change. About 70 percent incorrectly think ozone layer depletion and pesticide use are causes of climate change, and about 50 percent say climate change science has to be studied through controlled experiments to be valid. WUWF. (more…)
