Hope Scholarship: With some Florida school districts saying they're confused by the law that offers state scholarships for bullied K-12 students, state Sen. Manny Diaz, R-Hialeah, has filed a bill intended to clarify the rules and further expand the scholarship. S.B. 1410 would remove school districts from making any decisions about a student's eligibility for a Hope Scholarship. Instead, parents would go directly to the scholarship funding organization for an application and simply have to report a bullying incident to be eligible, with no verification required. The bill would also offer the scholarships to students from private schools. Gradebook. redefinED.
Gardiner Scholarship: Two bills are filed that would expand Gardiner Scholarships for students with special needs and make it simpler for parents to renew them. H.B. 1051, filed by Rep. Elizabeth Fetterhoff, R-DeLand, and S.B. 1380, sponsored by Sen. Keith Perry, R-Gainesville, would allow parents to submit applications when their child turns 3, and use the scholarship to pay for tuition and fees associated with art, music or theater programs. Step Up For Students, which hosts this blog, helps administer the state's Gardiner, Hope, tax credit and reading scholarships. redefinED.
Arming school employees: Gov. Ron DeSantis says he supports having the option of arming willing employees, including teachers, to help protect schools, as proposed by the state commission that investigated the shooting deaths of 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School last February. DeSantis says no one would be forced to be armed, but that "if you're somebody who is working at a school and you are somebody who is trained and has the ability to do it, then you shouldn't be precluded ..." News Service of Florida.
Teacher certification: Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran has reorganized his staff to try to cut the waiting time to process applications for teacher certifications. The increased waiting time since 2017 has corresponded with a decline in educator certificates issued from 70,166 in the 2016-2017 school year to 31,397 in 2017-2018. WFTS. Gradebook. News Service of Florida. The Pasco County School District is turning to lively Facebook videos with catchy jingles in an attempt to recruit teachers. Gradebook. (more…)
