Corcoran chosen: Gov.-elect Ron DeSantis has officially nominated former House Speaker Richard Corcoran for the job of education commissioner. Corcoran is a staunch supporter of school choice, vouchers and charter schools, and former Senate president Don Gaetz says Corcoran could become the "most disruptive education reformer in our state's history." Politically liberal groups and traditional public schools advocates are reacting negatively. “Richard Corcoran has a terrible track record of putting private interests over the needs of Florida’s children,” says Scott McCoy, senior policy counsel for the Southern Poverty Law Center. The State Board of Education will have to approve the appointment. Associated Press. News Service of Florida. Orlando Sentinel. Tampa Bay Times. Politico Florida. WUSF. Florida Times-Union. Tallahassee Democrat. Florida Politics. WJXT. Florida Phoenix. DeSantis' 41-person education transition committee includes, among others, state Board of Education chairwoman Marva Johnson, Florida State University president John Thrasher, former Brevard superintendent Desmond Blackburn and John Kirtley, founder and chairman of Step Up For Students, which hosts this blog and helps administer several state K-12 scholarship programs. Sunshine State News. Florida Politics. Gradebook.

Spending on schools: Spending on K-12 schools across the United States increased for the third consecutive year, according to a report released Thursday by the National Center for Education Statistics. Across the country, $678.4 billion was collected and $596.1 billion was spent in the 2016 fiscal year. The average spent per student was $11,841, but the totals varied widely. The District of Columbia, for example, spent $27,067 per student, and New York spent $24,717, while Idaho spent $8,258 and Utah $8,408. Florida spent $9,176, which was almost identical to the two previous years and ranks 43rd among the states and D.C. Education Week.

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Lloyd Dunkenberger / News Service of Florida

TALLAHASSEE --- Signaling that he will be open to the expansion of non-traditional school programs, Gov.-elect Ron DeSantis on Thursday said he wants former House Speaker Richard Corcoran to be the state's next education commissioner.

DeSantis, the newly elected Republican governor, said he will ask the state Board of Education to appoint Corcoran, who used his two years as House leader to promote the use of charter schools and publicly funded vouchers to send students to private schools. Corcoran would succeed Education Commissioner Pam Stewart, a veteran educator who will step down on Jan. 8.

“Richard is known as a no-nonsense reformer whose sole focus has been how best to support students, parents and teachers,” DeSantis said in a statement.

DeSantis, whose term begins Jan. 8, said the selection of the new commissioner to oversee a state education system, which has 2.8 million students, “is very personal” to him and his wife Casey, who are the parents of two toddlers.

“I know Richard will never stop fighting until every child in Florida has access to a world-class education,” he said.

DeSantis’ announcement to back Corcoran is in line with his campaign pledge to expand school “choice” options and to put more money directly into classrooms. He also wants the K-12 system to develop a curriculum that will teach students about the U.S. Constitution.

Marva Johnson, chairwoman of the seven-member Board of Education, said she looks forward to reviewing DeSantis’ recommended appointment for the next commissioner.

“He has the knowledge and experience to ensure continued success at the Department of Education and to protect Florida’s legacy as a national leader in education,” Johnson said of Corcoran.

On Thursday, DeSantis named Johnson as one of the leaders of a 41-member education transition committee to advise the new governor on policy impacting the entire education system, including public schools, state colleges, state universities and technical schools. Mori Hosseini, a University of Florida trustee, will be a co-chairman of the panel, along with Johnson.

Corcoran, a lawyer and Republican from Pasco County, secured the passage of two major education bills during his 2016-18 tenure as speaker.

In the 2017 session, Corcoran successfully advanced legislation to allow the creation of charter schools, known as “schools of hope,” near struggling public schools. Earlier this year, he backed a bill that created “hope scholarships,” allowing bullied students to use publicly funded vouchers to transfer to private schools. The legislation also expanded vouchers used by disabled students and students who are struggling readers.

Both laws are now being challenged in court.

In contrast to Stewart, who has nearly four decades as a teacher, principal and education administrator, Corcoran has scant direct experience in the education system, although his wife, Anne, helped create a charter school in their community.

Fedrick Ingram, president of the Florida Education Association, the state’s largest teachers’ union, urged the state Board of Education to conduct a nationwide search for a new education commissioner rather than endorse the selection of Corcoran.

Ingram said Corcoran has not made public schools “a priority” and “has expanded tax-funded private school vouchers and presided over a starvation budget” for public schools.

“His focus is privatization of our schools,” Ingram said in a statement. “As public school teachers and education staff professionals, we put students at the center of everything we do. Politicians can’t be a champion for students and at the same time be at war with educators and public schools.”

But former Gov. Jeb Bush, who led an education-reform movement that included the expanded use of vouchers to send low-income students to private schools, endorsed DeSantis’ decision to back Corcoran.

“Richard is one of the state’s most experienced leaders and has long been a trailblazer in education reform,” Bush said in a statement.

Bush said Corcoran “will fearlessly challenge the entrenched status quo” and “is a passionate advocate for expanding opportunity, especially for children most at risk.”

BOE and Corcoran: Gov.-elect Ron DeSantis reportedly wants to appoint former House Speaker Richard Corcoran as education commissioner to succeed Pam Stewart. But state law places the responsibility for selecting the commissioner in the hands of the Florida Board of Education. Will its members go along with DeSantis or, as they have in the past, conduct a national search for Stewart's replacement? Gradebook. WFSU.

Teachers back choice: More than half of America's public school teachers support school vouchers and charter schools, according to the annual survey by EdChoice, which describes itself as a nonpartisan, nonprofit collector of information about school choice policies in the United States. Fifty-four percent of teachers support vouchers, the survey found, and 57 percent approve of charter schools. The survey also found that 86 percent of parents were very or somewhat satisfied with their home-schooling experience, compared with 79 percent for private schools, 78 percent for charter schools and 66 percent for public district schools. redefinED. (more…)

Stewart resigns: Pam Stewart, Florida's education commissioner, submits her resignation effective Jan. 8 as rumors swirl around Tallahassee that former House Speaker Richard Corcoran is Gov.-elect Ron DeSantis' choice to replace her. Stewart has been education commissioner since 2013. She announced last year that she would retire when Gov. Rick Scott left office. But two months ago, the Florida Board of Education asked her to stay another year and she agreed. Tuesday, in her resignation letter, Stewart wrote: "There has never been a better time to be a student in Florida, which makes it a good time to hand over the reins so that someone can take our students to the next level of opportunity and success." News Service of Florida. Orlando Sentinel. Gradebook. Politico Florida. Florida Phoenix.

Superintendent selection: Manatee County School Board members are interested in erasing the word interim from the title of Superintendent Cynthia Saunders. They say they've been impressed with how Saunders has handled several crises since stepping in for the departed Diana Greene, and will draft a contract extension for her that they hope to vote on Dec. 11. Bradenton Herald. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. (more…)

Schools of Hope: The Florida Department of Education is looking for a financial partner to provide loans to build charter schools near persistently struggling, traditional public schools. The partner would oversee the $100 million "Schools of Hope" loan program that was passed by the Legislature in 2017. The DOE expects to provide two loans a year to charter schools to build in areas where traditional public schools have received grades of D or F from the state for three consecutive years. Politico Florida.

Corcoran reaction: Reaction to the report that former House Speaker Richard Corcoran could be named the education commission by Gov.-elect Ron DeSantis draws strong reactions for and against the appointment. Former Senate president Don Gaetz says Corcoran, a fellow Republican and a staunch supporter of school choice, would become "the most disruptive education reformer in our state's history." Fedrick Ingram, the president of the state's biggest teachers union, the Florida Education Association, says "Richard Corcoran may be the worst possible candidate to lead Florida's Department of Education." Gradebook. Orlando Sentinel. (more…)

Corcoran as commissioner? Republican Gov.-elect Ron DeSantis is reportedly considering appointing former House Speaker Richard Corcoran, R-Land O'Lakes, to be the next commissioner of education. The staunch school choice advocate would replace Pam Stewart, who had planned on retiring when Gov. Rick Scott left office in January but in October accepted a request by the Florida Board of Education to stay on another year. It's unknown what effect the potential appointment of Corcoran would have on Stewart continuing another year. Politico Florida.

Teachers and guns: The argument for arming teachers and school employees gained credence when the chairman of the panel investigating the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School suggested it should be reconsidered. Despite that, many teachers and school board members remain opposed and say only trained law enforcement officers should be carrying guns in schools. Tampa Bay Times. Some school safety experts question whether the recommendations of a federal commission looking into the school shooting will carry any more weight than they have in the past. Education Dive. (more…)

Stoneman officials reassigned: Four administrators at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School have been reassigned in connection with the school shooting Feb. 14 in which 17 people died and 17 others were wounded. Security specialist Kelvin Greenleaf and assistant principals Jeff Morford, Winfred Porter and Denise Reed are being reassigned to other, undisclosed Broward County School District administrative locations, according to district officials. Sun-Sentinel. Miami Herald. WLRN. A long-awaited FBI report to the panel investigating the shooting doesn't mention what the agency did after receiving tips about suspect Nikolas Cruz before the massacre. Instead, it focuses on improvements to its public hotline. Sun-Sentinel. Politico Florida. WLRN.

Senate education leaders: Two longtime legislators with educational backgrounds and interests are appointed as leaders of the Florida Senate Education Policy Committee. Newly elected Sen. Manny Diaz, R-Hialeah, will chair the committee, and Bill Montford, D-Tallahassee, will be the vice chair. Sen. Kelli Stargel, R-Lakeland, is named chair of the Senate subcommittee on education appropriations, with Diaz as the vice chair. Gradebook. News Service of Florida. WFSU. (more…)

In his first trip to South Florida since winning the election, Governor-elect Ron DeSantis visited a Jewish Day school Monday where he spoke about the importance of expanding educational options and enhancing security specifically at such schools.

DeSantis visited Brauser Maimonides Academy, a Jewish Day school in Fort Lauderdale, where 80 students use the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship for low-income students. Step Up For Students, which helps administer the scholarship, publishes this blog.

“For his first trip to be focused on visiting a Jewish day school, talking about security and expanding school choice says an enormous amount about what his priorities will be when he gets sworn in,” said Rep. Randy Fine, R-Palm Bay, who attended the event.

Fine, who sponsored legislation in 2017 that provided security funding for Jewish day schools, said DeSantis highlighted security at the Orthodox school Monday. Gov. Rick Scott asked legislators last month to increase security funding for Jewish Day schools from $2 million to $4 million. This past spring, the Florida Legislature approved $2 million in security funding for 46 Jewish day schools.

Rabbi Yoni Fein, head of school for Brauser, said he was encouraged by the governor-elect’s visit. Fein said security is his own top priority, specifically “with the rise of anti-Semitism and the number of incidents that have happened on school properties.”

The number of anti-Semitic incidents in the United States grew by 57 percent in 2017, according to the Anti-Defamation League.

“There is a lot more we need to do to ensure we have the highest security possible,” he said.

At a roundtable discussion, DeSantis emphasized how scholarship programs such as the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship and Gardiner Scholarship for students with special needs are working and how there are many families who want the same choice, according to Mimi Jankovits, executive director of Teach Florida.

“Florida has the weather, low taxes and hopefully under the DeSantis administration we will build the best school system in the country,” Jankovits said.

Transgender fight: Dozens of Pasco County parents are calling on the school board to reverse its decision to allow students to use bathrooms and locker rooms that align with their gender identity choice. "Our gender is not assigned. We are created male and female. God is good," resident Harry Chamness told the board. The fight has focused on Robert Oppedisano, a physical education teacher at Chasco Middle School who has refused to monitor the boys locker room because he's uncomfortable watching over a student who was born a female but identifies as a male. He's asked the Liberty Counsel to protect his rights and his job. Superintendent Kurt Browning says, contrary to Internet reports, Oppedisano has not been disciplined for his refusal. Tampa Bay Times.

Board members sworn in: New school board members are sworn in and new chairpersons selected at districts around the state. Miami-Dade. Duval. Broward. Brevard. Hernando. Pasco. Lee. Manatee. Sarasota. Alachua. Marion. Leon. Volusia. Monroe. Charlotte.

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New security proposals: The state commission investigating the school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School has a 99-page draft list of sweeping recommendations to improve security at the state's schools. But panel chairman Bob Gualtieri says the immediate focus will be on things that can be done quickly and cheaply without requiring changes to the law, such as guarding open gates and better training teachers for emergencies. “We have to accept that we can’t prevent another one of these,” says Gualtieri. “It is going to happen again. The question is when and where, and the ultimate question is what have we done and implemented as quickly as we can to mitigate the harm?" Sun-Sentinel. Politico Florida. Nine months after the Feb. 14 shootings at Stoneman Douglas, in which 17 people died, few people have faced consequences for their decisions before and during the massacre. Sun-Sentinel.

27 fall ill at school: Twenty-six students and an employee at Cardinal Gibbons High School in Fort Lauderdale are hospitalized after reporting seizures, shortness of breath, headaches, nosebleeds and fainting Monday. All were treated and released a few hours later. The cause for the outbreak is unknown. “There is no rhyme or reason at this time,” says Stephen Gollan, a spokesman for Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue. “We really don’t know. It’s very, very weird.” Sun-Sentinel. Miami Herald. (more…)