Student walkout: Students from hundreds of U.S. schools walked out Wednesday to show their support for the Second Amendment. The walkout, called "Stand for the Second," was initiated by New Mexico student Will Riley to show that not all students agreed with the gun-control walkouts organized last month by students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School after a gunman killed 17 people there Feb. 14. Wednesday's rally lasted for 16 minutes - one minute less than the gun-control walkout April 20. USA Today. The 74. Huffington Post. Tallahassee Democrat.
School security: The Sarasota County School Board begins the process of building an internal police department by approving job descriptions for a police chief and sergeant. The vote was 3-2, with chairwoman Bridget Ziegler saying she had “grave concerns” about moving away from a system based on school resource officers from outside law enforcement agencies. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. St. Johns County School Board members are calling for a joint meeting with county commissioners to pay for required school security measures. “It’s a community issue,” says board chair Bill Mignon. “It’s not just a school board issue.” St. Augustine Record. The Tarpon Springs City Commission approves a proposal to hire two police officers to help the Pinellas County School District fulfill a state mandate to have armed security in every school. Tampa Bay Times. Bay County school officials are struggling to balance the need for school safety with the wish to make visitors comfortable in going to schools for events. Panama City News Herald. Two cities in Clay County want to provide school resource officers to schools. Green Cove Springs is asking the school board for part of the money to supply officers, and Orange Park also is offering to negotiate for the use of its officers. Clay Today.
Tax hike considered: The Palm Beach County District is considering asking voters to approve a property tax increase to boost teacher salaries and help pay for school security and mental health services. The requested amount has not been set, though school board members have discussed adding $100 on every $100,000 of taxable property value, which could raise as much as $153 million a year. If the board approves the proposal when it meets June 20, it would go before voters in the November general election. Palm Beach Post. Sun-Sentinel.
Tax hike votes: Voters in Sarasota and Manatee counties approve an additional 1 mill on property taxes for schools, by a wide margin in Sarasota and a narrow one in Manatee. In Sarasota, the extra $55 million in each of the next four years will help pay for 30 extra minutes of classtime a day, higher teacher salaries and more art teachers and behavioral specialists. In Manatee, the extra $33 million a year for the next four years will be used to lengthen the school day by 30 minutes, pay teachers and other employees more, expand STEM and career programs and support charter schools. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Bradenton Herald. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Martin County School Board members are considering asking voters to approve a hike in property taxes to pay for teacher bonuses and construction projects. If approved, the measure could raise about $11.2 million a year for four years. TCPalm.
School security, finances: Putting a resource officer in every Pinellas County school by July 1 will cost $23.6 million, Sheriff Bob Gualtieri tells the county commission. The state's contribution is $6.1 million, and the sheriff's office and municipal police departments' contribution is $1.6 million, leaving the school district to find $12.4 million to put 201 school resource officers in the 139 district schools and 18 charter schools. And, Gualtieri notes, there would be an additional $11.2 million needed for upfront costs such as cars, weapons, uniforms and computers. Neighboring Hillsborough County school officials say the district will get an additional $41 million from the state, but still is projecting a $16 million deficit because of new state requirements on school security, an expected 3,000 extra students and other expenses. Tampa Bay Times. Hillsborough County School Board member April Griffin talks about the district's finances, and the new education and school safety bills. WMNF. The head of one of Florida's largest charter school networks is asking the 13 districts where it has schools to provide resource officers on every campus by April 1. Gradebook. The Gulf Breeze City Council votes to fund the placement of part-time officers in all the city's elementary schools through the end of the school year. WEAR.
Scott signs budget bill: Gov. Rick Scott signs the $88.7 billion state budget, dismissing pleas from Florida's school superintendents for a special legislative session to increase funding for schools. The budget includes new money for K-12 schools, mostly for school security and mental health counseling for students, and a boost in the amount Bright Futures scholars receive. Associated Press. News Service of Florida. Miami Herald. Orlando Sentinel. GateHouse. Capitolist. Gradebook. Politico Florida. Senate President Joe Negron, R-Stuart, says legislative leaders are considering allowing school districts that don't want to arm school personnel to use any money left over from the marshals program to hire resource officers. Associated Press. News Service of Florida. The new funding formula takes $56 million in state money that in the past would have gone to larger school districts and is redirecting it to smaller ones. Miami-Dade, for example, will receive $7 million less. Tampa Bay Times. House Speaker Richard Corcoran, R-Land O'Lakes, criticizes the state's school superintendents for complaining about the state's K-12 spending, saying those who are “grossly mismanaging their budgets” should resign. Bradenton Herald. Scott vetoed a $1 million item for Okaloosa County schools to buy buses that would help ease traffic congestion near Hurlburt Field, headquarters for the Air Force Special Operations Command. Here's a full list of the $64 million in projects that Scott vetoed. Northwest Florida Daily News.
School shooting developments: Mental health records show that Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School officials were worried about Nikolas Cruz's fascination with guns, and banned him from practicing his shooting with the Junior RTOC or carrying a backpack on campus 18 months before the massacre that killed 17 at the school. Sun-Sentinel. Associated Press. The Coconut Creek police officer who arrested Cruz describes his search and his shock when he found the accused school shooter. Sun-Sentinel. More than $4 million has been raised for the victims of the Parkland shooting and their families, and the Broward Education Foundation has appointed a steering committee to determine how to distribute the money and who will receive it. Sun-Sentinel. Deputies at Stoneman Douglas High are carrying AR-15 rifles at the school, but concealing them in backpacks so as not to alarm students. Sun-Sentinel. A Lighthouse Point man becomes the first person in Florida to have his firearms and ammunition seized under the state's new law addressing gun restrictions and school safety. Sun-Sentinel. The fiancee of a teacher killed in the shootings still struggles to comprehend what happened. Palm Beach Post. A sculptor is planning a 15-foot memorial to the shooting victims at the Parkland school. Sun-Sentinel. Five Stoneman Douglas High shooting survivors appear on 60 Minutes and give Florida lawmakers a C or C-minus grade for their response to the tragedy. Sun-Sentinel. Miami Herald. Three other survivors take their message for increasing gun regulation to the Global Education and Skills Forum in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Associated Press.
Arming teachers: Senate President Joe Negron, R-Stuart, says he supports the idea of arming teachers. His endorsement likely means it will be included in the package of proposed gun-related bills being announced today by the Legislature and Gov. Rick Scott. Tampa Bay Times. Sun-Sentinel. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. News Service of Florida. The idea of teachers with guns has some support among politicians, but most educators don't like it. Tampa Bay Times. Palm Beach Post. Florida Times-Union. Associated Press. WEAR. The National Association of School Resource Officers also opposes the idea of arming teachers, noting in a statement that it "strongly recommends that no firearms be on a school campus except those carried by carefully selected, specially trained school resource officers." Gradebook. President Donald Trump, who likes the idea of arming select teachers and school staff, slams Florida Education Commissioner Pam Stewart for suggesting more active shooter drills should be considered. Tampa Bay Times. Politico Florida. New York Times.
School cop resigns: The school resource officer at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School never entered the building last week to confront the shooter, says Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel. The officer, Scot Peterson, rushed to the building when he heard the gunfire but waited outside for four minutes. Israel says Peterson should have “went in. Addressed the killer. Killed the killer.” Peterson, 54, resigned Thursday after he was suspended without pay. Four years ago, Peterson was named school resource officer of the year in Parkland. Sun-Sentinel. Miami Herald. USA Today. Associated Press. Law enforcement officials were warned repeatedly that alleged shooter Nikolas Cruz was dangerous and a possible school shooter. Miami Herald. Palm Beach Post. House Speaker Richard Corcoran, R-Land O'Lakes, says a special investigative committee will look into the botched response to the shooting, and it could be chaired by a parent of one of the slain students. Politico Florida.
Deadly shooting: Broward County detectives say Nikolas Cruz has confessed to killing 17 people and wounding more than a dozen others in a shooting spree Wednesday at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. He said he arrived at the school via Uber, fired more than 100 shots, dropped his gun and ammunition at the scene and escaped by blending in with a crowd of fleeing students. Then he got a drink at a Subway in Walmart and walked to McDonald's before being arrested. No motive for the shootings has been disclosed. Meanwhile, the names of the victims are released and thousands mourn the victims in a candlelight vigil. Sun-Sentinel. Miami Herald. Palm Beach Post. Associated Press.
Other developments: Florida legislative leaders acknowledge they've failed in providing mental health care in schools, and vow to commit more money to it. But a bill that would limit assault weapons hasn't even been scheduled for a hearing. Tampa Bay Times. News Service of Florida. TCPalm. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Palm Beach Post. Politico Florida. Nikolas Cruz legally purchased the AR-15 rifle he used in the shootings. Miami Herald. How did Cruz get around school security? Sun-Sentinel. A YouTube user claims he alerted the FBI last fall about online threats by Cruz to become a “a professional school shooter.” CNN. President Trump's proposed budget would cut millions of dollars to help schools prevent crime and recover from tragedies. Politico.
Districts react: School districts around the state beef up security and discuss ways to tighten it further. Naples Daily News. Tampa Bay Times. Gradebook. Florida Today. TCPalm. Ocala Star-Banner. Fort Myers News-Press. Lakeland Ledger. Bradenton Herald. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Gainesville Sun. Tallahassee Democrat. Daytona Beach News-Journal. Northwest Florida Daily News. Daily Commercial. Charlotte Sun. WUSF. WEAR.
Opening addresses: The governor, speaker of the House and president of the Senate all outline their goals for the 2018 legislative session, which began Tuesday. Gov. Rick Scott makes a pitch for his $87.4 billion budget, which includes raising more money for K-12 spending by allowing rising property values to boost tax revenues. Tampa Bay Times. Orlando Sentinel. Sunshine State News. Palm Beach Post. Politico Florida. Associated Press. House Speaker Richard Corcoran, R-Land O'Lakes, takes direct aim at Scott's property tax plan, saying the House won't allow taxes to go up directly or indirectly. "We have taken this moral high ground, and we will not give it up," he says. Corcoran also vows to protect bullied students by offering them state scholarships to switch schools. Gradebook. Sunshine State News. WFSU. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Politico Florida. WLRN. Senate President Joe Negron, R-Stuart, says he wants to expand Bright Futures scholarships for college students and K-12 school choice, address the opioid crisis and crack down on sexual harassment. Tampa Bay Times. Sunshine State News.
School choice bills: There are at least 10 school choice-related bills to watch as the Legislature begins its 60-day session. Among them are the scholarships for bullied students, an easing of state requirements for homeschooled children, expansion of a personalized learning program, and more access for special-needs students to use the state's McKay Scholarships. redefinED.
Homeschool bill moving: The House PreK-12 Innovation Subcommittee unanimously approves a bill that would limit the authority local school districts exercise on homeschooled students, and increase those students' access to dual enrollment and career education courses. The bill now heads to the House PreK-12 Appropriations Subcommittee. redefinED. Gradebook. Politico Florida.
ESSA plan: After federal education officials recently raised questions about Florida's plan to comply with the Every Student Succeeds Act, the state asks for an extension beyond the Jan. 4 deadline to rework the plan. State officials say they are still reviewing the letter federal officials sent that questions the state's plans to measure how individual groups of students perform and to consider progress made by English-language learners when holding schools accountable for student learning and progress. "We acknowledge that USED may not be able to provide a final determination within the 120-day period in the law," Florida Education Commissioner Pam Stewart wrote in her request for an extension. "Our focus is the successful completion of the 2017-18 school year as school districts continue to recover from Hurricane Irma and embrace the nearly 9,000 students from Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands as a result of Hurricane Maria.” Politico Florida.
Active shooter training: The University of Central Florida is using video game technology to help train teachers on how to react to an active shooter scenario. The $5.6 million technology was developed by the Homeland Security Department and the U.S. Army, and is similar to the program used to train soldiers in combat tactics. "With teachers, they did not self-select into a role where they expect to have bullets flying near them. Unfortunately, it’s becoming a reality,” says chief project engineer Tamara Griffith. “We want to teach teachers how to respond as first responders.” Associated Press.
Bonuses mistakenly paid: Twenty-seven Leon County School District employees wrongly received about $180,000 from the state's Best and Brightest teacher bonuses program, according to a recent report from the Florida auditor general. The audit showed that 21 teachers who received $143,155 in bonuses were not rated as "highly effective," a requirement to be eligible for the payments. Another six who received $40,902 weren't eligible because they didn't meet the state's definition of a classroom teacher. All must repay the district, which in turn will send the money to the state Department of Education. The audit also raised concerns about a lack of competitive bidding to select health insurance companies and the security of personal information for students. Tallahassee Democrat. WTXL. WCTV.
School board term limits: A proposal to limit terms for school board members is among the 103 changes to the state constitution that the Florida Constitution Revision Commission will begin considering Monday. Fourteen education-related proposals have been filed. Twenty-two of the 37 commission members have to approve proposals to put them on the November 2018 ballot. Then, 60 percent of voters would have to vote for the changes to put them into effect. The commission has until May 10 to finish voting on the proposals. News Service of Florida. WFSU.
Fighting end of TPS: Educators in south Florida vow to fight the Trump administration's decision to end the temporary protected status for 60,000 Haitians who fled the island after a 2010 earthquake. About 20 percent of them are enrolled in the Miami-Dade school system. TPS for the Haitians would end in July 2019. WPLG. WSVN. WTVJ.
Bright Futures: Florida House Speaker Richard Corcoran, R-Land O'Lakes, says he agrees with the bulk of the higher education agenda of Senate President Joe Negron, R-Stuart, including the portion of the bill that would provide $77 million to restore 75 percent funding for Medallion scholars, the second level of the Bright Futures program. Politico Florida.
Charter appeals rejection: A charter school company is appealing the Marion County School Board's decision to deny its application to open a school. Charter Educational Foundation Inc., which operates Charter Schools USA’s schools, asked the board for permission to open the 745-student Southeast Marion Charter Academy. The board decided the proposal offered nothing new or innovative, and denied it. The charter group is appealing that decision to the state. Ocala Star-Banner.
State rules waived: Florida Gov. Rick Scott and Education Commissioner Pam Stewart waive rules to allow students displaced by Hurricane Maria to enter schools in the state. Schools may now accept students who don't have documentation and hire teachers who don't have the paperwork proving they are certified. Stewart also waived the residency and student record rules for college students. Orlando Sentinel. Gradebook. News Service of Florida. Sun-Sentinel. Sunshine State News. Capitolist. Naples Herald. WMFE. WKMG. Only a fraction of the schools in Puerto Rico have reopened. Education Week.
Funding for arrivals: Florida school districts have been urged to accept any and all students displaced by the hurricane, but the Department of Education has not guaranteed it would provide extra dollars for those students. The DOE says the only districts that will get supplemental funding are those that see an enrollment increase by 5 percent or more, or schools with an enrollment bump of 25 percent or more. Legislators who urged the state to welcome displaced students are now lobbying state officials to cover all students. Miami Herald. Palm Beach Post.
Class time variations: When it came time to make up days lost to hurricanes, school officials quickly discovered a wide variation in classroom instruction time from district to district and even school to school within districts. That happens because, while every school has a minimum amount of instruction time required by the state, it also has discretion to set daily schedules that can lead to significant differences in classroom time. Some school officials say the discrepancy is no big deal, while others worry that some students are being shortchanged. Tampa Bay Times.
School marketing: Many for-profit schools in Florida and other states are offering rewards to students who persuade other students to enroll or who endorse the school on social media. The promotions often coincide with the time the states count enrollment to determine how much money each school receives. ProPublica.
Teacher bonuses: Each Florida school district will be responsible for determining the eligibility of teachers for state bonuses under the "Best & Brightest" teacher bonuses program, the Department of Education says. The program was redefined as part of the new education bill, H.B. 7069, which also calls for $1,200 payments to teachers rated "highly effective," up to $800 for those rated "effective," plus bonuses for those teachers who scored in the top 20 percent on the SAT or ACT test. Teachers are expected to receive the bonuses April 1. Principals are also eligible for bonuses for the first time, but the state has yet to say how that program will work. Miami Herald.
H.B. 7069: Orange County School Board members informally say they are likely to join the lawsuit against the new state education law, H.B. 7069. All eight members support the suit, saying the law infringes on the authority of school boards and could hurt students. The board expects to take an official, binding vote next week. Orlando Sentinel. WMFE. Florida Senate President Joe Negron, R-Stuart, has removed state Sen. David Simmons, R-Altamonte Springs, from his assignment as chairman of a Senate budget subcommittee for pre-K-12 education. Replacing him is first-term Sen. Kathleen Passidomo, R-Naples. Simmons angered many Republican leaders by voting against the House's top priority, H.B. 7069. Negron denies the change was made as punishment. Gradebook. Naples Daily News. News Service of Florida. Politico Florida. Simmons says he plans to remain involved in education issues. Gradebook.
Eclipse schedules: School districts around the state are deciding if their students will be permitted to view the solar eclipse Monday, and if they will be, how they might do so safely. Sun-Sentinel. Gradebook. WPLG. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Bradenton Herald. Ocala Star-Banner. Daytona Beach News-Journal. Flagler Live. WFTV. Florida Today. WQAM. Panama City News Herald. Lakeland Ledger. WJAX. WFLA. WTSP.
