Low graduation rates: Thirty percent of Florida's high schools were considered to be "low-graduation rate high schools" in 2014, according to a report by America’s Promise Alliance and other advocacy groups. Only Alaska and New Mexico were worse. Politico Florida.

Pre-K spending: Florida ranks just 39th in spending on pre-kindergarten, according to the annual State of Preschool Yearbook from the National Institute for Early Education Research. The state spends $2,304 per child. The national average is $4,489. The state's enrollment fell by 3 percent, or 3,744, from 2013-14 to 2014-15. Florida Times-Union.

IG urged for district: Broward County School Board member Laurie Rich Levinson wants the district to hire an inspector general to investigate fraud, waste and mismanagement in the district. An outside auditor made that recommendation five years ago after a grand jury report found widespread corruption and misuse of money. The idea was not supported then, but recent financial problems in the district led Levinson to suggest it was time. Sun-Sentinel.

Superintendent under fire: The St. Petersburg NAACP is calling for the resignation of Pinellas County School Superintendent Mike Grego, alleging that he has not taken responsibility for the problems at five predominantly black, failing elementary schools in St. Petersburg or come up with a plan to improve them. Grego says he has no plans to resign. Tampa Bay Times.

Charter debt forgiven: Newpoint Education Partners is forgiving the nearly $1 million debt it says it is owed by Windsor Prep Academy, according to a lawyer for the school. Newpoint was indicted last week by an Escambia County grand jury on grand theft and money laundering charges. The Pinellas County School Board will vote next week on a proposal to terminate the contracts with Windsor Prep and two other Newpoint charter schools in the county. WFLA. (more…)

Scholarships appeal: Three judges of the First District Court of Appeal hold a 50-minute hearing to consider whether the Florida Education Association and others have standing to challenge the constitutionality of the state's tax-credit scholarship program. The judges also must decide if there is a specific harm to public schools. No ruling was issued. The FEA says the program diverts money from public schools. The state says the plaintiffs have no standing to sue because no public money goes into the program. Instead, companies make donations and get tax credits in return. A circuit judge ruled in the state's favor last year. Step Up For Students, which hosts this blog, administers tax-credit scholarships for almost 80,000 low-income students, and also the Gardiner Scholarships for students with disabilities. Miami Herald. redefinED. News Service of Florida. Politico Florida. WFSU. Associated Press.

Science tests moved: The statewide science assessments tests have been moved from March 27-31, 2017, to May 1-5, the state Department of Education announces. Administrators and teachers complained that with the earlier date, they wouldn't have been able to cover all the material the students need to know before taking the tests. Orlando Sentinel. Gradebook.

Magnet plan: Pinellas County School Superintendent Michael Grego says he's prepared to kill a proposal to start magnet programs at six failing elementary schools. The programs were announced last week as a way to attract new students and improve the schools. But leaders in the black community are skeptical that the programs would address the needs of the low-performing students already there. Tampa Bay Times.

Grade changes: Some members of the Broward County School Board are pushing the district to award A+ grades, just as they give out B+, C+ and D+ grades. A school district committee did not agree, and the matter will be discussed later. Sun-Sentinel.

Sparring in Duval: Duval County School Board member Constance Hall charges that she was followed after a board meeting in November by "someone" related to Superintendent Nikolai Vitti who was driving a dark SUV. At that meeting, Hall presented a letter criticizing Vitti for what she called disrespectful communication from the superintendent toward several board members. Vitti says his wife and chief of staff were in a dark SUV that night, but were not following Hall. Florida Times-Union. (more…)

Appeal over scholarships: The Florida Education Association and other groups will try to convince an appeals court today that it has the standing to challenge the constitutionality of the state's tax-credit scholarship program. A Leon County Circuit Court judge dismissed the case last May. Step Up For Students, which hosts this blog, administers tax-credit scholarships for about 80,000 low-income students, and also the Gardiner Scholarships for students with disabilities. Miami Herald. Tallahassee Democrat.

Magnets and race: The number of black students at A-rated Duval County magnet schools has dropped 10 percent in the past six years, according to the school district. Black students make up 44 percent of all Duval students, but 35 percent of applicants for A-rated magnet schools and only 29 percent of students enrolled in those schools. Some members of the school board are concerned, since integration was one of the primary missions for magnet schools. Florida Times-Union.

Testing cutbacks: Hillsborough County's decision to cut back on student testing has drawn the attention of neighboring Pasco County. School Superintendent Kurt Browning sent a memo to his communications director, asking: "I want to know how they reduce assessments and still meet the statutory requirements. Also, how do they give teachers the flexibility to determine what assessments will be given?" Gradebook.

Charters on block: The Pinellas County School Board will consider today whether to terminate contracts with four charter schools. Windsor Preparatory Academy and East Windsor Middle Academy in St. Petersburg, and Newpoint Pinellas Academy in Clearwater are managed by Newpoint Education Partners, which has had financial problems and was indicted last week in Escambia County on charges of grand theft and money laundering. The fourth school is Florida Virtual Academy. The schools enroll almost 1,000 students and take in $6 million in public money. Tampa Bay Times. (more…)

Charter company indicted: Newpoint Education Partners and three other companies are indicted for grand theft, money laundering and aggravated white collar crime by an Escambia County grand jury. Newpoint managed charter schools for 21st Century Academy of Pensacola. The indictment alleges that Newpoint and its vendors fraudulently billed the academy hundreds of thousands of dollars for supplies, equipment and services and laundered the proceeds through multiple bank accounts. In 2015, the school board revoked the charters of two Newpoint-run schools in Escambia for tampering with grades and misusing public funds. Newpoint also has had financial problems with four of the five schools it manages in Pinellas County. Pensacola News Journal. Tampa Bay Times.

Top teacher finalist: Donald Blake, a technical education specialist at Marchman Technical College in Pasco County, is one of five finalists for Florida Teacher of the Year. The winner will be announced in July. Tampa Bay Times.

School lunch laws: A proposed change in the federal school lunch program could cut off free meals for thousands of Florida students. The law now says any school with 40 percent of its students eligible for free or reduced-prices lunches can also offer free breakfasts and lunches to all students. The change, which is now before the U.S. House, would raise that threshold to 60 percent. Florida Politics. WJCT.

Impact of new laws: A summary of the impact of the state's new education bills on school districts has been issued by the Florida School Boards Association. Florida School Boards Association.

Crime in schools: Violent crimes and bullying are down in the nation's schools, according to a report by the National Center for Education Statistics and the Justice Department. "Bullying is down, crime is down, but it's not enough," says Peggy G. Carr, acting NCES commissioner. About 3 percent of students 12 to 18 years old said they were victims of crimes at school in 2014, and about 1.3 million students were suspended for at least one school day for violence, weapons possession or alcohol violations. Associated Press. Education Week. (more…)

Education bill signed: Gov. Rick Scott signs HB 7029, the sweeping education bill passed during this year’s legislative session. The law allows students to attend any public school in the state with an opening, lets high school athletes transfer and be eligible immediately, and gives charter schools a higher proportion of state money for construction. Miami Herald. Orlando Sentinel. Sun-Sentinel. Sunshine State News. Florida Politics. Pensacola News Journal. News Service of Florida. Politico Florida. Associated Press. St. Augustine Record. Here's a summary of what's in HB 7029. Pensacola News Journal. Here's a summary of the five education-related bills Scott signed. Gradebook. Small private, charter and Christian schools say the state’s education bill allows the Florida High School Athletic Association to prevent them from competing for state championships. Florida Politics.

Schools still going: Four financially troubled Pinellas County charter schools continue to operate even though its management company has apparently withdrawn. That company, Newpoint Education Partners, has been silent since it issued a false statement saying the company had been obtained by Alliance Ed of Florida. Meanwhile, parents and the boards of Windsor Prep and East Windsor Middle Academy in St. Petersburg and Newpoint Pinellas Academy and Newpoint Pinellas High in Clearwater continue to keep the schools going. Tampa Bay Times.

Recruiting success: The Leon County School District says it has recruited back about 500 students from private, charter and developmental research schools. It's a small portion of the 8,000-plus students who have left public schools for home-schooling, private and charter schools. Tallahassee Democrat.

Businesses and schools: Tampa Bay area business leaders are giving financial advice to Pinellas school principals as part of the Executive PASS program. The program operates in 34 Pinellas schools and in three other Florida counties. WUSF. (more…)

Testing review: The first two weeks of computer-based standardized testing have gone well, says Education Commissioner Pam Stewart. More than 672,000 writing exams have been taken by 8th, 9th and 10th graders. The next wave of online Florida Standards Assessments test begins April 11. This week, 3rd and 4th graders are taking handwritten versions of the tests. Orlando Sentinel. Rhonda Sylvia, a teacher at Blue Lake Elementary School in Deland, writes an letter to her students to remind them that test results do not evaluate their worth. WPLG.

Scholarship appeal set: The First District Court of Appeal will hear an appeal May 10 by groups challenging Florida's Tax Credit Scholarship program. The groups, led by the Florida Education Association, contend the program is unconstitutional and has harmed the state's public schools. A Leon County circuit judge tossed out the lawsuit in May 2015, ruling the plaintiffs did not have legal standing. Under the program, tax credits are given to companies that donate money to help pay for low-income children to attend private schools. Step Up For Students, which hosts this blog, helps administer the state's tax credit scholarships. News Service of Florida.

Blue-haired dilemma: A 12-year-old Orlando girl who dyed her hair blue for a part in a school play has been told by a dean to change it back to her natural hair color by Friday or face suspension. Erin Shaffer helped her daughter Olivia dye her hair to play the part of an eel in the Discovery Middle School's production of Little Mermaid. WPLG. WKMG.

Financial challenges: The St. Johns County School Board discusses the financial challenges the district faces for the next school year. Even with a small increase in funding from the state, growth is straining the district's finances. St. Augustine Record.

Charter school debt: Parents of Windsor Prep Academy students are told the charter school owes about $1.5 million to its management company, Newpoint Education Partners, which was charging a management fee of about 18 percent. Alliance Education Services, which wants to take over management of the school, made the announcement at a meeting this week. WFLA. (more…)

Whistleblowers intimidated? Two students who complained about having unqualified substitutes for geometry class all year are being harassed and intimidated by the school's principal and the area superintendent, two teachers tell Palm Beach School Superintendent Robert Avossa. They say the principal, Cheryl McKeever, told the geometry students they don’t have a teacher because they ran off the job candidate. In a statement, McKeever says she was addressing the students as young adults. Palm Beach Post.

Teacher bonuses: Incoming House Speaker Richard Corcoran, R-Land O'Lakes, says he wants to expand the teacher bonuses program in the next legislative session. He says more money will be added, especially for teachers in low-income schools, and the program will be made permanent instead of proceeding on a year-to-year basis. Tampa Bay Times. Rep. Corcoran issues a survey to the 5,200 state teachers who qualified for the teacher bonuses, asking them how to improve the program. Gradebook. The Best and Brightest teacher bonuses are distributed in Miami-Dade. Each teacher who qualified receives $8,256.27 minus payroll and income tax. Miami Herald.

Pyrotechnics probe: Palm Beach County school officials will investigate who approved hiring a fire-breather for a pep rally Thursday at Atlantic High School. The act misfired and the performer's face caught fire. “When you put fire in a building, this is a problem,” says Superintendent Robert Avossa. Palm Beach Post. This was at least the third time fire-breather Ricky Charles has performed in Palm Beach schools in the past three years. Palm Beach Post. A new type of fuel and a lack of practice led to the accident, says Ricky Charles. Sun-Sentinel. Palm Beach Post.

Education bill: What was in the massive education bill that passed on the final day of the Legislature? Miami Herald. One thing not in the bill is money for City Year, a branch of AmeriCorps that places young adults in schools to help students one-on-one. Orlando Sentinel.

Money = results? Big donations to legislators didn't necessarily translate into big returns for the industries making the donations. But charter school supporters were among the winners. Miami Herald. (more…)

Education budget: Florida plans to spend $31.8 billion on education in the 2016-2017 school year. K-12 will receive $20.2 billion, an increase of about 2.3 percent. Per-pupil spending will go up by $71, an increase of 1 percent. The Legislature will vote on the $82.3 billion state budget Friday. Politico Florida. Superintendents in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties criticize the education budget. Pensacola News Journal.

Bright Futures: The state estimates that 100,170 Florida students will qualify for Bright Futures scholarships in the 2016-2017 school year. That would be a decline from 128,545 this year. The budget also will shrink by about $20 million, to $217.3 million. Orlando Sentinel.

New board member: The Florida Senate confirms Tom Grady to the state Board of Education. Grady, 57, is a securities lawyer from Naples, a former legislator and a close friend of Gov. Rick Scott. He's been serving on the board since his appointment last fall. His term ends Dec. 31, 2018. Miami Herald.

Board, superintendent meet: Duval County School Superintendent Nikolai Vitti says he has accepted an apology from school board member Constance Hall for insults she made about him in text messages. Vitti and the board met Tuesday with a facilitator to try to tamp down the tension in their relationship. Florida Times-Union.

Test participation: Student participation is an important part of the Florida Standards Assessments testing. But the Department of Education is reluctant to answer questions about what constitutes participation, beyond what is written in the state statute. Gradebook.

Evaluation complaints: Orange County teachers tell school board members that they're frustrated with the district's evaluation system and can't understand why so few teachers received the highest possible rating last year. Orlando Sentinel. (more…)

School transfers: School board members, administrators and coaches are concerned about proposed bills in the Legislature that would allow students and athletes to transfer to any school, and in some of the bills permit athletes to be immediately eligible to play. Orlando Sentinel.

Regulation-free bill: Palm Beach School Superintendent Robert Avossa supports a bill in the Legislature that would exempt a handful of low-performing districts from most state regulations, saying he “wanted to be first in line” for the program if it becomes law. Palm Beach Post.

Charter schools: Bills in the Legislature would make it easier for High Impact Charter School Networks to set up charter schools, especially in areas with failing schools. New rules would hold charters accountable, but also waive some fees and shorten the time between approval and opening. WFSU. A charter high school in Clearwater is opting out of its automatically renewing contract with its management company. Newpoint Pinellas High has a $273,000 operating debt and owes management company Newpoint Education Partners almost $500,000. Gradebook. Limited capital funds present problems for both public and charter schools in Northwest Florida, charter school supporters and critics agree. Pensacola News Journal. Are charters schools in northwest Florida justifying taxpayer expenses? Pensacola News Journal. The Orange County School District is appealing a county advisory group's approval of plans to open two charter schools. Orlando Sentinel. Teachers at the Lake Wales Charter Schools are being trained to teach their students computer coding, which will become a requirement. Lakeland Ledger.

Racism lesson: A first-grade teacher's unauthorized attempt to demonstrate racism backfires when a parent complains. The Minneola Elementary Charter School teacher separated children by eye color, and then treated blue-eyed students to hugs and candy for several hours while brown-eyed students got nothing. School administrators say the teacher is under investigation and call the lesson inappropriate. WESH. (more…)

Concussion study: A partnership between the Miami-Dade County Public Schools and the University of Miami to catalog and study concussions among high school athletes is resulting in earlier diagnosis and treatment, and a rich amount of data for future studies. The first-of-its-kind study has counted almost 600 concussions in four years at 36 public high schools. Miami Herald.

Sports and prayers: State Sen. Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg, thinks the Legislature should take another look at the issue of praying at athletic events. He referred to the FHSAA not allowing two Christian schools to use the PA system for a prayer before a football playoff game in December. Miami Herald.

Class sizes: Almost 74 percent of all Florida schools are now considered choice schools and are exempt from the strictest class-size rules, according to the state Department of Education. Legislation is pending that would tighten the definition of choice schools. Orlando Sentinel.

Testing and grades: The Citrus County School Board adopts a resolution to disregard the Florida Standards Assessments results for school grading and teacher evaluation. Citrus County Chronicle.

District reorganization: Palm Beach County School Superintendent Robert Avossa says a reorganization of the administrative staff will put more workers and programs into schools. Palm Beach Post.

Debate league: The Urban Debate League, in its first year in 18 low-income Miami-Dade schools, pushes students to debate their way to better grades and maybe a college scholarship. Miami Herald. (more…)