The Florida House PreK-12 Appropriations Subcommittee approved a committee bill that would require school districts to split their local property tax revenue with charter schools.

The bill passed with Republican backing and opposition from Democrats. The contentious debate delved into issues such as school choice and equitable funding.

A legislative staff analysis estimates the measure would raise about $147.9 million a year for charter schools, nearly double the $75 million that 556 charter schools currently share from the state budget.

The bill would create a stable funding source for charter schools, which would no longer rely solely on year-to-year appropriations. At the same time, it would avoid cutting into the money districts must set aside to pay off existing debt.

Rep. Manny Diaz, R-Hialeah, who explained the bill, said it would even the playing field so both charter and public school students receive closer to equal funding.

The bill drew concerns from some school districts, whose representatives said their construction budgets are spread thin.

Wendy Dodge, legislative affairs director for Polk County schools, said her district is relatively large, with 29 charter schools. But it has lots of rural areas. After setting aside $17.5 million for debt service, the district has about $27.5 to pay for repairs of its existing buildings. It has hundreds of millions worth of identified needs.  (more…)

Teacher bonuses: The Florida House education committee approves a revamped teacher bonuses program that would broaden the qualifying requirements and also make principals eligible. Rep. Manny Diaz, Jr., R-Hialeah Republican who chairs the House’s education budget committee, says the House could approve spending up to $125 million for the Best and Brightest Teacher Scholarship Program. That's about half of the amount the Senate is proposing. Miami Herald. WFSU. Politico Florida. Orlando Sentinel.

Teaching science: State Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Naples, says his bill that sets criteria for classroom instruction materials is meant to require “quality instructional material” meeting Florida standards, and to provide a way for the public to challenge classroom materials they deem inappropriate. And, he notes, any curriculum changes would have to be approved by the local school board. Critics say the bill opens a door for climate change and evolution critics to influence how those issues are taught, or if they are taught at all. Naples Daily News.

Call for school choice: Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York City is calling for a nationwide school choice bill. Dolan, writing in the Wall Street Journal, urged President Trump to“push Congress to make scholarship tax credits available to working-class families.” Seventeen states have tax credit scholarship programs, including Florida, and Dolan said children in the other states “deserve the same opportunities.” Step Up For Students, which hosts this blog, helps administer the Florida program. Crux. (more…)

Bright Futures: The Senate passes a higher education bill that would allocate $151 million to restore Bright Futures funding to 100 percent and allow recipients to use the scholarships for summer classes. Also in the bill are a scholarship program for migrant workers and their children and an expansion of benefits to National Merit Scholars. Miami Herald. Sunshine State News. Politico Florida. News Service of Florida. The bill is a top priority for Senate President Joe Negron, R-Stuart, but he somehow missed the vote even though he was present in the chamber. He said he intended to vote after the roll call, but it was locked down before he could. Miami Herald.

Education budget cuts: Rep. Manny Diaz, Jr., R-Hialeah, says he will release details next week on a pair of House education budget-cutting exercises. One of the plans trims higher education and K-12 spending by $232.7 million, while the other cuts $485 million. Diaz says specific cuts under the plans may or may not be part of the House's final education budget. Politico Florida.

Guns in schools: Two Republican senators from Miami-Dade can control gun bill votes on the Senate Judiciary Committee, and one of them has publicly stated she opposes the guns in school zones proposal. Sen. Anitere Flores, R-Miami, also opposes several other gun-related bills, but says that doesn't mean she would oppose any gun bill. Sen. René García, R-Hialeah, says he can't support any gun bill that doesn't include a mental health component. Miami Herald. Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

AP test improvements: Florida is fourth among U.S. states in the percentage of graduating seniors who passed at least one Advanced Placement exam, and more than half the growth came from low-income students, according to the Florida Department of Education. The percentage of low-income graduating seniors in Florida who passed an AP exam went up 500 percent from 2006 to 2016. redefinED. (more…)

Charter district: The Jefferson County School District could become the state's first all-charter schools district, if the Florida Board of Education agrees Thursday with the district's school board vote to make the change. Jefferson has just two schools - elementary and middle/high school - with about 700 students. It's struggled academically and financially in recent years, and the state board recently ordered it to either close the schools or turn them over to private operators. “(The school board) didn’t feel any other options would be approved by the state board, and I wasn’t willing to take the risk of going to the state board and walking away with it turned down. That just wasn’t what I thought was in our best interest," says Jefferson Superintendent Marianne Arbulu. redefinED. WFSU.

School testing: State Rep. Manny Diaz, R-Hialeah, files a bill requiring the state education commissioner to review the ACT and SAT national college entrance tests to see if they cover the content taught in Florida high school language arts and math classes. If the answer is yes, it could lead to the scrapping of the Florida Standards Assessments testing in favor of the national tests. Orlando Sentinel. Manatee County School Board members will vote Tuesday on a proposal to put a moratorium on all testing in county schools that is not required by the state. If it's approved, Manatee would join Clay and Marion counties in eliminating or severely reducing the amount of district-administered tests. Bradenton Herald.

Recess fight: A mom's group named Recess for All Florida Students is ratcheting up its lobbying for legislation that requires daily recess for all Florida elementary students. The proposals (S.B. 78 and H.B. 67) have wide support, but a key House member isn't sure a statewide mandate is the proper way to get it done. Rep. Michael Bileca, R-Miami, the education policy chairman, says he's reluctant to puts limits on teachers' flexibility in the classroom. Miami Herald. The moms behind the drive have had success with a couple of districts, but continue to push for the statewide rule. "Of course, we started this because of our kids, but is it fair for those moms who have worked alongside us all these years, and their kids still don’t have recess?" asks Angela Browning of Orlando, whose district has adopted a daily recess policy. Miami Herald.
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Budget priorities: Preliminary education budget numbers from the Florida House PreK-12 Appropriations Subcommittee include a big bump for student uniforms and a big cut in teacher bonuses. The optional districtwide K-8 student uniforms program is budgeted for $14 million, up from $3.75 million a year ago. The Best and Brightest teacher bonuses program, which received $48 million last year, is tentatively budgeted for $13.95 million. Subcommittee chairman Rep. Manny Diaz, R-Hialeah, has told committee members that millions of dollars need to be cut from the budget for schools, and that no program should be considered off-limits. Gradebook.

A teacher's Oscar: Lukas Hefty, the magnet program coordinator at Douglas L. Jamerson Elementary in St. Petersburg, is one of 35 U.S. educators to win a 2016-17 Milken Educator Award, which is often called the "Oscars of Teaching." Hefty is the only educator from Florida selected. He wins $25,000 and will attend a Milken educator forum in New Orleans in March. Tampa Bay Times. WUSF.

False addresses: An investigation reveals that 97 addresses given by Calusa Elementary School parents and guardians are questionable and need to be checked further. About 370 students are scheduled to be rezoned out of Calusa's boundaries to ease overcrowding, and many parents have long suspected that some students are there because they use false addresses. The Palm Beach County School District has not said what its next step will be. Sun-Sentinel.

District rezoning: Almost 1,000 students in Seminole County will change schools in August to relieve overcrowding at six elementary schools: Highlands, Keeth, Lake Mary, Layer, Winter Springs and Woodlands. Public hearings on the boundary changes are Tuesday and Jan. 24. Orlando Sentinel. (more…)

Retention policies: The Orange County School District is considering having teachers build portfolios for all third-graders throughout the school year. Doing so would address a Leon County judge's concern that districts provide options for promotions to students who do poorly on state tests or opt out of them. The move comes even as the district appeals Judge Karen Gievers' decision that the state and six districts wrongly based promotion solely on state testing. Orlando Sentinel. The Pasco County School Board plans to adjust its student retention policy for third-graders to follow a judge's recent ruling even as it, too, appeals the decision. Pasco Superintendent Kurt Browning's memos says: "If teachers have evidence that a student who has refused to take the third grade (test) should be promoted based on IRLA (independent reading level assessment) evidence documented through SchoolPace and other independent performance samples, then the student should not be required to take an alternate assessment or attend reading camp." Gradebook.

Help for children: The Miami-Dade County School District is joining with other agencies in using data to identify children most at-risk of getting involved with violence. The coalition, named Together for Children, has identified 2,000 students who will get extra attention and guidance. The students are identified using six benchmarks: poor school attendance, behavioral issues, low test scores in math and reading, and math and reading skills that are below grade level. Miami Herald.

Teacher certification: Two influential south Florida legislators are advocating changes in the criteria for teacher certification. House representatives Manny Diaz of Hialeah and Michael Bileca of Miami, both Republicans, say altering the requirements could lead to more teachers with expertise in specific fields. Both say these types of teachers need more guidance with planning lessons and managing classrooms than with educational theory. redefinED.

District spending: The Hillsborough County School Board approves a $2.78 billion budget. Board members do have questions about the details, and Superintendent Jeff Eakins says he will provide answers later. When Eakins became superintendent, the district faced a $100 million shortfall. The budget would keep the district's reserves at $146 million. Tampa Bay Times. The Manatee County School Board unanimously approves a $692 million budget. Bradenton Herald. Major construction projects push the Indian River County School District budget to $51.9 million, an increase of more than $13 million from last year. TCPalm. The Marion County School Board approves a $522 million budget that includes about $150 million for building repairs and debt. The district plans to boost salaries by 3.6 percent. Ocala Star Banner. The Bay County School Board approves a $357.6 million budget, a $30 million increase over last year. Panama City News Herald. (more…)

A bill creating new requirements for Florida's single-gender school programs is headed to Gov. Rick Scott.

The first piece of standalone school choice legislation to pass this session cleared both houses of the Legislature with overwhelming support.

The bill itself would not expand single-gender programs, which are already authorized under state law. But sponsor Rep. Manny Diaz, R-Hialeah, who sponsored the legislation in the House, said it could help them receive a boost in the state budget and create a framework allowing them to grow.

The bill would require school systems offering single-gender classes to make them open to all children in their districts. It would also require them to provide training for their faculty and report comparisons of their students' performance to the state Department of Education.

The House has proposed spending $300,000 on gender-specific programs in Duval and Broward counties in its version of the state budget, which has yet to be settled in negotiations with the Senate.

Diaz said the money would help fund professional development for teachers and administrators at the schools. As public schools gain more experience with separate male and female classes and the state studies their results, he said, the quality of the programs will improve and they will be more likely to expand into other school districts.

Eventually, he said he hopes more public school students to participate in programs like those in place at Academy Prep Center. At the Tampa private school, which recently received a visit from Congressman Eric Cantor, R-Va., students are separated by gender for core subject classes to help them focus, but the genders are mixed during other parts of the day.

“These programs will be seen as another option for parents who may not have the resources to send those kids to a private school,” Diaz said.

The Senate sponsor, Anitere Flores, R-Miami, said she attended an all-girls high school and wanted more families to have that option.

The bill was never really controversial. The closest thing to opposition it received during debate on the Senate floor was a quip from Sen. Jeff Clemens, D-Lake Worth.

"I can’t imagine going to school without women,” he said, before supporting the measure.

A new type of school choice program aimed at serving special-needs students in Florida won bipartisan support during its first legislative committee vote Tuesday.

Several Democrats on the House Choice & Innovation Committee joined Republicans in voting 11-2 for “personal learning accounts,” a school choice option that would allow parents with disabled children to use state education funds for a range of education-related services.

Other Democrats, like Ranking Member Joe Saunders, D-Orlando, voted against the bill but held out the possibility they might support it in the future.

"Vouchers are so controversial at times, but I think that you have an honest desire to help the families that were up here today," Saunders said. "I think there's a very legitimate need."

Parents of special-needs children came to Tallahassee to testify on behalf of the proposal, while the Florida PTA and statewide teachers union objected.

Mindy Gould, the PTA's legislative chair, said the group had "great concerns," and mentioned a 2006 state Supreme Court ruling that found the state's Opportunity Scholarship program unconstitutional.

The Bush v. Holmes decision struck down the voucher program, which was created under Gov. Jeb. Bush for students in struggling schools. But justices in the case also indicated that other programs, including those for special-needs students, may be "distinguishable" under the state constitution.

Under the House legislation, individual accounts would be available to parents of children with conditions like autism and cerebral palsy who qualify for the state's two highest support levels for disabled children.

The accounts could reimburse them for specific kinds of therapy or specialized instruction for their children. Funding would be based on the formula for the state's McKay Scholarship program, also for students with disabilities. (more…)

Students would get greater access to online instruction through blended learning opportunities and potentially new providers under a Florida House bill that sailed through a subcommittee Wednesday.

“This bill is going to be about innovation, access and technology,’’ said Rep. Manny Diaz, Jr., R-Hialeah, a school district assistant principal who introduced the legislation in the Choice & Innovation Subcommittee. “We know that every child doesn’t learn the same.’’

The digital learning bill would create a district “innovation school’’ pilot program that encourages traditional schools to offer students more blended-learning opportunities with a mix of online and classroom instruction.

Districts could use their virtual programs, or courses offered by Florida Virtual School or another online provider. In addition, students could take online courses from another school district.

In return, school districts would be given more freedom in the digital realm in a fashion similar to charters. For instance, class sizes for courses within the innovation schools would be calculated at a schoolwide average instead of class by class.

Florida mandates that district schools limit the number of students allowed in core classes depending on grade level. Violations result in hefty fines, but meeting the law has resulted in students having to wait to take some classes.

The bill would allow districts to offer part-time, online courses to K-12 students in all subjects. Currently, they can only do that for courses that require statewide assessments.

It also would make it easier for online providers to operate in Florida. One provision allows a company without “prior, successful experience” to set up shop. (more…)