Accountability plan: Florida is now the only state whose plan to meet the federal Every Student Succeeds Act standards has yet to be approved by U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. Last week DeVos gave the okay to California's and Utah's plans, but Florida's second attempt to comply is still pending. The last action came June 5, when the U.S. DOE said Florida "has not submitted a revised consolidated state plan that meets all the requirements of the ESSA and the McKinney-Vento Act." Florida Education Commissioner Pam Stewart has said the U.S. can't force the state to change its accountability system, and that many of ESSA's guidelines do not match Florida's philosophy. The state is resisting provisions to test students in languages other than English, and the demand for better detailing of demographic subgroup performances. Gradebook.
Acts of unexpected generosity: Passengers on a Southwest Airlines flight from Chicago to Jacksonville who overhear a 1st-grade teacher talking about the low-income students at her Illinois charter school donate $530 to help the students. Teacher Kimberly Bermudez, 27, says she was shocked by the generosity of the passengers -- and that they were carrying that much cash. Washington Post.
Image-sprucing move: The Broward County School District, hit with a barrage of bad news since the Parkland school shooting Feb. 14 that killed 17 people, is looking for a public relations boost by advertising for a chief public information officer who can “champion a favorable public image and brand for the district.” The job will pay between $104,836 and $174,870 a year. Sun-Sentinel.
School boycott urged: The secretary of education under President Obama again urges parents across the United States to boycott schools until they're safe. Arne Duncan tells parents in Parkland Tuesday that a boycott would force Congress to take action on gun reform. Sun-Sentinel. (more…)
Testing exemption request: Broward County School Superintendent Robert Runcie is asking Gov. Rick Scott to grant an exemption from state testing to all Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students. "Taking these tests during this time of mourning and recovery is not reasonable, nor is adding the burden of taking these tests — in addition to future course work — appropriate," wrote Runcie. Scott has said he doesn't have the authority to grant such an exemption; that it would have to come from the Legislature. But the next legislative session doesn't start until March 2019, when the next round of testing will be beginning. The education bill Scott signed this year exempted Stoneman Douglas students, including graduating seniors, from taking standardized tests this spring. Miami Herald.
Testing changes opposed: The Duval County School Board approves a resolution urging the Florida Board of Education to hold off approving the state's plan that would allow students to take alternative tests to the algebra I and 10th grade language arts exams required for graduation. Duval board members say eliminating the Postsecondary Education Readiness Test as an option will cost students and schools money to take the approved alternatives, the SAT or ACT, and will create different standards for graduation and state college academic placement. Gradebook.
School security: Clay County School Board members approve a school security plan that retains school resource officers in every high school, places deputies in every middle school and hires safety "assistants" to be stationed in every elementary school. The cost will be about $1.2 million. WJXT. The Putnam County School Board rejects a task force's recommendation to arm school employees as part of the state's guardian program. Superintendent Rick Surrency warns the board that pursuing other options could cuts in teaching positions and other jobs. WJXT. Largo city leaders say they won't contribute to paying for putting officers in Pinellas County schools. WFTS. A debate about paying for school security springs up in Marion County. School officials say charter schools get their own funding under the state's Safe Schools program and are responsible for making sure they have armed guards. Law enforcement officials think the district is responsible for covering all schools. Ocala Star-Banner. An associate superintendent for the Orange County School District and a mother of five talk about practical ideas for keeping students and teachers safe for the 3 to 7 minutes it takes for officers to arrive in an emergency. Orlando Sentinel. The push to arm teachers in schools around the United States is stalling out. Washington Post. (more…)
Trump's school choice push: President Donald Trump's first budget calls for $1.4 billion to be set aside to expand school choice, even as it cuts the overall Department of Education budget by $9 billion, or 13 percent. The federal Charter Schools Program would be boosted by 50 percent, and Trump also calls for an increase of $1 billion in Title 1 spending for high-poverty schools to provide services for low-income students. Notable cuts are in teacher training, after-school and extended-day programs, and programs for students on military bases, Native American reservations and other federal lands that are not on local tax rolls. redefinED. U.S. News & World Report. Huffington Post. Education Week. THE Journal. Miami-Dade County schools would lose about $40 million under the Trump budget, says Superintendent Alberto Carvalho, and he figures Broward County would lose about $25 million. WTVJ.
Mandatory recess: The Senate Appropriations Committee approves a bill that would require 20 minutes of daily recess in the state's elementary schools. The bill now moves to the full Senate for a vote. The House's identical bill has yet to get a committee hearing. Gradebook. Florida Politics. Tampa Bay Times.
Charter district: The Jefferson County School Board votes Tuesday on a charter school company's application to take over the operation of the struggling district schools. Somerset Academy was the only company that made a presentation that had “a record of effectiveness with similar student demographics” to Jefferson County, where most students are low-income minorities, according to the Florida Department of Education. Somerset is a nonprofit network associated with the management company Academica. It runs 50 schools with nearly 17,600 students. redefinED.
District audit: A state audit finds fault with the Brevard County School District on four points: paying $150,000 over three years to the Brevard Schools Foundation for administrative expenses, not performing routine background checks on 27 teachers, awarding state teacher bonuses to eight ineligible teachers, and allowing transportation employees unsupervised access to inventory. Superintendent Desmond Blackburn says state law does not prohibit payments to the foundation, and the other three items are being corrected. Florida Today. (more…)
Superintendent elections: Rocky Hanna soundly defeats incumbent Leon County School Superintendent Jackie Pons. Tallahassee Democrat. WFSU. Addison Davis is elected superintendent in Clay County. Florida Times-Union. Putnam County voters choose Rick Surrency as superintendent. Florida Times-Union. Kathy Burns is elected superintendent of Nassau County. Florida Times-Union. Malcolm Thomas wins a third term as Escambia County superintendent. Pensacola News Journal. Russell Hughes is elected superintendent for Walton County schools. Northwest Florida Daily News. Bill Husfelt is re-elected superintendent in Bay County. Panama City News Herald.
School board elections: School board results from around the state. Pinellas. Hillsborough. Hillsborough. Hernando. Miami-Dade. Orange. Lake. Lake. Palm Beach. Duval. Brevard. Lee. Polk. Polk. Indian River. Martin. Manatee. Manatee. Manatee. Flagler. Citrus.
School tax elections: Results of state school tax initiatives. Pinellas. Osceola. Palm Beach. Palm Beach. Manatee. Manatee. Alachua.
Retention rules: The Florida School Boards Association is lobbying legislators to clarify the law regarding the retention of third-graders. The group wants clearly defined promotion alternatives for students that consider both testing and achievement, an end to the reliance of a single testing result to determine retention, and local control over promotion decisions. Gradebook.
New superintendent: Tim Forson is picked by the school board to be the new superintendent of the St. Johns County School District. Forson, who retired last spring as deputy superintendent of operations after 36 years in the district, was the unanimous choice over Vickie Cartwright, who is the senior executive director for exceptional student education for the Orange County School District. Forson takes over Jan. 4 for the retiring Joe Joyner. St. Augustine Record. Florida Times-Union. (more…)
