Still too broad, too shallow?

Somebody has weighed in with a detailed critique of the state's proposed new social studies standards – and it's none other than University of South Florida Professor Sherman Dorn, who seems to keep tabs on everything (see his much-read blog if you don't believe us).

Dorn likes some things in the proposed standards, doesn't like others and ultimately concludes: "Good grief, folks: 931 benchmarks? If that's not a mile wide and an inch deep, it's half a mile wide and two inches deep."

- Ron Matus, state education reporter

No lightning rods here

Unlike the white-knuckle ride over the state's new science standards, the comment period for the proposed new social studies standards has been smooth sailing. The deadline for comments is today.

Through Monday, about 7,000 comments had been submitted to the Department of Education, which pales next to the nearly 21,000 inspired by the evolution-embracing science standards. To read them, click here and here (there's one spreadsheet for the standards and one for the benchmarks.)

We confess. We only scanned them. But one comment caught our eye: "Every grade level should have Florida Studies!!!" (Would it shatter the Gradebook's objectivity to say we agree?)

The committee that wrote the standards meets again July 24-26. The final product will be presented to the state Board of Education in October.

- Ron Matus, state education reporter

Jeb Bush and Al Sharpton?

Politics makes for strange bedfellows. Edu-politics makes for surreal ones.

Among the backers of the recently launched Education Equality Project are former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and the Rev. Al Sharpton.

Launched a month ago by Sharpton and NYC Schools Chancellor Joel Klein (both Democrats), the project aims to "take on conventional wisdom and the entrenched opponents to real reform, focusing on teacher quality and pay; accountability for results; and maximizing parents' options."

Yes, that means tackling teachers unions, says Klein, who recently participated in Jeb's education summit in Orlando. Here's what Klein had to say when the equality project was launched at the National Press Club.

- Ron Matus, state education reporter

Florida PTA ready to rally against amendments

About 1,000 Florida PTA members will arrive in Palm Harbor on Friday for the group's annual weekend leadership conference. Their first order of business is to rail against Amendments 5,  7 and 9, three measures appearing on the November ballot that have proven hugely unpopular in the state's education ranks.

Amendment 5 would change the way Florida funds public education, relying on sales taxes instead of property taxes. "We're going to lose a lot of money for education, and we have no assurances that it will be replaced," Mary White, a Pinellas representative to the Florida PTA legislation committee, told the Gradebook. "It's absurd."

Amendment 7 proposes to allow public funding to support programs run by private, religious institutions. "All they're trying to do with that one is get around the Supreme Court decision that said 'no vouchers,'" White said, echoing a common complaint with this recommendation by the Florida Taxation and Budget Reform Commission.

Give gifted kids what they deserve

The Fordham Institute's recent report on gifted education didn't go unnoticed among leaders in Tallahassee.

"I agree with the underlying premise," said state Rep. John Legg, vice chairman of the House K-12 Committee. "The gifted kids are not getting the attention they deserve because the focus is being placed elsewhere. ... We're becoming the champions of mediocrity."

Legg tried to change Florida's gifted education laws so they would ensure all parents have equal access to information about course offerings and have all schools report how they spend their funding for gifted education. The National Association for Gifted Children applauded the effort behind HB 297, which died in what Legg called the "political crossfire of session."

He plans to revive the idea, noting it had bipartisan support in the House, at least. "It's the first bill I'm going to file if I get reelected," Legg told the Gradebook. "We've got it drafted and ready to go."

Following the Florida playbook

ORLANDO – Grading schools. Pushing charter schools. Ending social promotion. In turning around the nation’s biggest school system, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said he patterned many of his initiatives after those already underway in Jeb Bush’s Florida.

“The school reforms he pioneered in Florida are not just crucial for the state, but are models for the entire nation,” Bloomberg said this afternoon at the summit organized by Bush’s Foundation for Excellence in Education.

Elected as a political independent in 2001, Bloomberg quickly took control of New York City schools, a massive system with 1.1 million students and 80,000 teachers. In short order, the Florida-style changes he introduced led to improved test scores, a narrowing of the achievement gap and rising graduation rates – changes big enough to earn the district the prestigious Broad Prize in education last year.

But like Bush in Florida, Bloomberg has also left a trail of controversy and frustration. After the 2007 prize was announced, the city’s public advocate said in a statement, “New York City still maintains dismally low graduation rates, especially for black and Latino students, and the D.O.E. has failed to engage parents. If we are number one in terms of achievement, it’s pretty sad news for the rest of the nation.”

Jeb, vouchers, Martians and food fights

So where does former Gov. Jeb Bush stand on universal vouchers – the idea that all students should get vouchers? Ultimately, is that the best way to get more kids the education they need? We don't know.

The Gradebook asked the former governor at the Orlando summit yesterday, but Bush didn't say yes or no. Maybe Bush has answered this question before, but if so, we haven't seen his response.

We weren't gunning for a gotcha. The question was intended as a starting point: Will more vouchers mean more competition and more improvement? Does Florida have enough vouchers to maximize competition and improvement? Should it wait to see what more research shows before it offers more? (Are these reasonable questions?)

We also thought it relevant given that voucher opponents routinely bring up the Trojan Horse argument about Florida's current voucher programs, which are targeted to poor, minority and disabled kids. How in the world could anyone be against them? Because, opponents say, it's step one towards the vouchers-for-everyone that some folks do see as a solution.

Read on for Bush's response in its entirety.

- Ron Matus, state education reporter

Fossils and 8-tracks

ORLANDO - Speaking to a supportive crowd today, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings portrayed their often-unpopular visions of reform as the best path to modernizing schools that aren't preparing students for an increasingly competitive world.

"Our mission is to ... question these fossilized traditions," said Spellings, a leading architect of the 2002 No Child Left Behind Act. "Our education system is in many ways trapped in the industrial age. We are still stuck in a rut of six hours a day, 180 days a year."

Said Bush: "The world is much more interconnected, much more technologically advanced, and it is much more inter-dependent. And yet our education system is an 8-track system living in an IPOD world."

The duo delivered their remarks during brief, keynote addresses at a summit organized by the Foundation for Excellence in Education, an outfit Bush formed last year to attract a national spotlight to his efforts in Florida. Guests include dozens of influential policy wonks who believe more school choice and more high-stakes testing can help deliver a higher quality education to more students.

Gelber to Jeb: 'Good luck today'

Democratic Rep. Dan Gelber of Miami Beach just posted on his blog an open letter to former Gov. Jeb Bush regarding Florida's education spending and policies -- a sharp message that comes about 45 minutes into the big education conference Bush is hosting through his foundation.

"My hope is that your conferees spend more time engaging a critical evaluation of our public education system, and less time declaring successes that are illusory," Gelber writes.

He commends Bush on the national roster of speakers that includes some Democrats and independents, but he notes the featured speakers come from states that spend far more per student on public education.

Want to run a charter school?

Never mind that many counties want it to simply go away. The Florida Schools of Excellence Commission is looking to increase its presence throughout Florida.

The state agency, created by the Legislature in 2007, has announced it wants applicants to serve as co-sponsors to operate new charter schools. The co-sponsors must be able to (in the group's words):

• Handle administrative responsibilities as a charter school sponsor
• Develop and maintain charter schools of the highest academic quality
• Provide financial resources and staff to monitor and support charter schools
• Serve low income, low performing, gifted or underserved student populations
• Articulate annual academic and financial goals and expected outcomes for its charter schools

Already, the commission has approved 17 charter schools on its own, and joined with one co-sponsor - the City of Hialeah.

Now, there are those who argue that the commission unconstitutionally usurps the role of local school districts. Fourteen counties including Pinellas, Pasco and Hernando are fighting that battle in court. They want exclusive control, something that the State Board of Education only granted to a small handful of districts.

It looks like until the courts decide the matter, though, the FSE will continue on. So if you want to be a co-sponsor, you can find the information here. The deadline is August 1.

Jeb and Rubio together in Mickeyland

He's not on the official roster of speakers at former Gov. Jeb Bush's big education summit in Orlando tomorrow, but House Speaker Marco Rubio's Thursday schedule includes a noon stop at the conference, according to the schedule just released by his office.

Rubio will give "opening remarks" at the noon lunch inside Disney's Contemporary Resort. Not surprising, given his relationship with Jeb.

No word on whether the Disney characters will join...

Florida - A model for the nation?

When it comes to changing the education landscape, Florida leads the nation. It's tops in vouchers, charter schools and more.

Former governor Jeb Bush (who's advising GOP presidential hopeful John McCain) implemented many of the controversial policies that govern Florida's school system. Starting tomorrow, he is bringing folks to Orlando to hold up his handiwork as a model for other states to follow.

"My hope is that other states working to improve their quality of education can replicate some of the successes we have achieved," Bush told the St. Petersburg Times in an e-mail.

Reporter Ron Matus has written a full story on how many education policy analysts already like what they see. It got posted on tampabay.com earlier today. Check it out here.

Superintendents have concerns over ethics law

Florida's new educator ethics law takes effect July 1, and superintendents already have concerns that it goes too far.

What used to be known as the "seven deadly sins" that could get an educator fired becomes a 49-item list, and it appears to be retroactive, meaning any certified teacher with any long-forgotten criminal misstep (no matter how minor) could be targeted to lose his or her license.

The superintendents association is asking the State Attorney General's Office for an opinion on how this can happen. They also are looking to the Department of Education for a statewide policy to govern implementation, rather than having to create local rules that might not coincide from county to county.

"I understand where they wanted to go with this," Pasco superintendent Heather Fiorentino told her board, reporting from a recent meeting of the state's district leaders. "But they have gone past some of that. ... (The law has) deep penetrating consequences."

BOE: Budget cuts threaten progress

Sometimes, it's who bears the bad news that matters.

Members of the state Board of Education aired concerns about education cuts today, fearful that continued budget woes could undermine the progress Florida students are making in academics.

School boards and superintendents, of course, have been ringing alarms for months. But today's clanging was different: Nobody can accuse the 7-member Board of Education of being a pack of tax-and-spend liberals. Five members were appointed by Gov. Jeb Bush and one, Kathleen Shanahan of Tampa, served as Bush's chief of staff.

"I'm very concerned about the loss of financial support," board member Roberto Martinez, who also has close ties to Bush, said at today's meeting in Tampa. "I think this board has a responsibility … to be more vocal, starting today. This board has an obligation to use our bully pulpit."

Florida to feds: Give us flexibility!

Every member of Florida's congressional delegation is asking U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings (left) to support Florida's request for flexibility in how it meets federal standards under the No Child Left Behind Act.

This is wonky but important: No Child and Florida's accountability system look at FCAT scores in different ways, so they come to vastly different conclusions about which schools need the most help, and what consequences and interventions come into play. Under No Child, nearly 450 Florida schools could be forced to "restructure" because they have continued to fall short of federal standards.

Responding to Spellings' offer of more flexibility for some states, Florida submitted a differentiated accountability proposal to the feds last month.

That proposal "would allow the State to intensely target schools needing the most comprehensive reforms while providing more adequate, specialized assistance to schools that have performed relatively well but face remaining challenges," says a recent letter to Spellings that's signed by U.S. Sens. Bill Nelson and Mel Martinez and all 25 House members from Florida.

- Ron Matus, state education reporter

Does voucher amendment hide the ball?

Did the Florida Taxation and Budget Reform Commission stack the deck with Amendment 9 – which deals with both public funding for private schools and the "65 percent plan" – when it put this title over the ballot question: "REQUIRING 65 PERCENT OF SCHOOL FUNDING FOR CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION; STATE'S DUTY FOR CHILDREN'S EDUCATION"?

Voucher opponents, who filed suit against Amendments 7 and 9 this morning in Tallahassee (see the St. Petersburg Times story on that here), say yes.

"A more neutral title that did not seek to capitalize on the perceived popularity of setting a 65% floor on funding for classroom instruction while 'hiding the ball' about the voucher proposal would have identified both of the proposals in the same way," the plaintiffs argue in another document filed this morning.

"For example, it might have identified only the general subject matter of both: 'Allocation of school district funding; state's duty for children's education.' Or, the TBRC could have written a title that described the chief purpose of both proposals: 'Requiring 65 percent of school funding for classroom instruction; allowing state funding of private schools.' "

To see the lawsuit, click here. To see related court filings, click here, here and here.

- Ron Matus, state education reporter

Crist signs law creating state college system

Gov. Charlie Crist traveled west to Niceville this afternoon and signed into law the bill (SB 1716) that turns several community colleges including St. Petersburg College into "state colleges," part of a pilot aimed at increasing access to four-year degrees.

Crist signed the legislation while visiting Okaloosa-Walton College in Niceville, the district of incoming House Speaker Ray Sansom and one of the CC's-turned-state colleges. The legislation establishes the Florida College System and allows, under certain conditions, all 28 community colleges to offer four-year bachelor's degrees in more academic areas than previously allowed. Tuition costs for the degrees are required to be lower than those earned at Florida’s state universities. 

"By creating the Florida College System, we are providing Floridians more opportunities to earn a wide variety of four-year degrees," Crist said.

Guv signs "disappointing" cut to certification program

The governor doesn't much like it, but he's signing it anyway.

Gov. Charlie Crist has signed HB 5083, which guts the incentive program for teachers who earn National Board Certification by eliminating the 10 percent bonus for certified teachers who mentor other educators. The legislation also does away with 90 percent of the money that helped teachers pay for the application fee, and $150 for preparation of a portfolio.

In his letter to Secretary of State Kurt Browning, Crist called the cuts "disappointing." The changes, he wrote, "serve to limit new participants to those who can afford the $2,500 to apply." He goes on to say he looks forward to working with lawmakers next year to "reinstate these components" that HB 5083 cuts.

He also signed the law (HB 669) banning K-12 school bullying and another (HB 7105) creating a distance learning fee for universities. Also signed into law: The bill (HB 7067) expanding Florida's Virtual Schools program, and the legislation (SB 186) creating USF Polytechnic in Lakeland.

Tricks and chicanery

Putting vouchers and the 65 percent plan in the same constitutional amendment is "just plain wrong," House Minority Leader Dan Gelber, D-Miami Beach, writes on his blog today in response to this morning's poll results. The poll found Florida voters were leaning against one of the voucher amendments proposed by the Taxation and Budget Reform Commission but leaning towards the other - with the difference being that the second one is hitched to an initiative, widely derided as a gimmick, that would require schools to spend at least 65 percent of their budgets in the classroom.

"While I recognize that Governor Bush (the invisible hand responsible for the measure) and others may be honestly passionate about school vouchers, it is less than honest and unbecoming for those given power and a public trust to intentionally try to trick voters," Gelber writes. "If former Governor Bush believes he is right on the merits and on principle, then he should support putting the measure up for a fair debate and an up or down vote, rather than resorting to chicanery to prevail."

Stay tuned. The latest round in The Great Florida Voucher Battle is just beginning to heat up ...

Poll: Voucher support hinges on class spending

A new Quinnipiac University poll shows that 55 percent of Floridians oppose tax-supported school vouchers on their own.

But the support rises to 63 percent in favor of vouchers if they are tied to a proposed requirement (to appear on November's ballot) that 65 percent of schools' budgets be spent in classrooms.

Quinnipiac polled 1,625 Florida voters from May 27 to June 1 with a margin of error of +/- 2.4 percentage points. The poll also found 61 percent of Floridians approve of the job Gov. Charlie Crist, former education commissioner, is doing.

Guv signs middle school P.E., ponders other bills

Gov. Charlie Crist is back in St. Petersburg today, Thurgood Marshall Middle School to be precise, to sign into law the bill (SB 610) that expands the state's year-old physical education requirement from public elementary schools to middle schools.

Meanwhile, a few other important pieces of education legislation await his John Hancock, having been sent to his desk Friday. He has until June 14 to sign them into law, or not.

There's HB 5083, which would do away with the 10 percent bonus now given to teachers who get National Board Certification and then mentor fellow teachers. Teachers would still get a 10 percent bonus just for getting certified, but only for up to a decade. Lawmakers cut the $88-million annual program to $55-million.

HB 7105 would establish a fee for students taking colleges' distance learning (i.e. online) courses, but not to exceed the cost of actually delivering the online material.

HB 669 would officially ban school bullying and require schools to set up anti-bully policies. And HB 7067 would expand the state's Virtual Schools program for K-8, and require school districts to offer the virtual program to its students.

They can't get worse

As we wait for folks to comment on the state's proposed new social studies standards – which just came out about a week ago – it's worth noting the current ones didn't get much love, at least not from the Fordham Institute, at least not in history.

In this 2003 report, Fordham (the same group that gave Florida an F for its old science standards) gave Florida a D for its U.S. history standards, saying they weren't complete, specific or organized enough. The report singled out the standards' treatment of slavery as an example: "Slavery is mentioned in benchmarks on the Civil War, but none of the earlier topics include the origins of slavery in the seventeenth century or the development of the slave economy in the South after the Revolution – a subject at the heart of Florida history."

In 2006, Florida's world history standards got clanged even worse in this report (go to page 59 to see Florida's grades, subject by subject). "Anything but illuminating," the report said. "Florida seems to believe that all of world history, from ‘the beginning of time' to ‘Western and Eastern civilizations since the Renaissance,' can be reduced to 21 bullet points on a single page."

Okay then. The proposed new standards encompass American history, world history, geography, economics and civics. You can comment on-line about them through July 16.

- Ron Matus, state education reporter

Is Bright Futures at odds with state's economic plans?

Bright Futures is one of the hottest political potatoes around the Capitol, with lawmakers saying the scholarship program is vital to ensuring more educated students graduate into Florida's increasingly high-tech workforce needs.

But an FSU researcher presenting his studies at an annual conference this week says the GPA requirements for keeping the scholarship all four years might encourage students to pick "easier" degree programs - think English or philosophy vs. chemistry or engineering. And that won't necessarily help Florida become the biotech research hub lawmakers talked about all session.

Don't know much about history?

Fresh off a hot debate over its science standards, the Florida Department of Education has issued a new set of social studies standards for public review. Like its other proposals to update the state curriculum, the DOE turned to experts in the field to help revise the guiding principles for what kids should know in history, geography, economics, civics and more.

Will the recommendations cause a stir in the way that the use of the word "evolution" did when it came to the science standards? Religion does appear in the history proposal, but it would be pretty tough to discuss the world's past without talking about the role of the major religious movements, now, wouldn't it? Imagine a lesson on the Crusades without mentioning the church, for instance.

Only time will tell whether the social studies suggestions rate an A or an F with the public. The state is accepting comments through July 16. To see the standards, click here.

(Image, 2nd Crusade council at Jerusalem, from Crusades picture catalog at Boise State University)

Yes, Florida may change grad rate formula

Florida Education Commissioner Eric J. Smith does intend to ask the state Board of Education to remove GEDs from Florida’s graduation rate, Department of Education spokesman Tom Butler confirmed in an e-mail to The Gradebook. We asked after a May 16 story in U.S. News & World Report raised that possibility.

"Removal of GEDs would more closely align Florida's calculation with that of the proposed national calculation recently discussed by Secretary Spellings and would be more consistent with (Smith's) vision of a next generation high school," Butler wrote. "He has directed staff to explore the necessary steps it will take to accomplish this and is hoping to present his recommendation to the state board at the next board meeting."

Butler said there are no more details yet. We'll keep you posted. In the meantime, to see how much GED removal would affect Florida's grad rates, check out this previous Gradebook post here.

- Ron Matus, state education reporter

Florida to change grad rate formula?

Florida Education Commissioner Eric J. Smith is considering changing the way Florida calculates its high school graduation rates, including the possibility of no longer counting GED recipients, according to a May 16 story in U.S News & World Report. The story focuses on the long-running national debate about calculating graduation rates and does not offer additional details about what may be in store in Florida.

The Gradebook has asked the Department of Education for more information, and when we get it, we'll pass it on.

Florida has been both praised and panned for how it calculates its rates – praised for having a model student tracking system; panned for counting GEDs. Even with GEDs, Florida's grad rate was 72.4 percent last year, according to the DOE.

- Ron Matus, state education reporter

Looking on the bright side

This year's budget cuts are bad, bad, bad. But there have been some bright spots in education policy, according to ENLACE Florida, a USF-based group that pays close attention to college readiness and access issues for blacks and Latinos. A new report from the group cites three: Gov. Crist's decision to join the American Diploma Project; the Legislature's moves to create a state college system; and a revamping of the grading formula for high schools. To see ENLACE's take on all this in detail, click here.

- Ron Matus, state education reporter

Jeb adds another big name to ed conference

Jeb Bush's education foundation just added another big name to the roster of speakers for its June education conference in Orlando.

U.S. education secretary Margaret Spellings will serve as keynote speaker at the Foundation for Excellence in Education's first annual national summit on education reform, Excellence in Action. She'll join Jeb's mom Barbara, former first lady; New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg; and Pennsylvania Sen. Anthony H. Williams.

Community colleges, coincidences

Did we miss the news, or have we all failed to connect the dots between two big plans to give community colleges more power?

First, there's the legislation to turn community colleges into "state colleges" with the ability to grant more 4-year degrees. Then there's the proposed constitutional amendment, put on this fall's ballot by the Taxation and Budget Reform Commission, that would give counties the power to raise local sales taxes for community colleges.

"It's not a coincidence," said Darryl Rouson, D-St. Petersburg, told The Gradebook today. "It's well past time that we have done something like this to increase not just funding of community colleges, but to increase the opportunity for citizens and residents to improve themselves through community college education."

Judge: Students have free speech rights, too

The Holmes County School Board must end its unconstitutional ban on students' right to free speech, Federal Judge Richard Smoak of the Northern District of Florida has ruled.

Smoak has ordered the district to immediately allow students to wear clothing, buttons, stickers or symbols in support of equal rights for gay people. Here's a telling comment from his ruling:

While many people, perhaps the Holmes County community disagree with the plaintiff, but I hope they will keep in mind that this is one of the most fundamental constitutional rights, that of the freedom of speech, and that we are not making up the law today. This law has been long settled by the United States Supreme Court for almost 50 years.

According to the ACLU's account of the hearing, Ponce de Leon High School principal David Davis "testified that he believed rainbows were 'sexually suggestive' and would make students unable to study because they'd be picturing gay sex acts in their mind. The principal went on to admit that while censoring rainbows and gay pride messages he allowed students to wear other symbols many find controversial, such as the Confederate flag."

Plaintiff Heather Gillman (shown above), a junior at Ponce de Leon High, has fought with the school over the issue, with the ACLU on her side. "Standing up to my school was really hard to do," she said in a press release, "but I'm so happy that I did because the First Amendment is a big deal to everyone." For more on Gillman's case, see the ACLU web site here. (Photo from Defuniak Springs Herald Breeze)

Breaking up is hard to do

Florida has some of the biggest school districts in the country. Just think about it. Our state has 14 districts that serve 50,000 students or more. That's 21 percent of the 67 counties. Nationally, just 84 districts, or 1 percent, are that large.

In some of the biggest ones, including Miami-Dade and Hillsborough, talk has come up from time to time that not every community gets equal treatment in such a widespread system. It was not too long ago that Temple Terrace leaders looked into seceding from the Hillsborough district to form their own city school system. (They backed down after conversations with Hillsborough leaders.) Over in Broward County, the city of Pembroke Pines has created its own charter district to serve its residents.

Every once in a while, state lawmakers have explored the idea of allowing the state's largest districts to separate. The concept didn't come up this past session, but it did in 2006 and 2007. Now comes the Legislature's Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability with a report stating that the idea - though doable - poses complex legal, financial and educational challenges:

While research has not found that there is an optimum student population size for public school districts, several states including California, Hawaii, and Utah have made efforts to reorganize their large school districts. However, only Utah is currently pursuing school district division. If the Legislature were to pursue a policy allowing large Florida school districts to divide, constitutional and boundary issues would need to be resolved. In addition, several financial, legal, and other areas would need to be addressed, some of which may be particularly complex.

Legislative scorecard: The losers

Earlier we told you about the bills that made it to the governor's desk. Here's a list of several of those that didn't get through. We tried to be comprehensive without being overwhelming. Here goes. (Didn't provide the bill links. Why bother? They didn't pass.)

Class size – Though the Legislature did postpone classroom counts by a year in HB 5083, it didn't adopt Rep. David Simmons' proposal to make full implementation more flexible. The bill had the support of several education associations and school districts. It might return next year. (HB 7043)

Evolution – After the State Board of Education approved a new science standard requiring the teaching of evolution as a key concept in biology, the critics went to work in the Legislature. But the Senate and House couldn't get in sync, and the bills died. See our past coverage here. (SB 2692, HB 1483)

65 Percent – The idea of requiring schools to spend at least 65 percent of their operating budgets in the classroom has yet to gain traction among lawmakers. (HB 1463) That did not, however, stop the Taxation and Budget Reform Commission from putting the idea on the November ballot, paired with vouchers, of all things.

Dress code – Lawmakers might not like it when kids wear their pants so low that everyone can see their underwear. But they didn't muster enough votes to stop it. (SB 302, HB 335)

Governance – Senate president Ken Pruitt wanted to rein in the Board of Governors. He threw in the idea of having voters again elect the education commissioner, a House initiative over the past few years. (See story here.) But the House didn't bite. (SJR 2308)

Legislative scorecard: The winners

The Florida Legislature has finished up, leaving a long trail of education bills in its wake. School districts and the Department of Education will spend the next several months trying to make heads and tails of the measures that the governor approves. Here's our best review of the acts that look headed to becoming law. Later, we'll look at the proposals that didn't make it.

The biggie is SB 1908, which tackles accountability testing and standards. The bill includes the "world class" standards that House Speaker Marco Rubio sought but didn't get last year. It also deemphasizes the role of the FCAT in grading high schools, adding other factors such as graduation rates into the mix. It sets a later date to administer the FCAT, begins the process of creating end-of-course exams to supplement the FCAT in high schools, and bans the suspension of the regular curriculum to prepare for the FCAT. It's perhaps the one education bill that even Democrats liked.

Another key bill strengthens the penalties for teacher misconduct, a major issue statewide that's grown in importance here in the Tampa Bay area with the advent of so many teachers getting arrested for inappropriate relations with students lately. (SB 1712)

Lawmakers decided to expand on their physical education mandate, requiring middle schools to provide at least one daily class period of PE for one semester each year. (Families can opt out if they wish.) And in a slap to elementary schools that seemed not to understand that 30 minutes of daily activity at the elementary level means "consecutive" minutes, the legislation makes that abundantly clear, to the annoyance of many educators who already feel under the gun to meet all the other state education mandates. (SB 610)

Despite complaints that the state should not expand vouchers while cutting public school funding, the Legislature expanded by $30-million a year the corporate income tax credit scholarships that give students tuition for private schools. (HB 653)

In a budget enabling bill, lawmakers gutted the merit pay program that teachers like best. They eliminated state payments for application for National Board certification, and cut funding for the National Board certified teachers' mentoring bonus. The bill also delays implementation of classroom counts for class-size amendment by one year, reduces the local capital outlay millage by 0.25 mills and requires districts to reuse building designs. (HB 5083)

And proving the third time is indeed a charm, the Senate finally allowed through an anti-bullying bill that requires schools to ban harassment of students. (HB 669)

But wait. There's more.

Senate passes vouchers, now to House

Sen. Don Gaetz just released one piece of his education reform "train," the provision expanding the state's corporate income tax scholarship program by $30-million, to $118-million a year. But it still includes a provision the House leadership opposes, which could doom its passage in the session that ends just hours from now.

The Senate vote for HB653 was 29-11, with most Democrats opposed -- even though incoming Minority Leader Al Lawson, a member of the black caucus, urged his party members to support the bill that he says helps poor minority students.

"It gives some poor kids an opportunity to be successful in life," said Lawson, D-Tallahassee. "This is not going to hurt the funding of public schools. The only thing we're trying to do is give some kid an opportunity he might not have."

The version that passed the Senate gives a $200-per-student incentive to private schools that administer the state's FCAT exam, on top of the $3,950 corporate scholarship to students. But the House is likely to take the FCAT premium off the bill later today, and then send it back to the Senate to take it or leave it.

UPDATE: The House took up the bill, amended it and sent it back to the Senate. Track the progress here.

Evolution bill nearing demise

The Senate, at Brandon Republican Ronda Storms' request, just refused to accept the House version of an evolution teaching bill that Storms has been championing all session.

That means the bill (Sb 2692) has to bounced back to the House, where members will be asked to approve Storms' more broadly worded "Evolution Academic Freedom Act," which Storms says is aimed at protection teachers and students who question and critique the theory of evolution.

Majority Whip Rep. Ellyn Bogdanoff, R-Fort Lauderdale, has said there is little "appetite" in the House for Storms' proposal. And session ends tomorrow, meaning it's slim odds this legislation will pass this year.

Senate OKs ed train, but will House embrace?

The Senate just voted 31-6, with Democrats opposed, for a "train bill" of education reforms that Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, created in this final week of the session. But House Republican education leaders' opposition to the last-minute train could result in the proposed reforms collapsing altogether this year.

Gaetz's bill that just passed essentially turns the House version (HB 7045) into one piece of legislation containing four different bills that had been sailing fairly smoothly through the majority-Republican Legislature. The proposals include financial and nepotism standards for charter schools, tougher ethics policies for educators, a more nuanced way of grading high schools, and a $30-million expansion of the corporate income tax scholarship program that sends public school kids into private schools.

The scholarship addition angers some Senate Democrats, who might otherwise have voted for Gaetz' proposal this morning. And Rep. Joe Pickens, doesn't want the educator ethics legislation to pass as part of the train. He wants it as a standalone bill, in what he says is respect for its sponsor, outgoing Sen. Lisa Carlton, R-Osprey.

Session ends tomorrow, so unless the two chambers can work out their differences - and soon - the Senate's approval this morning won't matter. Bills are dying, bills are dying...

The Senate just voted 31-6, with Democrats opposed, for a "train bill" of education reforms that Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, created in this final week of the session. But House Republican education leaders' opposition to the last-minute train could result in the proposed reforms collapsing altogether this year.

Gaetz's bill that just passed essentially turns the House version (HB 7045) into one piece of legislation containing four different bills that had been sailing fairly smoothly through the majority-Republican Legislature. The proposals include financial and nepotism standards for charter schools, tougher ethics policies for educators, a more nuanced way of grading high schools, and a $30-million expansion of the corporate income tax scholarship program that sends public school kids into private schools.

The scholarship addition angers some Senate Democrats, who might otherwise have voted for Gaetz' proposal this morning. And Rep. Joe Pickens, doesn't want the educator ethics legislation to pass as part of the train. He wants it as a standalone bill, in what he says is respect for its sponsor, outgoing Sen. Lisa Carlton, R-Osprey.

Session ends tomorrow, so unless the two chambers can work out their differences - and soon - the Senate's approval this morning won't matter. Bills are dying, bills are dying...

Ed reform looking shaky between chambers

Efforts to reform education with higher and more in-depth standards for teachers, charter schools, high school grades - plus a push to expand corporate income tax scholarships - suddenly don't look like smooth sailing.

The House passed the "Educator Ethics in Education Act" (SB 1712) pushed by outgoing Sen. Lisa Carlton today, but now Sen. Don Gaetz wants to tack that legislation onto an "omnibus education reform" bill that would also deal with charter school finances, the scholarships and the way high schools are graded.

Gaetz' train bill also would allow for end-of-course exams, and would establish the new curriculum standards championed by House Speaker Marco Rubio.

"I hope and believe the House will take up our bill," Gaetz said. "I don't think the differences between the two chambers are materisal enough that lawmakers ...would let the changes die in their laps."

But Rep. Joe Pickens said the House will not attach 1712 to anything, and he wasn't warm to Gaetz' train bill, which sets different standards for things like charter school finances and nepotism rules, among other things.

"It is not, nor will it ever be, in the scrum of other education bills," Pickens said. "Our version is acceptable. Theirs is not."

Educator ethics law passes

The House just passed the law, already Ok'd by the Senate, aimed at preventing misbehaving teachers from getting away with it and moving quietly from one district to another.

The Educator Ethics in Education Act (SB 1712) establishes a list of offenses that make someone ineligible for teacher certification, and it prohibits the state from giving retirement benefits to teachers who committed designated felony offenses against a minor.

Also, administrators who knowingly hide teachers' offenses could be punished. Sen. Don Gaetz, former Okaloosa schools superintendent, sponsored the Senate version.

Might BOG-ed commish die quietly in the House?

Gradebook hears the House leadership has yanked from today's calendar the proposed constitutional amendment reinstating an elected education commissioner and overhauling higher education governance, specifically the Board of Governors in charge of state universities.

If it isn't considered today on second reading, rules require that two-thirds of the House vote to bring up the bill (SB 2308) tomorrow on a third, final vote. But if the House can't muster enough votes, that leaves one of Sen. Ken Pruitt's session priorities in doubt.

Then again, as they say around here, nothing is final until sine die. And that comes Friday.

Chamber against ed governance overhaul

The Florida Chamber today released a statement expressing its opposition to the proposed education governance overhaul pending in the Legislature (specifically the House) -- joining the Florida Council of 100 and newspaper editorial boards across the state.

"We urge patience and encourage Florida ’s leaders to avoid additional politicization, complexity or separateness to the governance of our K-20 system," the Chamber said, urging lawmakers not to send voters the proposed constitutional amendment that would make the education commissioner elected and reduce the university system governing board's size and scope. 

The Chamber, stressing that higher education is "essential to the new economy and will be at the center of any comprehensive platform aligning Florida ’s future economic aspirations," also has formed a task force to develop recommendations for future higher education policy in Florida.

Scaled back corporate voucher bill heads to House

A scaled-down version of Tampa Rep. Trey Traviesa's corporate income tax scholarship bill cleared its final House stop this afternoon and is headed to the floor for a full vote. The Senate takes up the companion bill for private school vouchers, by Sen. Don Gaetz, this week.

Traviesa originally wanted to increase the maximum amount of scholarships by $30-million every year for five years until the pot of money reached $238-million. Each student could get $3,950 a year for a private school, compared to more than $7,000 the state spends per public school student.

The bill that cleared the House council this afternoon , with 6 Democrats  dissenting, allows only one $30-million increase, from $88-million currently to $118-million, for next year.

Longer school days the wave of the future?

Obviously, Florida lawmakers won't be talking about the need for a longer school day while school budgets are being sliced and diced, as today's St. Petersburg Times story points out. But once the crisis is over (whenever that is) don't be surprised if that issue is pulled from the margins into the mainstream.

"Once we sort of figure out how we're navigating this budget crunch, the education ideas (like a longer school day) are going to become more prominent," House Minority Leader Dan Gelber, D-Miami Beach, told the Gradebook. "That's an idea that obviously ought to be included. It's a fairly significant change that I believe would significantly help our education system."

Outside of Florida, there are signs of traction. Last fall, a coalition of education foundations formed the National Center on Time & Learning, and groups from Education Sector to the Center for American Progress have been debating the idea, driven in large part by the belief that more time on task could be especially helpful to poor and minority kids.

"One of the fallouts of No Child Left Behind … is people are noticing we're making very little progress on the achievement gap," said Christopher Gabrieli, who was quoted in today's Times story and has written a book on longer school days, "Time to Learn," which is due out next month.

He pointed specifically at efforts to boost literacy. Schools know better than ever how to teach the fundamentals of reading to struggling students, but it takes practice and context to make a love for reading take root. Schools "literally don't have enough time," he said.

- Ron Matus, state education reporter (13th Hour Clock image from Harriet Carter.com)

Business partners honored

We hear it all the time: Schools can't do it all alone. They need kids who care, parents who participate, community support. Business partners play a key role, donating money and supplies, allowing their employees to volunteer in schools, and more.

Late last week, Florida Education Commissioner Eric J. Smith announced the state's top business partners for 2008. "The support of these businesses is having a direct impact on the educational advancement of Florida's students," Smith said in a release. "I applaud them for taking such a vested interest in the lives of our children and ensuring their continued progress towards a bright and successful future."

The Tampa Bay area honorees were: Bright House Networks and Chick-fil-a in Hernando; KB Home, Tampa Tribune-News in Education and World of Westchase in Hillsborough; Connerton Community Council and Dade Trolley Tours in Pasco; and Family Resources Inc., First Advantage Corp. and Morton Plant Mease Health Care in Pinellas.

To see the full list of Commissioner's Business Recognition Award recipients, click here. To learn more about how businesses can participate in education, click here.

Here’s a radical idea: More school

Finally, someone's talking about the elephant in the room: The need for a longer school day.

Rep. David Simmons, R-Altamonte Springs, raised the subject this week during committee debate on a bill mandating 30 consecutive minutes of PE for elementary and middle school kids. Out of frustration, the chairman of the House 21st Century Competitiveness Council may have offered the quote of the week: "We are, in fact, trying to shove 25 pounds of sugar into a 5-pound sack."

In an interview with The Gradebook, Simmons went further. Now that a solid accountability system is in place, Florida needs two more things to make its schools among the best in the nation, he said: A longer school day and better teacher pay. "Sometimes the solution to many of these problems in education is not rocket science," Simmons said. "The fact of it is, the children in Florida schools have too much to learn in too little a time."

Simmons said the Legislature's 1991 decision to shorten the school day as part of a budget-cutting effort had lasting repercussions. Florida’s 6- to 7-hour school day, he contends, is shorter than the school day in most industrialized countries. "I cant tell you we're pushing Third World here," he said. "But we're non-competitive."

National Board certification facing cutbacks

The House just voted 71-37 for a bill (5083) that education officials say will eventually do away with the state's popular bonus program for National Board-certified teachers by diluting incentives to teachers. The Senate passed a similar bill yesterday, with a 35-1 vote.

The legislation does away with a bonus for certified teachers who mentor other educators, as well as a $2,250 application fee subsidy for teachers who pursue the certification. The Senate version is even more controversial and opposed by the FEA because it limits the annual 10 percent bonus for board-certified teachers to one 10-year period.

About 10,000 teachers benefited from the program this year, at a cost of $88-million to the state. The changes would cut the state's tab by $41-million next year.

For previous posts on this subject, click here and