School security: As the Palm Beach County School District's police force welcomes a new chief, the previous two chiefs are still on the payroll. Frank Kitzerow was hired as the new chief last week, but the outgoing chief, Lawrence Leon, will remain in the department for at least another year and Jim Kelly, who preceded Leon, has been hired back as a consultant. Also to be sorted is how the district will provide armed officers in all schools. The expanded 160-member police force is at least 75 officers short of covering all schools, and the sheriff has refused to make deputies available on overtime. Palm Beach Post. The mother of one of the students killed in the shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School is being reassigned to the job of director of school safety and security. April Schentrup, mother of Carmen, has been principal at Pembroke Pines Elementary School. Sun-Sentinel. Sheriff's officials don't believe the state mandate requiring an armed officer in all schools applies to summer school, but will provide some coverage. Citrus County Chronicle. The Monroe County School District is proposing to upgrade mental health services to students by hiring two fulltime social workers, expanding a contract with the Guidance Care Center to provide more mental health counselors, and reinstating a Medicaid specialist to seek reimbursements for services. Key West Citizen.
School board elections: School board races are set at districts around the state: Broward County, Miami-Dade, Palm Beach, Palm Beach, Seminole, Orange, Lake, Osceola, Pinellas, Hillsborough, Pasco, Hernando, Brevard, Lee, Sarasota, Manatee, Manatee, Leon, Alachua, Marion, Volusia, Flagler, St. Johns, Martin, St. Lucie, Indian River, Collier, Escambia, Santa Rosa, Walton, Okaloosa, Monroe, Citrus. Duval County School Board chairwoman Paula Wright will challenge incumbent Kim Daniels in the Democratic primary for the District 14 seat in the Florida House. Florida Times-Union.
Death penalty proposed: Broward County prosecutors say they will seek the death penalty against accused Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooter Nikolas Cruz. Cruz, 19, is accused of murdering 17 people at the school on Feb. 14, and wounding 17 others. Cruz's public defender says he will not contest guilt, but will focus on his troubled past to try to convince jurors to spare his life. Miami Herald. Associated Press. Palm Beach Post. CNN. An attorney for Stoneman Douglas High student Anthony Borges, who was gravely wounded in the shooting, wants both the prosecutors and public defenders off the Cruz case because they endorsed a program in 2016 to “eliminate the school to prison pipeline.” Sun-Sentinel.
National School Walkout: Students at about 3,000 U.S. schools are expected to join the National School Walkout today to protest gun violence. The protest comes one month after the shootings at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. Time. Associated Press. The 74. Education Week. Vox. Students around the state plan to participate in the walkout, and schools are deciding how they will deal with it. Palm Beach Post. Orlando Weekly. Tampa Bay Times. Pensacola News Journal. Florida Today. Fort Myers News-Press. WLRN. WFTV. WJAX. WFLA. The Florida ACLU is urging superintendents not to interfere with students or punish them if they participate in the walkout. Gradebook. How young is too young to participate in today's walkout? New York Times. A Lake County School Board member apologizes for calling a Stoneman Douglas student a "crisis actor." Daily Commercial.
School safety plans: School superintendents are lobbying members of Congress to revise the STOP School Violence Act so it won't be extended to private schools. "We support a revision to ensure that any resources made available to non-public school settings be funneled through an ‘equitable services’ provision, already in place through the Every Student Succeeds Act," according to a letter from the American Association of School Administrators. Politico Florida. U.S. House Democrats will hold a forum next week to review ways to prevent violence in schools. Politico Florida. Teachers can already carry guns in 14 states. USA Today. Parents of students murdered at Parkland urge the Constitution Revision Commission to let Florida voters decide on a three-day waiting period and on raising the age limit to buy guns. In Lakeland, the father of another murdered Parkland student asks the Polk County School Board to approve a plan to arm some school employees. Tampa Bay Times. GateHouse. Lakeland Ledger. Members of the public urge the Bay County School Board not to arm school employees. Panama City News Herald. A majority of the St. Johns County School Board members oppose arming school workers. St. Augustine Record. The Citrus County School Board is asking the sheriff to split the cost of adding five resource officers to schools for the rest of the school year. Citrus County Chronicle. Pinellas County School Board members vote to not arm any school workers other than law enforcement officers. Gradebook. (more…)
Guns and schools: The number of Florida children killed by guns is up 20 percent since 2010, and injuries are up 36 percent. Some legislators think more guns is the solution to the problem, and are proposing that gun-free zones - including at K-12 schools - be eliminated. State Sen. Greg Steube, R-Sarasota, says people are less safe in gun-free zones because they can't protect themselves. “There’s not a school resource officer in every one of our elementary schools,” Steube said. “If a terrorist wants to come in and start shooting our kids, there’s nothing to stop them.” Tampa Bay Times.
Charters vs. districts: The debate about state funding maintenance and construction for charter schools and public schools will intensify when the Legislature begins its session March 7. Both the Senate and House want to increase state funding for charter schools, but have different ideas about how to make it happen. Miami Herald. redefinED.
Whistleblower bills: Two bills are filed that would protect school employees from retaliation for revealing fraud or violations of laws or rules at the state's schools. The "whistleblower" bills, H.B. 1035 and S.B. 1236, were filed by Rep. Kim Daniels, D-Jacksonville, and Sen. Darryl Rouson, D-St. Petersburg, respectively. Gradebook.
Teacher's fall from grace: Samantha Major was a natural for the mentoring program at Boca Raton High School. Her bosses said the young teacher was empathetic and had a rapport with students. But within months of trying to help a troubled 15-year-old girl, Major was the subject of a school investigation alleging she mishandled the situation, and the Palm Beach County School Board will consider firing her this week. How did it come to this? Palm Beach Post.
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Payment questioned: A Broward County School District audit reveals that the district paid a former district police employee about $23,000 over her approved salary in 2015. Jillian Haring was a special assistant to the district police chief, making $60,664. But she was also being paid for other duties that the district did not need, according to the audit. Haring now works in the district's special education department. Sun-Sentinel.
Middle school marriage: The Bonita Middle School student had an arranged marriage at 13 and was a mother at 14. Now she's 20, and her 31-year-old husband has been arrested and faces charges of lewd and lascivious behavior. And Lee County school officials are left to wonder how the situation could have gone unnoticed for so long. Fort Myers News-Press.
School choice: At its quarterly meeting, the Florida NAACP debates the role of charter schools. The national NAACP recently passed a resolution calling for “a moratorium on charter school expansion and for the strengthening of oversight in governance and practice.” But there is dissent in the ranks about the issue. WOFL. redefinED.
Magnet programs: While Alachua County's magnet school programs offer great opportunities for high-achieving students, critics say there are too many barriers for entry for students of different academic backgrounds. School officials say they are working hard to identify and encourage students of all backgrounds to apply. Gainesville Sun.
Legislative priorities: Common Ground, a group of organizations that has called for the end of Common Core standards, now says it wants the Legislature to end the Common Core-aligned Florida Standards Assessments in both English and math. Sunshine State News.
Religion in schools: State Rep. Kim Daniels, D-Jacksonville, writes on her Facebook page that the motivation for filing a bill to protect religious expression in schools is to get prayer back in schools. Daniels is a minister and founder of Kimberly Daniels Ministries International. Florida Politics. (more…)
School choice growth: More than 1.6 million Florida preK-12 children enrolled in school choice programs during the 2015-2016 school year, according to the Florida Department of Education. That's an increase of more than 74,000 over the previous year, and it accounts for 45 percent of all Florida students. Choice and magnet programs now have 287,568 students, open enrollment has 280,134 and charter schools 270,301. redefinED.
Open enrollment: School districts in central Florida are beginning to implement the open enrollment law passed by the Legislature last year. Under the law, students may attend any public school in the state that has vacancies for them. More than 1,000 parents in Osceola County have already applied for a transfer. Lake County parents can apply Feb. 1, and Orange, Seminole and Volusia will soon follow. Orlando Sentinel. Hundreds of Lee County students apply to change schools in the first day under open enrollment. A lottery and available space will decide assignments. Fort Myers News-Press. The Volusia County School Board will review changes the district must make to bring it into compliance with the state's open enrollment law. Daytona Beach News-Journal.
Citizenship education: In addition to giving students more school choice, Florida House education leaders want them to learn how to become good citizens. "The purpose of education goes to the meaning of man. You want to raise up a great citizen," said House Speaker Richard Corcoran, R-Land O'Lakes, speaking on the Florida Channel. Corcoran also said students get "a well-rounded, think-outside-the-box education," which would help them become good citizens, parents and employees, no matter what job they pursue. Orlando Sentinel.
Education bills: A House bill that would prohibit religious discrimination in schools now has a Senate companion bill. Sen. Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala, filed S.B. 436. The House bill was filed by Rep. Kim Daniels, D-Jacksonville. Florida Politics. News Service of Florida. A bill is filed by Rep. Michael Grant, R-Port Charlotte, that would bar school districts from offering annual contract renewal guarantees to teachers who are rated as "highly effective" or "effective." Gradebook. A higher education bill that would broaden Bright Futures scholarships passes in the Florida Senate Education Committee. Florida Politics. Associated Press. News Service of Florida. WFSU. (more…)
Financial literacy: Sen. Dorothy Hukill, R-Port Orange, files a bill that would require students to take a half-credit course of financial literacy in order to graduate from Florida high schools. She's been trying to get this bill passed since 2014. Hukill is the new chairwoman of the Senate Education policy committee. Gradebook.
Religion in schools: State Rep. Kim Daniels, D-Jacksonville, files a bill that would prohibit school districts “from discriminating against students, parents, and school personnel on basis of religious viewpoints or expression,” would require a school district to "treat a student’s voluntary expression of a religious viewpoint on an otherwise permissible subject in the same manner that the school district treats a student’s voluntary expression of a secular viewpoint” and would allow students to wear clothing, jewelry or accessories with a religious message. Florida Politics.
DeVos protest: Teachers in several areas of Florida join a national protest against Betsy DeVos, the nominee to become U.S. secretary of education, and for public schools. Similar rallies were held in at least 25 states. Protesters worry that DeVos will emphasize school choice, and especially charter schools, at the expense of public schools. WKMG. Miami Herald. Daytona Beach News-Journal.
School start times: Start high school later in the day, says a majority of the 30,000 people in Orange County who took a district survey. Students, their parents, employees and others were asked to choose from three options: keep start times the same, start 20 minutes later than the current times that range from 7:10 to 7:30 a.m., and start no earlier than 8 a.m. School board members, who caution that changing schedules is complicated, will discuss the survey Thursday. Orlando Sentinel. (more…)
