Amendment 8 off ballot: A judge's decision that proposed constitutional Amendment 8 should be removed from the Nov. 6 ballot is upheld in a 4-3 vote by the Florida Supreme Court. A Leon County judge had ruled that the amendment is misleading and fails to inform voters of its “chief purpose and effect.” The amendment, put forward by the Constitution Revision Commission, would have created an entity other than local school boards that can approve charter and public schools, set term limits for school board members and required civics education in schools. The League of Women Voters challenged the constitutionality of the amendment, with president Patricia Brigham saying “the backers of this proposal on the CRC went to great lengths to hide the ball because they realized that Floridians would never knowingly forfeit their right to local control over their local public schools.” Associated Press. News Service of Florida. Tampa Bay Times. Miami Herald. Orlando Sentinel. Florida Phoenix. Florida Politics. Washington Post. Watchdog.org.
Scott rejected again: Legislative leaders officially deny Gov. Rick Scott's request to release $58 million from the armed school guardian fund to districts to help them pay for more security at schools. In a letter to the governor Friday, incoming Senate President Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, said, "For the guardian program to truly be vetted and ultimately embraced, I believe the program should maintain its own funding rather than having its funds commingled with other funds available for school safety. I respectfully disagree with your statement that the $58 million in available funding will go to waste if the proposed budget amendment is not adopted." Galvano did say he would be open to reviewing the program in the near future. Only $9 million of the $67 million set aside for guardians was claimed by districts, which preferred having school resource officers to arming school employees. Associated Press. (more…)
Panel's recommendations: The state commission investigating the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shootings rejects a move to require a sworn police officer at every school in the state, saying such a mandate would cost about $400 million a year. Instead, the panel approves a recommendation to require at least one police officer at every high school and middle school in the state, with elementary schools being covered by armed security guards or school employees. Associated Press. TCPalm. WLRN. A video combining surveillance footage, animation of the school shooter's action and recordings of police calls is shown to the panel. It depicts Broward deputy Scot Peterson hiding during the massacre. Peterson will testify at the commission's October meeting. Sun-Sentinel. Miami Herald. Chairman Bob Gualtieri says he wants to make the commission's final report open to the public. Sun-Sentinel. Criminal law experts say the addiction and propensity for violence of accused shooter Nikolas Cruz's birth mother could be used as an argument against his execution. Miami Herald. Sun-Sentinel.
Amendment 8: Florida Supreme Court justices hear arguments for and against proposed constitutional Amendment 8. The amendment, put forward by the Constitution Revision Commission, would set term limits for school board members, require civics education in schools and create an entity other than local school boards that can approve charter and public schools. The League of Women Voters is asking the amendment be removed from the ballot because it's "misleading." Attorneys for the state dispute that. A decision is expected soon. Meanwhile, Amendment 8 was removed from another court challenge to six bundled amendments. "It didn't make a lot of sense for us to spend a lot of time here on issues that are being heard across town," says Leon County Judge Karen Gievers. News Service of Florida. Orlando Sentinel. Florida Politics. Miami Herald. Gradebook. Florida Phoenix. (more…)
Another game shooting: One person is dead and two others wounded after a shooting as fans exited the Raines-Lee high school football game in Jacksonville on Friday night. No one has been arrested, and deputies say the shootings are gang-related. Duval County Superintendent Diana Greene was at the game, and calls the shooting "unacceptable. This is a community issue. I need parents, students to stand up. If you see something, say something." Greene says she and school district officials will be discussing changes needed to be made to ensure the safety of all students. Florida Times-Union. WJAX. WJXT. Backpacks and book bags are now banned from Orange and Seminole counties high school football games for security reasons, district officials announce. Orlando Sentinel. Bag searches and metal detector scans are among the new security measures that were unveiled at high school football games in Palm Beach County over the weekend. Palm Beach Post.
School security: Legislators from both parties say the state should take another look at the formula used to determine how security funds are distributed to schools, especially small independent schools. Gov. Rick Scott also has asked the Legislature to revise a law to allow unclaimed money from the armed guardian program to be used for other school district security needs. But House Speaker-elect Jose Oliva, R-Hialeah, and incoming Senate President-elect Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, both say the money should stay in the armed guardian fund. redefinED. Ocala Police Department officials say they have clarified with Marion County school officials how to notify parents after an emergency at a school. School officials complained that they were prohibited by police from notifying parents for more than four hours after a gun was found in a student's backpack at West Port High School last week. Ocala Star-Banner. The Citrus County School District is scheduling training for students in the ALICE program, which stands for alert, lockdown, inform, counter, evacuate, to respond to school intruders. Citrus County Chronicle. Damien Kelly, the state's first director of Safe Schools, is profiled. TCPalm. (more…)
Redirection of funds rejected: Incoming legislative leaders reject Gov. Rick Scott's call to allow school districts to use $58 million in unspent funds for school security. Scott proposed uncommitted money from the armed guardian fund be divided up among the state's districts to hire more officers or use on other security measures. But House Speaker-elect Jose Oliva, R-Hialeah, and incoming Senate President-elect Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, both say the money should stay in the armed guardian fund, and that the program needs time to grow. Many school districts favored school resource officers over arming school employees or security guards, and didn't apply for the guardian funds. Associated Press.
Top court gets Amendment 8: An appeal of a judge's decision this week to remove proposed constitutional Amendment 8 from the November ballot will skip the appeals process and be heard by the Florida Supreme Court. The state had appealed the decision to the First District Court of Appeal, which immediately passed it on to the top court because "involves a question of great public importance and requires immediate resolution." The court has asked the state to file its arguments by Monday. Amendment 8 would allow the state to create an entity that could authorize charter and public schools outside the jurisdiction of local school boards. It would also set term limits for school board members and require civics education. Monday, a Leon County judge ruled the proposal "fails to inform voters of the chief purpose and effect of this proposal.” Orlando Sentinel. Gradebook. Florida Phoenix. News Service of Florida. (more…)
Amendment 8 appeal: The state’s Office of the Attorney General announces it plans to appeal a Leon County judge's decision to remove proposed constitutional Amendment 8 from the November ballot. Judge John Cooper ruled that the amendment, which would allow the Legislature to create an organization to authorize charter schools, set term limits for school board members and require civics education in schools, is "misleading" because it doesn't inform voters of its true purpose. News Service of Florida. Orlando Sentinel. WFSU. Four former Florida legislators start a group, Save My Constitution, that's calling on voters to reject all eight of the constitutional amendments proposed by the Constitution Revision Commission. They say the proposals are "confusing" and "misleading." Tallahassee Democrat. News Service of Florida.
Redirecting funds: Gov. Rick Scott wants legislators to allow school districts to use money that was set aside to arm school employees for other school security measures. Lawmakers allocated $67 million to arm school employees but only 24 of the 67 districts were interested, so only about $9.4 million has been used. Scott wants the remaining funds to be distributed among districts, prorated by enrollment, for any school security expenses. News Service of Florida. WLRN. Florida Politics. (more…)
Storm funds unspent: Florida received $84.5 million from the federal government to assist in the recovery of schools affected by the 2017 hurricanes, but hasn't spent any of it, according to Jason Botel, principal deputy assistant secretary in the U.S. Education Department’s Office of Elementary and Secondary Education. The grants were made through the Immediate Aid to Restart School Operations program to help Florida schools, colleges and universities recover from hurricanes Harvey and Irma. Puerto Rico, hammered by Hurricane Maria, received the most at $589 million, while Florida, Texas, California, Georgia and the U.S. Virgin Islands also were awarded aid for natural disasters. Politico.
First school day: Reports from schools around the state, as more than 40 districts begin their school year. Sun-Sentinel. Orlando Sentinel. Palm Beach Post. Florida Times-Union. Tampa Bay Times. Tampa Bay Times. Lakeland Ledger. Bradenton Herald. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Ocala Star-Banner. Gainesville Sun. Tallahassee Democrat. Daytona Beach News-Journal. Northwest Florida Daily News. Citrus County Chronicle. WFSU. WTXL. The Escambia County School District adopts a policy that prohibits parents from walking their children into their classrooms after tomorrow. Pensacola News Journal. Flashing school zone signals in front of the now-closed Eagle Arts Academy confused Palm Beach County drivers on Monday. County officials say it will take a couple of days to deactivate the signals. Palm Beach Post. (more…)
Teacher of the year: Joy Prescott, a 4th-grade math teacher at Pemayetv Emahakv Charter School in Glades County, is named Florida teacher of the year. She wins $20,000 and will be the state's Christa McAuliffe Ambassador for Education for the next year. The other finalists were Kyle Dencker, a computer science teacher at Timber Creek High School in Orange County; Samantha Neff, a math coach at Idyllwilde Elementary School in Seminole County; Patrick Farley, a 3rd- and 4th-grade gifted teacher at Crystal Lake Elementary School in Martin County; and Molly Winters Diallo, a social science teacher at Alonzo and Tracy Mourning Senior High School in Miami-Dade County. Each wins $15,000. Orlando Sentinel. Florida Department of Education.
School security: Only 35 of the 140 applicants for armed guardians jobs in Broward County schools pass the first screening test. The district says it needs to hire at least 80. Fort Lauderdale City Manager Lee Feldman says based on his experience with his city’s police department, only about five of those 35 candidates will survive further screenings. He says most candidates fail the psychological tests. Sun-Sentinel. Only 24 of the eventual 107 school safety assistants will be in Duval County classrooms when students return to schools Aug. 13 because of hiring and training delays, say district officials. Florida Times-Union. WJXT. Insuring each security guard the Brevard County School District will cost only $150 a year, says Mark Langdorf, director of risk management for the district. District officials say they need 28 guards, so the insurance premium will be $4,200. Florida Today. The Leon County School District's patchwork of protection for schools will test the state law demand that every school have an armed officer every day. Tallahassee Democrat. Lawrence Leon, the former chief of the Palm Beach County School District's police department, will keep his $137,732 salary even though his job now is patrolling Jupiter Farms Elementary School. Palm Beach Post. The city of North Miami Beach is partnering with the Miami-Dade County School District to place a resource officer in all schools located in the city. The agreement adds officers at the two elementary schools; the middle and high schools were already covered. WTVJ. Several of the 13 Manatee County charter schools still do not have a plan for school security. Bradenton Herald. (more…)
School grades improve: The number of Florida schools getting a grade of A or B from the state this year is up 2 percentage points, from 56 to 58 percent, according to the Florida Department of Education's annual report. The state also says the number of schools receiving a D or F dropped a percentage point, from 8 to 7 percent, and 96 percent of the schools that got an F last year moved up at least one grade. More than 3,200 schools were graded, and 1,027 received an A. Districts were also graded, and 53 of the 67 got an A or B, up from 48 last year. The grades are calculated with an 11-category formula that includes student achievement, learning gains on state tests and high school graduation rates. Florida Department of Education. Orlando Sentinel. Gradebook. Here are reports from individual school districts: Miami-Dade, Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Palm Beach, Broward, Duval, Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, Polk, Brevard, Leon, Sarasota, Manatee, Highlands, Lee, Collier, Lake, Alachua, Marion, Martin, St. Lucie, Indian River, St. Johns, Clay, Nassau, Baker, Hernando, Volusia, Flagler, Bay, Escambia, Citrus, Jefferson, Gadsden. No Florida charter school will be closed, since none received back-to-back F grades from the state. redefinED.
Ruling hits unions: The U.S. Supreme Court rules 5-4 that public labor unions, such as teachers unions, cannot compel workers who do not wish to join to pay dues to support for collective bargaining. Forcing dissenting employees to pay dues to a union is a violation of First Amendment protections, wrote Justice Samuel A. Alito for the majority. The case, Janus v. AFSCME, overturned a precedent set in the 1970s that allowed unions to collect dues for contract negotiations and other labor activities from workers who didn't join. You can read Wednesday's decision here. The 74. New York Times. Associated Press. Tallahassee Democrat. Chalkbeat. Education Week. Politico. More on the decision and the possible ramifications. The 74. (more…)
School tax hikes: Palm Beach County school leaders are considering giving charter schools a portion of the $150 million a year that would be generated if voters approve a property tax hike in November. Language that specifically excluded charter schools has been removed from the proposal, which the school board will consider today. The decision to cut charters in was made after legal action was threatened if they were excluded. Palm Beach Post. The Hillsborough County School Board agrees to ask voters to increase the sales tax to raise money for capital expenses. The request now goes to the state, which has to perform a financial audit. Superintendent Jeff Eakins also said he was looking into asking voters for a property tax hike, which could be used for teacher salaries and programs. Tampa Bay Times. Lake County commissioners approve a special school safety tax, which will be on the Aug. 28 ballot. Money generated would help pay for resource officers in all schools. Orlando Sentinel.
Science textbooks approved: The Collier County School Board approves the use of new science textbooks that were challenged by evolution and climate change skeptics. The vote was 3-2, with Erika Donalds and Kelly Lichter voting against using the recommended textbooks. Four people had lodged complaints against 220 items in 18 textbooks, alleging that they treat evolution and climate change as fact rather than theory. The new books will cost the district $1.7 million and will be handed out to students in August. Naples Daily News. (more…)
Teachers grade lawmakers: The state's largest teachers union, the Florida Education Association, releases the grades it's given to legislators. Most Republicans got F's, while most Democrats got A's and B's. The Senate grades are here, and the House grades here. The grades given were almost the inverse of those handed out in April by Jeb Bush's Foundation for Florida's Future. Unlike the foundation, the FEA calculated a grade based on the 2017 and 2018 legislative sessions, and also considered factors such as bill votes, committee work, lobbying and accessibility to union members. Gradebook. WFSU. Tallahassee Democrat.
Virtual schools: A study by the National Educational Policy Center questions the performance of the nation's virtual schools, saying there's "overwhelming evidence" they don't work. The report finds that virtual schools have high teacher-to-student ratios, huge enrollments and underperform academically. Virtual schools run by districts perform far better than those run by charter schools, the researchers found. Enrollment in virtual schools have been growing steadily, and is now up to nearly 300,000 students. T.H.E. Journal.
Higher education offer: Walmart announces it will subsidize college educations for its 1.4 million U.S. workers, who will have to pay just $1 a day for 365 days a year as long as they're enrolled in one of three universities - the University of Florida, Brandman University in Irvine, Calif., or Bellevue University in Bellevue, Neb. Walmart thinks as many as 68,000 of its employees could enroll under the plan. USA Today. Washington Post. New York Times.
