Education budget: Battle lines are forming over the House's nearly 200-page education bill, H.B. 7055. The House Democratic caucus says it will oppose the bill, calling it an "attack on public education," and even some Republicans in the Senate are critical of the way the House has put so many issues into a single bill. The House could vote on the bill as soon as today, and the Senate is expected to begin considering its version today as well. Florida Politics. Tampa Bay Times. Politico Florida. News Service of Florida. The House Education Committee approves a proposal to create a scholarship for bullied students, called the Hope Scholarship, after hearing stories from parents whose children have been victimized. The program is part of the omnibus education bill. Step Up For Students, which publishes this blog, helps administer the tax credit and Gardiner scholarship programs and would help administer the Hope Scholarship program if it is created. redefinED. WZVN. WFLA. News Service of Florida.
Funding for charters: The House's education bill would set aside $120 million in state funding for charter schools' capital needs, lifting the burden off school districts and undercutting one of the reasons many of them are suing the state over last year's education bill. The benchmark amount would increase annually with inflation and the growth of charter school enrollment, and school districts would have to chip in with local property tax money only if the state funding fell below that benchmark. redefinED. WLRN.
Turning over schools: Six struggling Polk County schools will be turned over to an outside operator in August, district officials have decided. Bartow Middle, Garner Elementary, Griffin Elementary, Kathleen Middle, Lake Alfred Polytech Academy and Lake Marion Creek Middle have all received grades of D or F from the state for three straight years, which requires the district to close them, reopen them as charters or turn over their operation to an outside company. Three companies have submitted proposals, and school officials expect one will be chosen to manage all six schools. Lakeland Ledger.
