Parent trigger. Parent trigger is headed to the Senate floor, with growing potential for drama. Coverage from redefinED and The Buzz. The latest from Diane Ravitch's blog.

Charter schools. The Pinellas County School Board agrees to sell the site of a former middle school to a charter school venture started by Cheri Shannon, former head of the Florida Charter School Alliance, reports the Tampa Bay Times. More from the Tampa Tribune. Lawmakers adopt language that would reign in the kind of abuses that happened last year at an Orlando charter, reports Gradebook. The International Studies Charter Middle/High School in Miami is ranked No. 2 in Florida and No. 15 in the nation by U.S. News & World Report's annual ranking of top high schools, reports the Miami Herald.

Teacher quality. A piece of the parent trigger bill regarding ineffective teachers is attached to the teacher eval bill, just in case parent trigger doesn't pass. The Buzz.

Teacher evals. U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan urges Florida to make its teacher eval system better, reports the Associated Press. In an editorial, the Ocala Star Banner agrees but also says: "A full generation of Florida schoolchildren have gone through the FCAT process, and in spite of the many political, mechanical and bureaucratic foul-ups along the way, Florida is making remarkable and steady educational progress. That is largely thanks to its teachers and local school officials."

Teacher conduct. The Hillsborough County School Board reverses an earlier decision to stop posting the names of employees facing suspension or dismissal. Tampa Bay Times.

Turnaround. In an attempt to jumpstart struggling Lacoochee Elementary, Superintendent Kurt Browning is replacing the entire staff. Tampa Bay Times.

Religion. The Hillsborough School Board is again wrestling with what religious materials are okay for students to circulate. Tampa Bay Times. (more…)

Bennett begins work today as Florida's new ed commissioner

Tony Bennett. The Orlando Sentinel hopes the new commissioner, who begins work today, “treads with discretion.” The Associated Press recalls his tenure in Indiana and ties to Jeb Bush.

Expand school choice now! Sort of. The Tampa Bay Times means options under district control: “The broader answer to improving public education in Pinellas is not a massive expansion of fundamental schools. It's raising the quality of all schools. But increasing the seats for fundamental schools and popular magnet programs to more closely match demand is a discussion district leaders should begin. Otherwise, they risk losing more families to charter schools and private schools — and further undermining broad support for public education.”

Slow down on charter schools. The Palm Beach Post says in one editorial that the Legislature should prioritize traditional public schools over charters. It says in another that the Palm Beach County district’s decision to transfer a troubled principal into administration will give lawmakers an excuse to continue favoring charters.

Checking out choice. In Alachua County, 600 middle school students turn out to see career academy options, reports the Gainesville Sun. In Duval, magnet students spread the word about their programs to prospective students, reports the Florida Times Union. In Miami-Dade, tens of thousands of parents are expected to apply for hundreds of magnet programs, reports the Miami-Herald. In Manatee, the Rock Your Robot Fair lets parents know about STEM options in public and private schools, reports the Bradenton Herald. (In Collier County, businesses urge students to explore STEM, reports the Naples Daily News.) The Tampa Bay Times annual school search section for Pinellas includes information about public and private options, including tax credit scholarships.

Amendment 8. The ACLU saw the proposed amendment, which despite perception had little to do with private school vouchers, as part of a "wide-ranging assault" on Floridians' rights last year by Gov. Rick Scott and the Republican-led Legislature, reports the Florida Current.

“Sagging schools.” Tampa Bay Times business columnist Robert Trigaux: “Beneath the top tier of students, our schools at all levels are struggling to educate our kids. Businesses need to help more. And the state needs to spend less time bragging about the educational system and admit it needs assistance.” (more…)

As you know, we keep tabs on what’s written and said about school choice and ed reform, particularly in Florida. This week has been a doozy when it comes to head-scratching statements. Today we highlight a few and offer a quick response …

In just a few years, Orlando-based Fund Education Now has become the leading parent group in Florida. Aggressive. Media savvy. Super effective. I respect its members for their passion. I sometimes agree with them. But there are times when the rhetoric is at odds with reality.

After this week’s FCAT fiasco, the group wrote in an action alert to members: “These abysmal FCAT Writes scores are proof that Tallahassee’s ‘education reforms’ are an unmitigated disaster.” I agree the state raised the bar too fast and too fast on some of our standardized tests. But have the state’s policies as a whole flat-out bombed?

In the past four years, Florida has ranked No. 11, No. 8, No. 5 and No. 11 among all 50 states in Education Week’s annual Quality Counts report. And contrary to some critics’ claims, that’s not just because of policies on paper that sound good; it’s also because the state has moved the needle on student achievement, particularly for low-income kids. On the K-12 achievement portion of EdWeek’s rating – which considers performance and progress on NAEP, AP and graduation rates – Florida finished at No. 7, No. 7, No. 6 and No. 12 over the past four years. In 2011, it finished in the Top 10 in eight of nine progress categories. It finished in the Top 3 in six of them.

The reason Florida tumbled out of the overall top 10 this year is because of budget cuts, and because its NAEP scores have stalled in reading and math. That’s troubling when the state is still nowhere near where it needs to be. I think that’s what led the state Board of Education to be too bold in raising the bar.

But Florida’s policy makers, like them or not, have been more right than wrong in the past decade when it comes to standards and accountability and school choice. To deny there’s been progress is good for stoking fury and mobilizing troops. But it’s unfair to the teachers who made it happen. And it could undermine changes that really did make things better for kids.

In an op-ed Sunday, syndicated columnist Bill Maxwell describes what he sees as another round of teacher bashing in Florida and blames “conservative lawmakers who dominate Tallahassee” and are gunning to privatize public schools. The prompt for his outrage: A cost-cutting decision by the Pinellas County School District to curb the use of individual printers by teachers. (more…)