Did DOE break the law?

House Democrats Dorothy Bendross-Mindingall (pictured), Shelley Vana and Keith Fitzgerald asked Gov. Crist in a letter this morning to investigate a slew of issues surrounding the recently-admitted FCAT flub, including whether any laws were broken. The test in question was last year's third-grade reading test - and state law requires that students who score at the lowest level on that test be held back in third grade unless they can show through a portfolio or some other means that they're proficient in reading. Because of the DOE's blunder - which will result in the re-scoring of 200,000 tests - it's likely that at least some kids were promoted when they shouldn't have been.

In their letter, the Dems credited DOE for "disclosing the mistake and taking action to help avoid similar problems on future FCATs." But they also said remain concerned that "it took the DOE a year to discover the scoring discrepancies after questions were initially raised." To see what else the Dems want, click here.