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Routinely underappreciated, Florida’s K-12 schools do outstanding work with what they are given. Despite a relatively large low-income/working-class majority-minority student population and low per-pupil funding compared to other states, Florida performs about middle of the pack on national assessments.

Results look even better when making apples-to-apples comparisons, which include controlling for racial and income differences between states.  Unfortunately, that good news is often ignored by many professing anxiety over education quality in the Sunshine State.

The latest concern over the quality focuses on college readiness, specifically SAT scores, and suffers from a flawed apples-to-oranges comparison. (more…)

DOE budget request: The Florida Department of Education's budget request to the Legislature calls for a spending boost of $200 per student. Among the specific spending requests are $100 million more for school safety, $67.5 million for training and arming school staffers and an additional $10 million for student mental health. If the request is approved, it would represent an increase of $673 million, or 3 percent, and boost the budget to more than $21.7 billion. Last year the education budget approved by the Legislature was $321 million less than the DOE requested. Politico Florida.

Florida SAT scores lag: Florida's class of 2018 posted an average score of 1014 on the SAT exams, trailing the national average of 1068, according to the College Board. The results mirror those on the other big college admission test, the ACT. Last week, the College Board announced that Florida students scored an average of 19.9, below the national average is 20.8. About 97 percent of Florida high school graduates took the SAT, and 66 percent took the ACT. Orlando Sentinel. (more…)

Turnaround concerns: A battle is developing between state and local education officials over control of schools. The Department of Education has been actively intervening to turn around low-performing schools, sometimes requiring schools replace principals and teacher. That puts the state "on the verge of overstepping their authority," says Bill Husfelt, Bay County superintendent. “Tallahassee talks about the federal government and the control they have, and then the state turns around and does the same thing to local institutions.” Politico Florida. Principals at three struggling Palm Beach County schools are getting more money and more authority to turn around their schools under a new state program that will measure whether cutting bureaucracy leads to better student performance. Sun-Sentinel.

Teacher bonuses: The governor and members of the Florida Senate and House have all signaled an interest in reworking the bonuses program for the state's teachers. The current law gives up to $10,000 to teachers who are rated highly effective and scored in the top 20 percent on their SAT or ACT tests. The Florida Board of Education is pushing for a $43 million bonus program that would "support bonuses for new teachers who show great potential for and veteran teachers who have demonstrated the highest student academic growth among their peers." News Service of Florida.

School choice: Parents in Palm Beach County have reversed a trend of choosing charter schools over the district's public schools. Three years ago, charter schools added 4,100 students while public school enrollment declined by 700. This year, district schools have added 2,436 students, and charter schools just 330. Palm Beach Post.

Discipline disparity: Black students were suspended at three times the rate of white students during the 2015-2016 school year in Manatee County, according to the school district's records. Black students make up about 14 percent of the district's enrollment, but drew 33 percent of the out-of-school suspensions. Bradenton Herald. (more…)

SAT scores: National and Florida SAT scores have dropped between 1 and 6 percentage points in reading, writing and math this year from last, according to the College Board. Miami-Dade County bucked the trend, with scores for graduating seniors up in all three areas. Miami Herald. Lee and Collier students perform better this year on the SAT than they did a year ago, and stand above state averages. Fort Myers News-Press. Volusia County students' SAT scores rose, while Flagler's fell. Daytona Beach News-Journal.

Student homelessness: There are almost twice as many homeless students in Treasure Coast counties this year than there were five years ago. St. Lucie, Indian River and Martin counties count 1,282 homeless students this year, up from 739 in 2010-2011. In Martin County, the number has more than tripled in that time. TCPalm.

Address checks: As school districts turn to rezoning to solve overcrowding at certain popular schools, parents are lobbying districts to first crack down on those who are attending schools using false addresses. In Broward County, one such check found 60 children with address discrepancies - enough to avoid rezoning schools. Tampa Bay Times.

Opt-out winner: Brandy Paternoster of Broward County talks about her successful legal fight against the school system to get her two children promoted to fourth grade after they opted out of the Florida Standards Assessments tests. Sun-Sentinel.

Desegregation talks: Plaintiffs in the 50-year-old desegregation case against the Pinellas County School District say they're frustrated by the lack of progress in discussions with school officials. They say the district is slow to get them student performance data, and then slants its summaries to make the district look better. Tampa Bay Times.

Bush on education: Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush talks about charter schools, Common Core, school spending and integration in a Q&A. The 74. (more…)

Proposed overhaul: Pinellas County school officials announce a series of changes to address problems at several high-poverty schools in black neighborhoods of St. Petersburg. Under the plan, the district would hire a minority achievement officer, create special centers for students suspended out of school, and establish a "transformation zone" with intense support for Pinellas' failing elementary schools that includes paying teachers up to $25,000 more a year, a longer school day and more control over the curriculum and schedule. The district is being taken to court for its failures educating black students, and a federal civil rights investigation also has been launched. Tampa Bay Times. In neighboring Hillsborough County, Superintendent Jeff Eakins proposes a decentralization of the district's structure. Eakins would establish eight area school districts that operate with greater independence and under the direction of an area superintendent. Tampa Bay Times. Tampa Tribune.

Financial literacy: There's a lack of financial literacy education in schools, according to a study by PricewaterhouseCoopers. Among the findings in Florida schools: Fewer than 10 percent of teachers talk about personal finance, often because they don't feel qualified, and teachers also say they lack appropriate curriculum and take-home materials. Florida Trend.

Hefty payback? The Broward County School District may have to repay $23 million in federal funds designed to help low-income students. The state's auditor general says the money was improperly distributed. The auditor also also says the district paid health insurance premiums for former employees who were ineligible and in some cases dead, and didn't correct safety violations. Sun-Sentinel.

Gender expression: The Hillsborough County School Board approves a policy that includes protections for students and staff  based on "gender expression." It joins gender identity, along with race, religion, national origin and disability as areas protected from discrimination and harassment. More training for staff is also recommended. Tampa Bay Times. Tampa Tribune. For the third time in three months, opponents and supporters of transgender bathroom policies protest at the Sarasota County School Board meeting. The district deals with transgender bathroom on a case-by-case basis. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. (more…)

Turnaround strategy: A turnaround team proposes pay increases of up to $25,000 a year for teachers and administrators to work at five struggling St. Petersburg elementary schools. The team, led by Antonio Burt, also wants to lengthen the schools' day by an hour. The proposal goes to the Pinellas County School Board April 12. The schools, which are mostly black, became some of the worst in the state after the school board abandoned integration efforts in 2007, then did not follow through on providing the proper resources. Tampa Bay Times.

Charter connection? A charter school run by the wife of the next Florida House speaker is asking for permission to expand. The Legislature recently voted to shorten the period that charter schools must wait to get state money for construction. Rep. Richard Corcoran, R-Land O'Lakes, says the two events are not related, and that the legislative action was part of a broader reform. Tampa Bay Times.

Education on trial: Gainesville kindergarten teacher Susan Bowles testifies against the state in the Citizens for Strong Schools v. Board of Education, a civil trial in which the state is accused of not fulfilling its constitutional mandate to provide a quality education for all public school students. Bowles, who opposes the state's testing requirements, told an attorney for the state that her students used to spend more time preparing for the test than the attorney spent getting ready to take his law school admission test. WCTV.

School uniforms: The Volusia County School Board approves school uniforms for students in every grade. Students will be required to wear collared polo or button-down shirts in specific colors with a wide variety of bottoms, including blue jeans. The board also changes the rules for athletic eligibility. Students no longer have to pass all classes to be eligible, but they do have to maintain a 2.0 grade point average. Daytona Beach News-Journal. (more…)

School recess: Supporters of daily recess for elementary students are worried that the bill they support still isn't getting a hearing in the Senate. They blame Sen. John Legg, R-Lutz, for the inactivity. Legg, chairman of the Senate Education Committee, says other issues have a higher priority. Gradebook.

Charters and construction: Today, the House Appropriations Committee will consider a bill that would place limits on the money school districts can spend on construction and share local capital projects tax revenue with charter schools. Gradebook. WFSU.

Elected commissioner: A website has been launched to help lobby for an elected education commissioner who will also be in the Cabinet. Fund Education Now created the page to push for an amendment to be decided by voters. Florida Politics.

New SAT concerns: Some experts worry that the new SAT, with its longer and harder reading passages and more words in math problems, will cause problems for some students. Testing begins in March. New York Times. New Boston Post. Should you take the new SAT or the ACT? Huffington Post.

Book removed: Seminole County school officials remove a book from three elementary school libraries after a parent's complaint. Mariko Tamaki's This One Summer contains sexual references and obscenities. WFTV. (more…)

Legislature and education: A bill that creates more educational options for students with special needs is the first to clear the Florida Senate. Tallahassee Democrat. Orlando Sentinel. Tampa Bay Times. WFSU. Politico Florida. A bill that would allow students to use computer coding to fulfill any foreign language requirement passes a second committee in the Florida Senate. Unresolved are worries that it creates an unfunded mandate. Politico Florida. Gradebook. The House budget chairman, Erik Fresen, R-Miami, joins senators to discuss the teacher bonuses program he helped create. Renewal of the program, which some say discriminates against older and minority teachers, faces opposition in the House and Senate. Gradebook. More than 31,000 Florida students are in classes that are too big, according to the state's class size law. Discussions on tightening the rules on the way class sizes are computed will be held in the Senate today. Orlando Sentinel. Politico Florida. Rep. Dwayne Taylor, D-Daytona Beach, files a bill that would give local school districts more autonomy over financing, curriculum and operations. Daytona Beach News-Journal.

Federal help sought: The Miami-Dade School District is asking the federal government for financial help to educate students who have arrived from Cuba and those expected to arrive soon. Superintendent Alberto Carvalho says an extra $40 million is needed. Miami Herald.

Teachers rally: More than 2,000 teachers are expected to rally at the state Capitol today to protest statewide education policies. Tampa Bay Times. Fort Myers News-Press. (more…)

School tax hike: St. Johns County voters approve a half-cent sale tax increase to pay for new schools and renovate existing ones. St. Augustine Record. WJAX. Florida Politics.

School testing: Brevard County Superintendent Desmond Blackburn is canceling 192 mandatory district-level assessments tests while he evaluates the county's examination system. Florida Today. Gov. Rick Scott should raise the bar on the Florida Standards Assessment math exams, argues Paul Cottle on Bridge to Tomorrow. Examining the changes in the new SAT test. New York Times.

School construction: Orange County school officials urge county commissioners to allow schools to be built on smaller lots. Orlando Sentinel. Lee County school officials acknowledge property adjacent to several gated communities is not a perfect spot for a new high school, but they argue it is the best of what's available. Naples Daily News.

School spending: Hillsborough County School Board members are asking for a $900,000 efficiency audit to help control spending. Tampa Bay Times. Tampa Tribune. Higher than expected tax revenues will allow Pasco County to accelerate the timetable for school improvements. Gradebook.

Charter schools: The Palm Beach County School Board is expected to deny Renaissance Charter School's request to open its first high school in the county because the Charter Schools USA product reportedly is not innovative enough. Palm Beach Post. (more…)