Bathroom rules: Eleven states are suing the Obama administration over its letter urging school districts to allow transgender students to use the bathroom that conforms to their gender identity or risk losing federal funds. Florida declined to join them, according to a spokesperson for Attorney General Pam Bondi. Gov. Rick Scott says the state is still reviewing the directive, which he says "looks just like blackmail." Orlando Sentinel. Florida Politics. New York Times. Politico Florida. Lake and Sumter school officials say they won't change their bathroom policies. They require students to use bathrooms based on their birth gender but will consider exceptions on a case-by-case basis. Daily Commercial.
Opt-outs face retention: About 30 third-graders in Manatee County who opted out of Florida Standards Assessments testing and refused to take a state-approved equivalency test are in danger of not being promoted to fourth grade. School officials say they are bound to follow the state's rules and retain those students who have no test scores. Bradenton Herald.
No wider book ban: A ban of a book at Pasco Middle School will not extend to other schools in the district, according to School Superintendent Kurt Browning. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky, contains graphic sexual references. A committee recommended it be banned districtwide. Gradebook.
Suit will continue: The statewide teachers union will press on with its court challenge of Florida's Tax Credit Scholarship Program, even after a judge ruled this week in a separate lawsuit that the state has fulfilled its constitutional mandate to provide a quality education for all public school students. The union claims the tax-credit scholarship program violates the Florida constitution by taking money away from public schools. The suit was thrown out, but the union appealed. The arguments have been heard, and a ruling is expected soon. Step Up For Students, which hosts this blog, administers the scholarships program. Gradebook. (more…)
Book banned: The Perks of Being a Wallflower, a coming of age novel by Stephen Chbosky, is being removed from the curriculum at Pasco Middle School. A school-based committee made up of parents, teachers and administrators decided the book was too sexually graphic. A district committee agrees, and recommends it be banned from all district schools. That decision will be made by School Superintendent Kurt Browning. Tampa Bay Times.
Bathroom fight: A vote on a proposed change in the Duval County School District's bathroom policy is tabled after a city attorney cautioned members about making public comments. John Phillips, general counsel for the city, says any comments could be used against the board in a lawsuit brought by a mother of four district students. That mother says the current policy, which bans discrimination due to gender identity, race, religion, ethnicity and sexual orientation, deprives her children of the "right to bodily privacy.” Florida Times-Union. Gov. Rick Scott tells an Orlando TV station: "If this federal mandate means that a man could walk into the bathroom of a young lady or the locker room of a young lady, that is clearly concerning.” It was Scott's first public reaction to the Obama administration directive to allow transgender students to use bathrooms that match their gender identity or face lawsuits or a loss of federal aid. WESH.
Expulsions, suspensions: A community group made up law enforcement officials, attorneys, judges, school officials and academics is trying to create a program to cut back the Sarasota County School District's use of expulsions and out-of-school suspensions. The group hopes to land a $4 million grant to create a Juvenile Court Intervention Team at some high schools. Those teams work with students to minimize time spent out of school. The district expelled the second-highest number of students in the state from 2010 to 2014. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. (more…)
