Tony Bennett. The Orlando Sentinel hopes the new commissioner, who begins work today, “treads with discretion.” The Associated Press recalls his tenure in Indiana and ties to Jeb Bush.

Expand school choice now! Sort of. The Tampa Bay Times means options under district control: “The broader answer to improving public education in Pinellas is not a massive expansion of fundamental schools. It's raising the quality of all schools. But increasing the seats for fundamental schools and popular magnet programs to more closely match demand is a discussion district leaders should begin. Otherwise, they risk losing more families to charter schools and private schools — and further undermining broad support for public education.”

Slow down on charter schools. The Palm Beach Post says in one editorial that the Legislature should prioritize traditional public schools over charters. It says in another that the Palm Beach County district’s decision to transfer a troubled principal into administration will give lawmakers an excuse to continue favoring charters.

Checking out choice. In Alachua County, 600 middle school students turn out to see career academy options, reports the Gainesville Sun. In Duval, magnet students spread the word about their programs to prospective students, reports the Florida Times Union. In Miami-Dade, tens of thousands of parents are expected to apply for hundreds of magnet programs, reports the Miami-Herald. In Manatee, the Rock Your Robot Fair lets parents know about STEM options in public and private schools, reports the Bradenton Herald. (In Collier County, businesses urge students to explore STEM, reports the Naples Daily News.) The Tampa Bay Times annual school search section for Pinellas includes information about public and private options, including tax credit scholarships.

Amendment 8. The ACLU saw the proposed amendment, which despite perception had little to do with private school vouchers, as part of a "wide-ranging assault" on Floridians' rights last year by Gov. Rick Scott and the Republican-led Legislature, reports the Florida Current.

“Sagging schools.” Tampa Bay Times business columnist Robert Trigaux: “Beneath the top tier of students, our schools at all levels are struggling to educate our kids. Businesses need to help more. And the state needs to spend less time bragging about the educational system and admit it needs assistance.” (more…)

Florida Board of Education openings. Two coming up, notes Gradebook.

When Florida and Mississippi schools were peas in a pod. Jackson Clarion-Ledger.

Tax credit scholarships in Chronicle of Philanthropy. (subscription required) The story leads with Step Up For Students and quotes “neovoucher” expert Kevin Welner: “He also argues that most states don't really know if they are saving money, since few have closely tracked how many students receiving scholarships would have gone to private schools without them.” Welner has raised this argument before, and it’s not the case in Florida, as redefinED has noted.

Charter school facilities funding. A state task force deadlocks on recommendations, reports the St. Augustine Record.

Charter school pay raises. Charter schools in Lake Wales look for ways to compensate their teachers, reports the News Chief.

F charter schools. Two in Escambia offer updates to the school board, reports the Pensacola News Journal.

Amendment 8 in the Washington Post. The amendment and its impact on vouchers is referenced, incorrectly, in a story on quality control issues with the D.C. voucher program. Here again is the real story.

Promise of online learning. Pinellas math and statistics teacher Rob Tarrou puts his lessons online, a la Khan Academy, and wins fans around the world, reports the Tampa Bay Times. My favorite graph: “A reporter recently asked students in that statistics class how many had other teachers post educational videos online. No one raised a hand. Next, students were asked how many wished their other teachers would post videos online. Nearly all raised their hands.” See a “Tarrou’s Chalk Talk” video here.

Valerie Strauss on Tony Bennett coming to Florida: Column here.

Rick Scott’s ed plan falls short. Especially on charter schools, editorializes the Tampa Bay Times.

Republican hubris and Amendment 8: In its roundup of election winners and losers, the Tampa Bay Times suggests Amendment 8 had a lot to do with vouchers – and that it fits into the narrative about GOP overreach.

Contracting complaints. At the Division of Blind Services, which falls under the Florida Department of Education, reports the Tampa Bay Times.

Indiana: State superintendent Tony Bennett, a leading light in the school choice and ed reform movement, loses his bid for re-election to Glenda Ritz, an elementary school media specialist (Indianapolis Star). Gov.-elect Mike Pence promises to continue pushing reform (Indiana Public Media).

Georgia: Voters back a constitutional amendment that creates a new state commission than can approve charter schools (New York Times).

Washington: Vote on the charter school ballot initiative is still too close to call (Seattle Times).

California: Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa vowed to fix public education by pushing for groundbreaking initiatives such as Public School Choice, which allowed teachers, charters and other outside operators to bid on low-performing schools. The result: dramatically improved test scores and graduation rates (Huffington Post op-ed).

Tennessee: The Memphis school district and charter schools snipe over funding (Memphis Commercial Appeal).

Mississippi: Republican lawmakers plan a big push for charter schools next year (Madison County Journal).

Florida: Voters reject Amendment 8, a "religious freedom" measure that critics claimed was about private school vouchers (Tampa Bay Times). Speculation abounds about Tony Bennett as a possibility for state education commissioner (redefinED).

New York: Tensions rise over proposal to convert low-performing schools in Buffalo into charters (Buffalo News).

Washington D.C.: Charter school academic ratings are released for a second year (Washington Post).

Amendment 8 goes down. Coverage from Tampa Bay Times, Orlando Sentinel, Education Week, Associated Press.

More money for schools. In Miami-Dade, voters approve a $1.2 billion bond referendum for public schools, the Miami Herald reports. In Pinellas, they again approve a property tax increase aimed mostly at boosting teacher pay, reports the Tampa Bay Times.

Legislative races. In Central Florida, pro-school-choice Democrat Darren Soto wins a state Senate seat, while Democrat Karen Castor Dentel – a teacher targeted by that Jerry Sandusky ad – wins a House seat, the Orlando Sentinel reports.

Florida style reformer loses. Indiana state superintendent Tony Bennett, who championed Florida-like ed reforms and was a member of the Jeb Bush-backed Chiefs for Change, lost re-election in a stunner to Glenda Ritz, an elementary school media specialist. Stories here and here.

F-rated charter schools get another chance. Per unanimous votes Tuesday by the state Board of Education. Coverage from Orlando Sentinel, Gainesville Sun, Pensacola News Journal.

Jury awards charter principal $155 million. From the Miami Herald: “The ousted principal of an Aventura charter school has won a $155 million award in a lawsuit claiming her firing was not only without cause, but ruined her health and career prospects.” More from Education Week.

Criticism of tax credit scholarships. A mother complains about education quality at an Orange City private school that accepts tax credit scholarships, reports wftv.com.

Carl Hiaasen on Amendment 8. He doesn’t like it, says it’s about vouchers. It’s hard to take exception with the legend who created Skink, but for what it’s worth, here again is our take.

A campaign ad that “sounds indefensible.” From the Orlando Sentinel: “A group supporting Republican state Rep. Scott Plakon’s re-election bid is sending last-minute advertisements that attempt to link Plakon’s opponent, Democrat Karen Castor Dentel, to convicted child sex predator Jerry Sandusky.” Castor Dentel, the daughter of former state education commissioner Betty Castor, is a public elementary school teacher who opposed the 2011 law overhauling teacher tenure. Plakon said the ad “sounds indefensible.”

Florida lags with mainstreaming. Students with disabilities, particularly those with autism and emotional problems, are less likely to be mainstreamed in Florida than their counterparts in most other states, the Orlando Sentinel reports.

Charter school applications in Duval. Six more are on the table for a board vote today. Superintendent Ed Pratt-Dannals is recommending four for approval, two for denial, the Florida Times Union reports.

Funding, fairness. In an op-ed for the Fort Myers News Press, Lee County Superintendent Joseph P. Burke says the state needs to restore education funding to 2006-7 levels and suggests charter schools should have to play by the same rules on class-size requirements.

Absentee voter fraud. A school board election in Madison County is behind the state's longest-running case of absentee voter fraud, the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Amendment 8 debate. Video at the Naples Daily News. Featuring Jim Towey, Ave Maria University president, and Howard Simon, Florida ACLU executive director. The Naples Daily News also runs this op-ed in favor of 8.

Drug-sniffing dogs. The U.S. Supreme Court considers arguments in two cases, including one in Florida, with potential implications for the use of drug-sniffing dogs in public schools, reports Education Week.

Request for investigation. U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown, D-Jacksonville, wants an investigation of online education provider K12, reports StateImpact Florida.

Online growth. Lake County appoints its first virtual school principal, reports the Orlando Sentinel.

Growth in tax credit scholarships. From redefinED (with speadsheet showing district-by-district growth over the past eight years). From Gradebook.

Vouchers and the Florida Supreme Court. Critics of the three justices up for a merit retention vote say their 2006 ruling on vouchers is evidence of liberal judicial activism, the Washington Post reports in a broader story about the campaign against the justices.

School choice Democrat has edge in senate race. State Rep. Darren Soto, D-Orlando, who supports vouchers and tax credit scholarships, appears poised to capture a state senate seat, reports the Sunshine State News.

DOE ends contract. From the Associated Press: “Florida is terminating a $20 million contract to build a website intended to help students, parents and teachers master new academic standards.”

Rick Scott ed plan called “timid.” The Daily Caller quotes Joy Pullman, managing editor of School Reform News: “Gov. Scott has released a comparatively tame education agenda, which reflects the vitriolic backlash he’s faced from the education establishment, and possibly a bit of “reform exhaustion” in a state that has made continual, serious education changes across the past 15 years.”

More no on Amendment 8. Hernando Today publishes a Florida Voices op-ed that says Amendment 8 is bad and really about vouchers.

Fate of double-F charter. The Board of Education will decide next week if the Sweetwater Branch Academic Elementary School in Gainesville can stay open, the Gainesville Sun reports.

From the News Service of Florida:

TWO AMENDMENTS IN TROUBLE, POLL SHOWS

Two of the more controversial proposed constitutional amendments face a difficult path to approval, according to a Suffolk University/WSVN-TV poll released late Tuesday. The survey of 600 likely voters showed both Amendment 6, barring the use of taxpayer money for health insurance that covers abortion, and Amendment 8, doing away with a prohibition on the use of taxpayer money for faith-based social services, are well below the 60 percent support needed to gain approval.

Just 44 percent of those surveyed said they supported Amendment 6, while 40 percent said they were opposed. Meanwhile, 52 percent said they opposed Amendment 8, while just 28 percent approved. The poll, conducted Sept. 27-30, has a margin of error of 4 percentage points.

Amendment 8's leading opponents say the measure is about private school vouchers, even though the legal landscape shows that's not really the case. Our latest take on the debate here.

Our preoccupation these days with a Florida amendment removing the state’s no-aid-to-religion clause may strike some redefinED readers as a touch obsessive, and we won’t argue the point. But the truth is that we agonize over whether to write at all, and we want to explain why.

At the end of the day, we are confident that Amendment 8, whether it passes or fails, will have no legal effect on school vouchers. And yet opponents so far have invested $1 million in a campaign that argues otherwise. They not only contend the amendment will open the door to new vouchers, but that those programs will be, to borrow the words of one elected Alachua County school board member, “the very death of public schools.”

So the quandary is obvious. We’re a blog built around the new definition of public education, run by an organization that administers private options to low-income students, and we think we can bring clarity to the issue. But how do we complain about a debate that we say is falsely about vouchers without being viewed as though we doth protest too much? How do we enter the volatile, polarizing world of political campaigns and not be viewed as an angry combatant?

This is shaping up as a most peculiar campaign. The pro- and anti-amendment forces are on two entirely different planets, one fighting against the scourge of vouchers and the other extolling the virtues of faith-based community services. And yet the legal landscape is unmistakable: The state Supreme Court overturned Opportunity Scholarship vouchers in 2006 through a public education uniformity clause that would be untouched by this amendment. In other words, the principle barrier to any new vouchers is not on the ballot. That’s one of the reasons, and this is important to note again, that no groups supporting parental choice are spending a penny on this campaign. They see it as legally irrelevant.

We admit taking offense at some of the liberties that have been taken so far with the legal truth. And we’re left only to speculate on why the opponents would spend so much on an amendment that means so little in the education world. (more…)