School safety bill: The Florida House votes today on the school safety bill passed by the Senate on Monday. Tuesday, representatives turned away every amendment to put limits on guns beyond those already approved by senators and agreed to the provisions in the Senate bill, including a voluntary program to arm some school personnel, a three-day waiting period to buy firearms and an increase in the legal age for buying guns from 18 to 21. The House vote is expected to be close. Sun-Sentinel. Tampa Bay Times. Orlando Sentinel. Palm Beach Post. GateHouse. Tallahassee Democrat. News Service of Florida. Politico Florida. Families of all 17 victims of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting urge the House to pass the bill. Miami Herald. There's plenty to like - and hate - in the school safety bill. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. The U.S. House will vote next week on the STOP School Violence Act of 2018, a bill that would create a grant program to train students, teachers and other school staff on identifying and intervening when someone shows signs of violence. Associated Press. About a dozen Florida senators receive jars filled with tar and feathers after the school safety bill passed, labeled “From the Children of Bradford County.” Miami Herald. Politico Florida. House leaders pull at least $10 million worth of projects out of the budget that had been requested by Republicans who oppose the school safety bill. Politico Florida.
Districts' actions: The Broward County School Board passes a resolution calling for the ban of semiautomatic weapons and tougher federal background checks for gun buyers. Sun-Sentinel. Hillsborough County School Board members vote unanimously against arming anyone on campuses other than law enforcement officials. Gradebook. Pasco County School Board members say that school safety measures called for in the Legislature's bill could take money away from other district priorities, such as boosting teacher pay, adding guidance counselors and expanding prekindergarten programs. Gradebook. Superintendent Jacqueline Byrd says Polk County schools won't be arming teachers and staff. Lakeland Ledger. St. Lucie County Sheriff Ken Mascara says there is now an armed deputy at all county schools. TCPalm. Sarasota County School Board members agree to a five-year, $25 million plan to improve school security. Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
State budget: A disagreement over how to fund hospitals will force the Legislature to work overtime to complete a budget. House Speaker Richard Corcoran, R-Land O'Lakes, told representatives to expect to work through Saturday, or even Monday. The House and Senate agree on K-12 and university spending, on the expansion of Bright Futures and on teacher bonuses, but could not come to a consensus on how to reimburse hospitals for Medicaid. There's a 72-hour hour cooling off period after agreement is reached on a budget, which meant it had to be completed Tuesday night for the Legislature to finish as scheduled on Friday. News Service of Florida. Tampa Bay Times. Politico Florida.
Bill for school buses: A bill that would make more Florida students eligible for transportation to school gets the approval of the Senate Education Committee. The proposal would allow students who live 1.5 miles from school - instead of the current standard of 2 miles - to be eligible for busing, redefine hazardous walking routes as four-lane roads instead of six-lane ones, and provide busing to all students instead of just those in K-6. The changes could cost the state $58 million and local districts $100 million, according to a staff analysis. Gradebook. News Service of Florida.
Textbook adoption bill: The Senate Education Committee approves a bill creating a process for the public to comment on textbooks and instructional materials and recommend them for adoption. Right now the education commissioner approves materials from a list put together by state instructional materials reviewers. Sen. Tom Lee, R-Brandon, says this bill is "simply an opportunity for the citizens to have a voice.” The House version of the bill would require the Florida Board of Education to allow public comment on materials at any meeting where they’re up for adoption. Politico Florida.
District investigation: A grand jury has been convened to hear "evidence of all aspects of the (Okaloosa County) school district that have become public issues,” according to state attorney Bill Eddins. An elementary teacher has been charged with child abuse of a special-needs student, and three other district employees have been charged with failure to report child abuse. But Eddins says the grand jury will hear testimony that goes beyond the child abuse investigation and the district's record on disciplining employees. Northwest Florida Daily News.
Teacher honored: Jason Lancy, an 8th-grade math teacher at Windy Hill Middle School in Clermont, is chosen as the Lake County School District's teacher of the year. Orlando Sentinel. (more…)
Budget deal: The Florida Senate and House reach agreement on an $83 billion state budget. The agreement includes $200 million to attract specialized charter schools to the state to compete with persistently low-performing schools - the so-called "schools of hope" plan - and increases for teacher bonuses and higher education. But the Senate agreed to the House's demand not to allow higher property taxes to increase K-12 per-student spending. The budget must be completed by Tuesday for the session to end as scheduled May 5. Miami Herald. Naples Daily News. News Service of Florida. Gradebook. redefinED. redefinED.
School and cancer: After a briefing about the suspicions of a cancer cluster at the old Bayshore High School property, Manatee County commissioners agree to meet with school board members within the next 30 days to discuss the community's concerns. Bradenton Herald. Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
Financial situation dire: The financial outlook for the Hillsborough County School District is bleak, school officials tell school board members. Only about a quarter of the needed cuts have been made, while costs and enrollment are rising and public funds are increasingly scarce. Chief business officer Gretchen Saunders said the district may not even be able to honor its 2013 agreement with the teachers union to raise pay. Tampa Bay Times. The district is deficient in keeping its technology updated, according to a critique from its consultants. The student information system, for example, uses a computer language invented in 1959 and outdated hardware that costs about $1.5 million a year to maintain. Replacing technology will take years, says Patti Simmons, the district's supervisor of data analysis. Tampa Bay Times. The board approves new start times for the 2018-2019 school year. WFLA.
Smaller campuses: The Orange County Commission approves a plan to allow the school district to build schools on smaller sites. The new rules allow elementary schools to be built on 7 to 11 acres instead of 15; middle and K-8 schools on 12 to 16 acres instead of 25; and high schools on 40 to 50 acres instead of 65. Orlando Sentinel. (more…)
