Education

Lawmakers and Gov. Rick Scott reached a compromise on $480 million in raises for teachers and other school workers.

The raises are part of a $74 billion spending plan for the fiscal year beginning July 1.

Districts will have flexibility in how the money is awarded based on local collective bargaining agreements.

Dr. Ken Atwater, president of Hillsborough Community College, has taken on a new leadership role as next chairman of the Board of Directors of the American Association of Community Colleges.

After being elected as the president of HCC in 2010, Atwater has taken his role to the national level.

The American Association of Community Colleges was started in 1920 when a group of presidents of various junior colleges got together to serve as a national "voice".

Florida Education Commissioner Tony Bennett says state leaders and lawmakers are listening to teacher concerns about evaluations.

The Florida Education Association is suing Bennett, the Department of Education, and a few school districts over teacher evaluations.

The Marion County School Board has voted to reinstate paddling in county elementary schools after a three-year hiatus.

The punishment comes with a few restrictions. From the Ocala Star-Banner:

The board ruled that paddling can be used only if a parent gives a standing written OK once a year. In addition, the principal must obtain verbal permission at the time the punishment is handed down.

As state budget negotiations continue, members of the Florida Senate have changed their minds about cutting $22.4 million in operating funds for Florida Polytechnic University.

Florida Poly Chief Operating Officer Ava Parker thanked supporters, and told The Ledger:

"We are focused on continuing our mission to develop Florida Poly as an applied research university that partners with industry and produces graduates ready for high tech jobs."

http://www.theledger.com/article/20130420/NEWS/130429984?tc=cr

The University of South Florida can finally compete with the state’s other large public universities that have law schools (University of Florida and the Florida State University).

The state's first law school, Stetson University College of Law, has joined with USF to offer a “3+3” program to students who want to earn a Juris Doctor law degree as well as a bachelor's.

The Pasco County school board has asked Superintendent Kurt Browning to come up with alternatives to cutting media specialists and literacy coaches to help close a budget shortfall, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

Board members don't like the proposed cuts, but say other solutions won't work either:

Board member Joanne Hurley said she was "not really comfortable" with the superintendent's plan, and did not want to approve a staffing formula that might hurt the proper levels of student support in the schools.

The Florida Education Association and National Education Association filed a federal lawsuit today challenging the constitutionality of Florida’s teacher evaluation system.

The system was created under a law passed in 2011 known as Senate Bill 736.

Shakira Lockett always got pretty good grades in school. That’s why she was surprised to find out she had failed her college placement exam at Miami Dade College.

Lockett spent a year a half taking remedial classes in reading, writing and math before she could start earning credits toward a degree. She finished her studies — but Lockett’s a rare case for students who end up in remedial courses.

National statistics show just 1 in 10 community college students forced to take a remedial course finish their studies within three years.

Just as it did last year, the Florida House has passed the parent trigger bill following much debate.

The bill’s official title is Parent Empowerment in Education.

It gives parents a say in what changes should be made to a chronically failing school.

Florida Atlantic University's plan to sell its stadium naming rights for $6 million to the private prison company, GEO Group of Boca Raton, turned from a profitable deal to a public relations nightmare as NPR's Greg Allen reported.

Students protested shouting "it's not worth the price" and the school's faculty senate approved a resolution opposing the deal.

More than half of Florida’s Hispanic and black students at state universities currently eligible for the state’s Bright Futures college scholarship would no longer qualify when new standards take effect on July 1, according to a University of South Florida analysis obtained by the Florida College Access Network.

By comparison, about 40 percent of white and Asian students at state universities would no longer be eligible for the scholarship.