Open enrollment: A bill that would allow any student to enroll in any school that has an opening is headed for a full House vote. Two changes were made to the bill. One would give enrollment preferences to those who live in communities that donated land for the school. The other would require middle and high school teachers to provide a class syllabus to any parent who asks for it. Three other education bills also moved along in the House. One would require daily recess in elementary schools. Another would eliminate the Florida School Board Association's ability to use taxpayer money to sue the state. The third would ask voters to approve a statewide body to govern charter schools. Miami Herald. Politico Florida. News Service of Florida. WFSU.
State testing: The Florida Department of Education is warning superintendents that some of their computer systems may not be able to properly run the 2016 Florida Standards Assessments tests. Gradebook. Fort Myers News-Press. Sunshine State News.
Computer coding: A House committee adds $79,326 in appropriations for a bill that would allow students to fulfill their foreign language requirements by taking computer coding. The bill is at odds with the Senate version. Politico Florida. Tampa Bay Times.
Charter construction: A bill that would require districts to finance charter school infrastructure moves ahead in the House. Districts now may use money from property taxes for charter school construction and maintenance, but it's not mandatory. The bill also places limits on how much school districts may spend, with penalties attached for exceeding those limits. Miami Herald. Politico Florida. News Service of Florida.
Superintendent loses support: Three of the seven Polk County School Board members say they no longer support School Superintendent Kathryn LeRoy. She was the target of a complaint that alleged sexual harassment, unprofessional conduct and mismanagement. She was cleared, but advised to take sexual harassment training. The board votes Friday whether to fire LeRoy. Lakeland Ledger. (more…)
