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Students, leaders celebrate robotics at Capitol STEM Day

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High school robotics students, Motorola representatives, and state leaders gathered in Tallahassee on Tuesday to celebrate the significance of science, technology, engineering and math education.

Co-sponsored by the Motorola Solutions Foundation and Florida FIRST Robotics, “STEM Day at the Florida Capitol” featured robotics teams from across the state, each a participant in national competitions.

Motorola Solutions Foundation Director Matt Blakely, Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera, Education Commissioner Pam Stewart and Department of Economic Opportunity Executive Director Jesse Panuccio were also on hand for a press conference.

The event began with a discussion of the value of STEM education in preparing students for success in the modern workforce. Later, attendees demonstrated student-built robots and solar car technology developed in STEM labs at the various schools.

“We are proud to see Motorola Solutions employees serving as volunteer mentors for these teams,” Blakely said. “They have helped these students harness their creativity, technical skills and research abilities to become successful robot-building teams.

Blakey added that STEM education initiatives in Florida show students how engineering and technology careers are “fun and more relevant than ever.”

Since 2007, Motorola Solutions Foundation invested nearly $2 million in STEM-related projects in Florida schools, as well as contributing more than $20 million and hundreds of volunteer hours to FIRST since its inception in 1989.

“Florida is laser-focused on being a global leader for jobs and a critical component of that must be the development of a talented workforce,” Lopez-Cantera said.  “We are proud of the work our students are doing to learn about what it takes to compete in today’s global economy.”

Commissioner Stewart added that STEM education is vital to ensuring students have the knowledge and skills they need “to thrive in a world where technology is more prevalent than ever.”

The high school students are members of FIRST Robotics teams that compete in robotics competitions in Florida and nationally.

“When Florida students excel in STEM learning, it improves their chances of finding success in the growing Florida economy,” Panuccio said. STEM education prepares individuals for the high-skill, high-wage jobs for the state’s burgeoning talent pipeline, he continued.

“Every day, students involved in STEM learning are adding knowledge and gaining experience that will serve them well in the workforce,” said Patrick Hermes, Northwest Florida Regional Tournament Director for FIRST. “Today they are competing in robotics competitions, but tomorrow they will be using this technology for the greater good, helping to improve healthcare, transportation, and even our nation’s space program.”

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Florida receives $15 million in AmeriCorps education projects aid

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In an upbeat conference call that included statewide education officials, including Department of Education Secretary Pam Stewart, and Wendy Spencer of the federal Corporation for National and Community Service said Wednesday that Florida will be the recipient of $15.4 million for AmericCorps-led education projects. The officials said that figure will be matched by local money bringing the total overall to more than $30 million.

“As Florida’s lead agency for volunteerism and national service, we are thrilled to announce this funding for Florida schools and students,” Volunteer Florida CEO Chester Spellman said. “We grateful for CNCS’ investment in the Sunshine State, and we appreciate the support of Governor Scott and Commissioner Stewart, who have truly been champions for education.”

Spencer led a presentation breaking down a slew of statistics related to voluntarism and Florida education, including how the new funding will be disbursed.

Among those bottom-line numbers were $6 million going to Volunteer Florida to be spent at the discretion of Gov. Rick Scott‘s administration, as well $5.7 million in competitively drawn-down funds for specific projects in Orlando, Jacksonville and Miami which include, per a news release:

  • University of North Florida—Jacksonville Teacher Residency: AmeriCorps members will use mentor teaching to bolster student engagement and increase educational attainment in STEM education in high-need schools in Jacksonville.  ($369,258 grant; 30 members)
  •  City Year Jacksonville: AmeriCorps members will provide in-school and after-school tutoring and support to at-risk third through ninth grade students, resulting in improvements in academic achievement, behavior, and school attendance. Members will serve in 10 high-need public schools in Jacksonville. ($1,120,568 grant; 100 members)
  • Teach for America Miami: Members will serve as full-time teachers in more than 35 low-income schools in Miami-Dade County to improve the educations for more than 22,000 students.  ($154,400 grant, 193 AmeriCorps members)
  • City Year Miami: AmeriCorps members will provide in-school and after-school tutoring and mentoring to ninth- and 10th-grade students, resulting in increased numbers of students staying in school and on track to graduate. The program will serve six high schools in Miami-Dade. ($776,530 grant, 67 members)
  • Communities In Schools of Miami-AmeriCorps Student Turnaround Project: AmeriCorps members provide tutoring, mentoring and wrap-around support services to increase educational achievement in five low-performing Miami-Dade County public schools. ($247,060 grant; 35 members)
  • City of Orlando — O-PASS: Under the Governor’s/Mayor’s Initiative, AmeriCorps members will provide in-school and after-school tutoring, mentoring, and wrap-around support services to low-income students resulting in increased education achievement levels for students. The program will serve 16 community centers and public middle schools in Orlando. ($404,305  grant; 32 AmeriCorps members)
  • City Year Orlando: AmeriCorps members will provide academic services that support students in improving academic performance and engagement at nine public schools in Orlando.  ($560,284 grant, 50 members), and
  • Operation AmeriCorps Orlando: Orlando’s Operation AmeriCorps program, one of just 10 in the nation, will engage 160 AmeriCorps members during two years to provide in-school and out-of-school support to students and ensure they go onto one of five opportunities: college, military service, AmeriCorps national service, a job, or paid internship.  ($2,139,302 over two years; 160 members over two years)

Spencer in particular called Orlando a “big winner” amid the news. The city was was of just 10 out of 70 to win federal funding for projects based on a comprehensive submission led by city municipal and school officials.

Saying the news augured a “great new day” in Florida education, Stewart said, despite recent problems with standards testing a mixed bag of results in national rankings, “Our state’s students are ranked among the best in the nation, evidence that our investment in education is truly paying off.

“This is a phenomenal opportunity for Florida’s students, and I am proud for DOE to partner with Volunteer Florida and the Corporation for National and Community Service on this collaborative effort.”

The post Florida receives $15 million in AmeriCorps education projects aid appeared first on Florida Politics.

“It’s working!”: Executive agency veto statement round-up

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In the wake of Tuesday morning’s budgetary blood bath that left $431 million in state spending on the Rotunda floor, state senators have had a thing or two to say about Gov. Rick Scott‘s line-item veto spree.

So have the governor’s many boosters within state governmental agencies, who worked up prepared statements and sent them out into the world Tuesday.

Below is a selection of statements from the inside looking out.

Department of Education:

Education Commissioner Pam Stewart said, “We are fortunate to have Governor Scott leading our state for many reasons, but most importantly because he is determined to make Florida the best place to receive an education, get a job and raise a family. He has been a true champion for our state’s students and, as a result, our education system is receiving historic funding that will help ensure our schools have the resources they need to prepare our students for success in college, career and life.”

Marva Johnson, State Board of Education chairwoman, said,
“Thanks to Governor Scott’s commitment to providing Florida families with access to a world-class education, our education system has been funded at a record level and per-pupil funding has increased. In the blink of an eye, the students in today’s classrooms will be joining the workforce, and this funding is essential to ensuring they have the skills necessary to compete in a global economy.”

John A. Colón, State Board of Education member, said,
“I commend Governor Scott for proposing historic education funding and urging the Legislature to make it a priority. Florida’s students deserve the best chance at a successful future and the additional funding allocated to Florida’s education system will be vital in preparing our students to excel in whatever higher education and career fields they choose to pursue.” 

Doug Tuthill, president, Step Up For Students, said “I applaud Governor Scott and the Legislature for their commitment to making sure every student gets a quality education. The increase of $36.6 million for Personal Learning Scholarship Accounts will help fund specialized services for an additional 3,600 students with disabilities.”

Broward County Public Schools Superintendent Robert W. Runcie said, “We thank Governor Scott for his commitment to making Florida a leader in education. We applaud his proposal for per-pupil funding, and know that the increase in funding will help to provide Florida students with a high-quality education enabling them to compete in a highly skilled, global job market.”

Miami Dade County Schools Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho said, “Governor Scott understands that an investment in our students is an investment in Florida’s future. Thanks to his determination and persistence, education funding is at an all-time high. The increase of more than $200 per student will go a long way in providing students the best education possible.”

Department of Children & Families :

Mike Carroll, secretary of the Department of Children and Families, said, “This budget further demonstrates Governor Scott’s commitment to improving the lives of vulnerable Floridians. With these resources, we will have more tools available to support struggling families so they can recover and thrive.”


Tiffany Carr, president/CEO of the Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence, said, 
“’Family violence threatens child’ is consistently a top call to the Florida Abuse Hotline; to address this, we are pleased that Governor Scott recognized the need for services to protect families that are threatened by domestic violence. This budget will expand statewide the highly successful FCADV Child Protection Investigation (CPI) Projects, as well as provide additional DCF attorneys who will be able to seek injunctions that protect both the child and domestic violence survivor from a violent perpetrator.”

Shelley Katz, chair of the Florida Coalition for Children (FCC) and chief operating officer of Children’s Home Society of Florida, said, “We are very appreciative of the investment in Florida’s children demonstrated in this budget. Investment in critical core services, including the case management workforce as well as training stipends for students who want to enter the field of child welfare will yield great dividends for the vulnerable and at-risk children in our state.”

Agency for People with Disabilities:

Agency for Persons with Disabilities (APD) Director Barbara Palmer said, “We are very excited about the budget for the coming year. I thank Governor Scott and the Florida Legislature for their continued leadership and support of individuals with disabilities in our state. This is the third year that APD has received funding to serve people on the waiting list. This money will allow those with immediate needs to enroll into the Medicaid waiver. I appreciate Governor Scott’s confidence in APD and the people we serve.”

Family Care Council Florida Chairwoman Pauline Lipps said, “We thank Governor Scott and the Florida Legislature for continuing to reduce the APD waiting list of individuals with developmental disabilities across the state. We are grateful that an additional $40 million will serve more than 2,000 people in need of community services. We are also pleased that $1 million will go toward employment programs for individuals with developmental disabilities who need additional assistance on the job.”

Parent and past Chairwoman of the Family Care Council Florida Betty Kay Clements, said, “I am pleased about Governor Scott’s 2015-16 Keep Florida Working Budget and how it strongly supports people with disabilities. With $1 million for the Employment Enhancement Project, APD will be able to continue to support the employment contributions that individuals with developmental disabilities can make as they highlight their many abilities. Individuals who have received APD support for employment say they are proud to work and make a difference in their communities.”

The Association of Support Coordination Agencies of Florida Chairwoman Janice Phillips said, “We are thrilled with the 2015-16 Keep Florida Working Budget that provides an $8 million rate increase to waiver support coordinators. We thank Governor Scott and the Florida Legislature for this much-needed increase to these front-line workers who advocate for people with developmental disabilities. This critical increase will help keep these dedicated and diligent professionals out in their communities working to assist individuals with disabilities so they are successful in reaching their goals.”

Florida Developmental Disabilities Council Executive Director Debra Dowds said, “We appreciate Governor Scott and the Florida Legislature for their continued support to address the needs of Floridians with developmental disabilities. This additional funding will allow many more people with developmental disabilities on the APD waiting list to be offered waiver enrollment and to receive employment services so they may be independent and meaningfully participate in their communities.”

Department of Economic Opportunity:

DEO Executive Director Jesse Panuccio said, “Florida’s economy has experienced a remarkable turnaround under Governor Scott’s pro-growth policies and budget priorities. The ‘Keep Florida Working’ budget does just that. This budget helps keep Floridians working by expanding private-sector opportunities and gives everyone in our state a chance to live their own piece of the American Dream.”

President & CEO of Enterprise Florida Bill Johnson said, “I congratulate Governor Scott on the signing of his ‘Keep Florida Working’ budget. There was a great deal of work done by the Governor and Legislature to get this important budget passed, and they should be commended for their efforts. Economic development has become increasingly competitive across the United States and around the world. EFI’s business development toolkit is vital to the work we do to compete and share Florida’s business story. We know Florida has the resources companies need to be successful – a large and diverse workforce, an expansive multi-modal infrastructure, and unique access to global markets – but for Florida to compete for game-changing economic development projects, we must be able to provide the same support and resources offered by our competitors. We are thankful to the Legislature for their attention toward Florida’s job creation efforts, and I’m hopeful that our leaders will continue to prioritize economic development so we can bring more high-skill, high-wage jobs to our state.”

Tom Feeney, president and CEO of the Associated Industries of Florida, said, “Thousands of individuals and families across Florida have benefited from Governor Scott’s policies prioritizing job growth in this state. This budget continues the pro-growth initiatives put in place to increase opportunities for those who live and work in Florida.”

Mark Wilson, president and CEO of the Florida Chamber of Commerce, said, “The Florida Chamber thanks Governor Scott for building on Florida’s economic success by signing a budget that puts money back into the pockets of Floridians and positions Florida to be even more competitive in the future. While everyone doesn’t always get what they want, Governor Scott believes that growing the economy is the best way to grow Florida.”

Office of Early Learning:

Rodney MacKinnon, interim executive director of the Office of Early Learning, said, “Governor Scott clearly understands the importance of early learning when it comes to Florida’s future. It is good to see that our state will be continuing to invest in Florida’s youngest citizens and their families.”

David Lawrence Jr., chairman of The Children’s Movement of Florida, said, “While much more needs to be done to make early learning the priority it needs to be, I am grateful for the progress that was made and the Governor’s leadership in this.”

Matt Guse, CEO of the Early Learning Coalition of the Big Bend Region and chairman of Florida’s Association of Early Learning Coalitions, said, “The Governor’s budget means that early learning coalitions will be able to serve more children and families through school readiness programs. Providing early education to children and helping families get child care so they can work or get the training or education they need to be able to work is good for the communities we serve.”

Harry Duncanson, chairman of the Early Learning Advisory Council, said, “Early education and care benefit Florida’s youngest children and their families. More communities and more businesses recognize that quality early learning ties directly to economic development. We are pleased with the Governor’s continued recognition and support of early learning in Florida.”

Roy Keister, president of the Florida Association for Child Care Management (FACCM), said, “As a child care provider and as a representative of providers across the state, I am grateful for the additional resources that will become available as a result of this budget. Providers can serve additional children and families as a result. We are appreciative of Governor Scott’s investment in early learning.”

Ellen McKinley, board president of the Child Development Educational Alliance, said, “The teachers who work closely with our young children have a positive impact on early learners. Governor Scott’s budget recognizes the value of investing in those teachers. We are grateful for his support.”

The post “It’s working!”: Executive agency veto statement round-up appeared first on Florida Politics.

Ann Scott reads about manatees, wildlife to kids for Summer Literacy Adventure

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First lady Ann Scott read aloud to a group of summer camp students this week for the second stop of Florida’s 2015 Summer Literacy Adventure.

Surrounded by sparkling waters and native wildlife of Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park, Scott recited John Lithgow’s I’m a Manatee to a group of students from area summer camps.

Homosassa Springs, located in Citrus County, features native Florida flora and fauna as well as number of recreational and environmental activities. Ellie Schiller State Park is one of Florida’s best places to view manatees, many them cared for at the park before returning to the wild.

 “The Sunshine State offers so many exciting adventures in Florida’s magnificent state parks,” Scott said. “Children can find excitement in literature and I encourage them to take the Summer Literacy Adventure pledge to read as many books as possible during the summer break.”

Joining the first lady were representatives from the Florida Department of Education, the Florida Lottery and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Also in attendance were Sam Himmel, superintendent of Citrus County Schools and Eric Head, director of the Citrus County Library System.

The Florida Lottery donated books and snacks for the children.

“Reading and literacy are the stepping-stones to success in school and in life,” Education Commissioner Pam Stewart said in a prepared statement. “I want to thank First Lady Scott for her commitment to helping students enhance their reading skills.”

The annual Summer Literacy Adventure program attempts to keep Florida students excited about reading beyond the classroom.

Research shows children who do not read through the summer can lose more than a month of progress made during the school year. By encouraging children to read, parents can help ensure every child reads at or above grade level.

“I welcome First Lady Scott and the children to one of Florida’s outstanding state park gems,” Florida Park Service Director Donald Forgione of the Ellie Schiller Park said.

Students interested in the program can fill out a Summer Literacy Adventure Pledge online at 2015 Summer Literacy Adventure. First lady Scott will visit the school whose students completed the most pledges for the 2015-2016 academic year.

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Rick Scott talks education at DOE summit in Orlando

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In spite of a tough upbringing in a poor family, education helped Gov. Rick Scott get ahead, he told state leaders Wednesday morning at an Orlando education summit hosted by Education Commissioner Pam Stewart.

The governor next reviewed his educational platform for the audience at the Omni Orlando Resort, connecting it to Florida’s job growth.

“If we don’t have a great educational system we’re not going to grow jobs,” he said, “It’s not going to happen.”

Scott then previewed his upcoming economic development trip to Kentucky, briefly mentioning the ad campaign that launched Wednesday morning, which promotes the state’s progress.

During the Q/A session, Orange County Superintendent Barbara Jenkins asked whether the governor has a “PR plan” to maintain the state’s economic viability. Jenkins’ question came in light of recent independent studies confirming the validity of Florida’s Standards Assessment tests.

Educational leaders called for changes to the FSA, concerned that the resulting drop in school grades caused by the embattled testing system could discourage companies from coming to the state.

Scott said he has headed companies his entire life.

“We’re going down a path I believe in,” he said. “We’re going to have to continue making improvements and changes, and I’m going to have to sell the success of the state.

“A movement against the FSA began in Seminole County, where its proposed ‘Sunshine Solution’ moved the state away from the FSA towards other nationally recognized exams.”

Talking with reporters after the event, Scott and Stewart both waved off concerns about lower school grades.

“When you compare us to other states, it’s not just our numbers, it’s other states’ numbers. We win,” Scott said.

The post Rick Scott talks education at DOE summit in Orlando appeared first on Florida Politics.

Gov. Rick Scott requests $20M in tech center funding for 2016 budget

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Gov. Rick Scott said Monday he’ll ask the Legislature to add $20 million in funding for the state’s technical centers in his 2016-17 budget recommendation.

Technical centers are run by Florida’s school districts and colleges and train workers for various jobs based on the workforce needs of the area. Scott said the $20 million would be included as a “rapid response grant” to give the centers a bit more agility in responding to an area’s specific job needs.

“We know the workers of tomorrow are in our classrooms today – and advanced workforce training at our technical centers will help our students receive the skills they need to be competitive in the global market,” Scott said. “It will also attract companies to our state looking for a high-skilled workforce.”

Scott’s request was echoed by Education Commissioner Pam Stewart, who said the centers are a “critical part” of the state education system and that the $20 million funding boost would “ensure our state’s technical centers have the resources necessary to help even more students achieve their academic and career goals.”

Martin Carr, the executive director of the Florida Association for Career and Technical Education, also showed support for Scott’s plan and said his association is “very excited to be a part for the governor’s initiative.”

The governor asked the Legislature for the same amount of funding in his 2015-16 budget recommendation in January, but his request wasn’t included in the final budget passed during the special session in June.

Scott’s full budget recommendation, which he has been revealing piecemeal for the past few weeks, is due no later than 30 days before the 2016 Legislative Session, which is set to convene Jan. 12.

The post Gov. Rick Scott requests $20M in tech center funding for 2016 budget appeared first on Florida Politics.

State fires employee for scrubbing SeaWorld from website at PETA’s request

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A tussle over the website used by the Florida Department of Education has resulted in the ouster of an agency employee and an animal rights group’s questioning whether state education officials are buckling under pressure from one of the state’s theme park operators.

The department this month pushed out its deputy communications director after Jennifer Hartshorne approved removing references to SeaWorld from the agency website. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals in September asked the agency to remove SeaWorld from a department website list of fun field trips and discounts made available to teachers.

Emails show that several agency officials, including Hartshorne’s direct supervisor and an executive assistant to Commissioner Pam Stewart, were made aware of the request from PETA. The group is highly critical of SeaWorld for holding killer whales captive at its theme parks including one located in Orlando. SeaWorld has been under fire since the 2013 documentary “Blackfish” suggested the treatment of captive orcas provokes violent behavior.

Agency emails show that Hartshorne on Sept. 25 told PETA officials the department had removed references to SeaWorld. The decision went largely unnoticed until PETA heralded the decision in an Oct. 6 news release. Within hours, DOE reinstated the links after getting reporters’ inquiries.

Meghan Collins, the communications director, told The Associated Press that same day that the agency was looking into what happened. Collins acknowledged on Friday that although she knew about the PETA request she did not know her own employee had approved the removal of the SeaWorld references.

“I was aware that there was a request, I was not aware any action had been taken until we got the press release,” Collins said.

Collins, who called SeaWorld “a valuable education partner,” said that Stewart was also unaware that the SeaWorld links were removed.

Internal agency emails show that the same day that PETA hailed the decision a former top aide to Gov. Rick Scott who is now a lobbyist for SeaWorld asked the department about the issue. Collins, whose husband is a deputy chief of staff for Scott, also got emails from Scott’s office regarding SeaWorld. SeaWorld has donated to both political parties and previously gave $30,000 to Scott’s political committee.

Hartshorne, whose departure from the department was first reported this week by The Orlando Sentinel, was not available for comment. She had worked at DOE since 2013 and was earning nearly $59,000 a year.

PETA officials meanwhile blasted DOE’s decision to reinstate the SeaWorld links.

“The Florida Department of Education (DOE) did the right thing for the orcas confined to SeaWorld’s concrete tanks, and then, as most people would be disgusted to hear, politics played a role in the DOE’s reversal,” said PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman in a prepared statement. “We are again calling on the DOE to keep its word and pull the SeaWorld promotions now, because having a government educational agency supporting SeaWorld sends kids the dangerous message that it’s OK to abuse animals for entertainment and certainly gives the perception that the agency is being told what to do by those who can pay to play.”

Collins said that SeaWorld did not request any action to be taken against Hartshorne. A SeaWorld representative did not return a telephone call request for comment.

Republished with permission of The Associated Press.

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Ann Scott kicks off annual Literacy Week, Florida! tour

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Florida First Lady Ann Scott visited Tampa’s Strawberry Crest High School Monday as part of a Department of Education initiative to raise awareness for its literacy programs.

“Strong reading skills set students up for success in the classroom and beyond, and I am honored to have the opportunity to help our state’s students foster an appreciation for literacy,” Scott said in a press release. “As a grandmother, I cherish the time I spend reading to my four young grandsons and seeing their eyes light up as they are introduced to new and exciting stories. I encourage all Florida students and families to participate in Celebrate Literacy Week, Florida! by making reading a part of their daily routines.”

The celebration has a civics and citizenship theme and includes events such as travelling quiz shows and a statewide service project contest. The event is part of the DOE’s Just Read, Florida! Initiative and is sponsored by Florida Lottery, Scholastic, Legoland and the Florida Education Foundation.

“Florida’s students have consistently exceeded the national average in reading, thanks to the hard work of parents and educators who have supported them and made literacy a priority,” Education Commissioner Pam Stewart said. “With this year’s theme, ‘Literacy Changes the World,’ we combine the importance of literacy with the invaluable lesson of civic responsibility, and I hope that all of our state’s schools and families take full advantage of this great learning opportunity.”

The first lady’s weeklong tour will include stops at Cannella Elementary in Tampa, Tangelo Park Elementary, MetroWest Elementary and Thornebrooke Elementary in Orlando and Southside Elementary and Starke Elementary in Starke. The first lady has participated in the event annually since Gov. Rick Scott took office in 2011.

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ACLU urges Florida officials not to defy feds regarding transgender students

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The ACLU of Florida wants state officials to know that protecting transgender students is not only required by law, but “is the right thing to do.”

In a letter penned to Gov. Rick Scott, Attorney General Pam Bondi and Education Commissioner Pam Stewart, the civil liberties group writes that “we hope that you will recognize the experience of school districts across the country and agree with those districts that allowing students to use sex-segregated facilities that match their gender identity is the right thing to do to ensure that all Florida students, transgender and non-transgender alike, have access to high-quality education in the public schools of our state. “

The letter comes a week after  the Obama administration issued a directive for public schools throughout the country allowing transgender students to use bathrooms and locker rooms that match their gender identity. That directive has been met with resistance from throughout the country. State officials in Georgia, Mississippi, Texas and Pennsylvania have denounced the directive as “federal overreach,” with some lawmakers and/or school board members saying they will actively ignore it. That statement was echoed by Hillsborough County school board member April Griffin.

The Florida Coalition of School Board Members, a conservative advocacy group that splintered from the Florida School Board Association last year, said the letter robbed officials of “local control in education.”

Last month, the Marion County School Board approved a measure to limit restrooms to students based on their birth sex, not their gender identity. The measure is similar to a controversial law recently enacted in North Carolina.

ACLU Florida Executive Director Howard Simon writes that “providing access to sex-segregated facilities consistent with one’s gender identity is important for the safety and well-being of transgender students, who cannot be excluded from the right that all children in Florida have to an education free from discrimination and harassment.”

“Excluding transgender students from the same restrooms used by other students that correspond to their gender identity sends a message to transgender students and their peers that transgender students should be treated differently and that their mere presence in the same facilities used by their peers is unacceptable,” Simon writes.

The group is urging state officials to refrain from advising school districts to ignore the recent guidance concerning transgender students. Independent of the reasons based in this nation’s civil rights laws that are set forth in the recently issued guidance, protecting transgender students is simply the right thing to do.

The ACLU also sent their letter to all 67 school districts scattered throughout the state.

The issue is dividing the nation. A New York Times/CBS News poll released Thursday shows 46 percent of Americans say they think that transgender people should be allowed to use only public restrooms corresponding to their gender at birth. A smaller number, 41 percent, think transgender people should be allowed to use the restroom that matches the gender they identify with.

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Mitch Perry Report for 5.20.16 — Hacked off

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Condolences this morning to St. Pete Deputy Mayor Kanika Tomalin, who lost her husband, Tampa Bay Times outdoor reporter Terry Tomalin. Condolences to all who knew and loved him.

Moving on, the documentary “Weiner” is set to open today in some markets around the country (not Tampa, though wouldn’t it be great if the Tampa Theatre folks could get it down here?). It’s a documentary on disgraced former NYC Congressman Anthony Weiner’s ill-fated mayoral campaign from a few years ago.

There’s no reason to rehash all the tawdry details of his demise, but you might recall that when an embarrassing tweet was sent out via his Twitter account, he initially denied it was his doing, falsely stating his account had been “hacked.”

While he lied to save his skin (it didn’t work), it probably has since made many people naturally skeptical whenever somebody claims that their social media account was similarly hacked.

But it happens — just ask Laremy Tunsil.

He’s the acclaimed offensive tackle from the University of Mississippi who literally lost millions of dollars within minutes after his Twitter account was hacked, and someone unknown person used it to push out a short video of Tunsil getting stoned off his ass while wearing a gas mask, making it all the more frightening to Middle America and, more importantly, NFL general managers.

Tunsil will survive. He was drafted later than anticipated by the Miami Dolphins (The Miami Herald wrote a story about him over the weekend entitled, “The man behind the gas mask”), and will be in the NFL this fall.

That’s all a long lead up to tell you my Facebook account was hacked last Friday and Saturday, though it looks the dogs have finally been called off. A series of the most hyped-up, alarming news stories from a conservative news source (I truly don’t remember the name, but it was from a group that I had never heard from before) were issued out to my account Friday morning. Once alerted, I deleted them, and moved on.

Then a few hours later, the dude who did it was back, with another 10 posts flowing from my account. That’s when I changed passwords, and apologized to “my followers” (I hate how pretentious that sounds) about the garbage that had filled their news feeds allegedly from me.

And then the posts were back on Saturday! This time, I went through a protocol with Facebook that, well, I’m not sure what they do, but a third password has done the trick for now.

It could have been worse, like getting your checking account broken into. I think it was a child psychologist who once said, “The internet can be a dark and dangerous place.”

In other news …

You can go to almost every major city in the U.S. (and many minor ones) directly from Tampa International — except San Francisco. Can a Facebook page turn that around?

The ACLU of Florida has contacted Rick Scott, Pam Bondi and Education Commissioner Pam Stewart, advising them not to defy the Obama administration’s directive regarding transgender students.

Tampa attorney Michael Steinberg has a novel way of getting a congressman’s attention — run against him.

And Patrick Murphy has snagged another endorsement in his bid for U.S. Senate, this one from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus’s PAC.

The post Mitch Perry Report for 5.20.16 — Hacked off appeared first on Florida Politics.

Florida Chamber Foundation focuses on making students ‘prosperous for the rest of their life’

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The Florida Chamber Foundation wants to make sure the next generation’s careers get a running start.

The foundation will hold its annual education summit in Orlando on Thursday. The one-day Learners to Earners Education Summit is meant to bring together stakeholders to discuss how to make sure students are prepared for the workforce.

“It has evolved into … what’s our responsibility to a student to make sure they’re prosperous for the rest of their life,” said Tony Carvajal, executive vice president of the Florida Chamber Foundation.

The 2016 Summit will feature a wide array of speakers, including Chris Hart, chief executive officer of CareerSource Florida; Patricia Levesque, executive director of the Foundation for Florida’s Future; Cissy Proctor, executive director of the Department of Economic Opportunity; and Education Commissioner Pam Stewart.

While the day includes several panels, Carvajal said all of them are meant to get attendees involved. The foundation will have someone on hand to help facilitate discussions about the issues facing future graduates.

“It should be interesting,” said Carvajal. “People want to talk about these issues.”

The Florida Chamber Foundation event comes one week after Gov. Rick Scott’s Degrees to Jobs Summit. While the governor’s event focused primarily on higher education, Carvajal said the foundation’s event will, in some ways, “be a continuation” of the governor’s summit.

One of the highlights of the event, Carvajal said, will be the keynote address by Harris Rosen, president and CEO of Rosen Hotels and Resorts. Founded in 1974, Rosen Hotels & Resorts currently has seven Central Florida hotels.

Rosen has been involved in Central Florida education issues for years. Since 1993, the Tangelo Park Program has provided free preschool for 2-, 3- and 4-year-olds who live in Tangelo Park neighborhood. Students from the neighborhood who graduate from high school and are accepted to a community college or university in Florida get an all-expense-paid college education.

About 250 people are expected to attend the one-day summit. Carvajal said he was hopeful attendees will walk away with insight about how to help prepare Florida’s students for the future.

“This is a cradle-to-career discussion. It is the entire spectrum,” he said. “This next year, in August, kindergartners are going to be the Class of 2030. It’s a conversation about them. But also about people like me, who are going to be 65 in 2030.”

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Federal judge says ‘no’ to student promotions case

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A federal judge has turned down a request from Florida Education Commissioner Pam Stewart and six school districts to take over a lawsuit that challenges the state law preventing some students from being promoted to the fourth grade.

U.S. District Judge Mark Walker ruled Friday following an emergency hearing.

His decision means that the dispute will head back to state court in Tallahassee.

Department of Education and school district lawyers said the case belonged in federal court because the parent had initially alleged an equal protection violation.

“The Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution prohibits states from denying any person within its territory the equal protection of the laws,” the Legal Information Institute explains. “This means that a state must treat an individual in the same manner as others in similar conditions and circumstances.”

Walker maintained he did have jurisdiction over the case and that it was a “close call.”

But he said most of the case revolves around state law.

The lawsuit was filed after students were held back because they didn’t pass a state mandated test.

From The Associated Press, reprinted with permission. 

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Northwest Jacksonville Title I teachers sound off to Rick Scott, Pam Stewart

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On Thursday, Florida Governor Rick Scott and Education Commissioner Pam Stewart held a “teacher roundtable” at an elementary school in Northwest Jacksonville.

Reynolds Lane Elementary, located near the industrial areas of Commonwealth Avenue, is in a neighborhood that shows up on the crime blotter and the lead stories of the news all too frequently.

Thursday saw Gov. Scott and Education Commissioner Pam Stewart listening to those primarily young, female, and enthusiastic teachers describe what it is they do and deal with on a daily basis, with all parties sitting on child-sized chairs in a mid-20th century styled library.

The governor wasn’t here in Jacksonville to talk … but to listen, to “hear your ideas,” he told the teachers.

And so it was he heard them. And promised to look at engaging deans of colleges of education into the issues related to Title I schools, as well as discussing waiving recurrent costs related to teacher certification.

****

Among the pressures: teacher certification, a recurring cost that led one teacher to say “we have to pay to stay employed,” and “it should be free.”

Licensure is also a pressure. Another teacher noted her desire of “permanent licenses,” saying “a lot of teachers actually dropped because they didn’t get that five-year removal.”

Scott explained these practices, saying that people want “accountability.”

“I’ve been able to get rid of 2,500 regulations on the state level,” Scott said, “and I’ll go back and look at this one.”

After the topic of professional credentials was exhausted, student behavior came up next.

****

Teachers feel “ill-equipped” to deal with student mental illnesses, especially those that have not been diagnosed.

“When they’re endangering the staff,” one teacher said, “there’s not much we can do.”

First-year teachers, said one instructor, could use training.

A school like this, said the instructor, has a great deal of such issues, due to a lack of parental involvement.

A “very high turnover of teachers” is the result.

“We had a field trip, and we couldn’t find chaperones,” the instructor said.

Some parents, said another teacher, “know school starts in August and ends in June.”

****

Still another teacher — a third-year teacher from the University of North Florida– learned that “I just feel a need to be here,” even though her school didn’t prepare her for a school such as this.

The governor was incredulous that deans of colleges of education don’t come to schools like this to see how things worked out.

In the post-event gaggle, the governor vowed to “talk to deans” and “make sure our universities are getting out and talking to teachers” at these schools.

Scott also vowed to “go back and look at fees to see if there’s anything I can get rid of there.”

“Nobody brought that up to me before,” Scott said.

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Florida investigating whether grad rates were manipulated

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Florida is investigating whether or not school districts are moving students around in order to manipulate graduation rates.

Education Commissioner Pam Stewart announced Wednesday that she has asked top officials in her department to look closer at students who were in their senior year but weren’t counted in final graduation rates.

Gary Chartrand, a member of the Florida Board of Education, said the state needed to look into what he called a “very serious allegation.”

News reports this year have detailed practices at schools, including those in Orlando, where students have been shifted from regular schools to alternative schools.

Florida leaders have continually touted the state’s rising graduation rate over the last few years. The state’s graduation rate was reported at 80.7 percent during the 2015-16 school year.

Republished with permission of The Associated Press.

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More money proposed for public schools, colleges

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The Florida Board of Education approved a 2018-2019 budget request Wednesday that includes a $200 per-student boost in the K-12 system, increased funding for the 28 state colleges and construction money for public schools, colleges and universities.

The board met in a conference call, with Chairwoman Marva Johnson and Education Commissioner Pam Stewart saying their focus remains on helping Floridians recover from Hurricane Irma.

“It certainly was an unprecedented storm, and those hit hardest will need our ongoing support,” Stewart said, noting many schools served as storm shelters and many districts are in the process of reopening schools.

With the hurricane noted, the board, without debate, approved the budget request, which will be considered when the 2018 legislative session begins in January.

The largest request involves operating funds for the public-school system’s 67 districts.

The $21.4 billion request reflects a $770 million increase in total funding, with the bulk of the increase, $534 million, coming from local property taxes.

The increase would bring funding to $7,497 for each K-12 student, or a $200 increase over the current funding level.

It takes into account a 27,184 increase in the K-12 student population, which would go up less than 1 percent to 2.86 million students next academic year.

The K-12 request also includes $140 million for the new “schools of hope” program, which distributes funding to help students in low-performing public schools and provides financial incentives for the creation of nearby charter schools.

The budget request also includes $1.24 billion in operating funds, a 2.64 percent increase, for the 28 state colleges. The proposal would increase state performance funding for the schools to $60 million, up from the current $30 million.

The board’s budget request also supports the continued expansion of merit- and need-based financial aid for students attending state colleges, universities and other post-secondary programs.

It includes $421 million for the merit-based Bright Futures scholarships, with the program continuing to cover full tuition and fees for about 47,000 students who qualify as “academic scholars,” the top award level. It also would provide them with $300 each for books during the fall and spring semesters and allow the scholarships to be used for summer classes.

The request has $269 million for the state’s largest need-based aid program, known as “student assistance grants,” which would help about 235,000 students from lower-income families. The awards would average $1,147, with a maximum award up to $2,610.

The board is asking for $185 million in facility maintenance and renovation funding. Public schools and charter schools would each receive $50 million, while state colleges would get $38 million and universities $48.6 million under the proposal.

The request includes $49 million for state-college construction projects under the Public Education Capital Outlay, or PECO, program. Universities would receive $74 million for PECO projects.

The request, which is based on average allocations over the last five years, is substantially less than what the colleges and universities received this year in the PECO program. Colleges had $74 million for PECO projects, while universities had $146 million.

The board’s budget request also includes $31.4 million for “special” K-12 construction projects in Taylor, Liberty and Jackson counties.

Republished with permission the News Service of Florida.

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State board approves schools for ‘Hope’ money

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With 13 school districts challenging the constitutionality of Florida’s new “schools of hope” law, the State Board of Education on Wednesday used the law to select 11 low-performing public schools to receive additional funding.

The schools will qualify for up to $2,000 in extra per-student funding over the next two years to carry out improvement plans that will include efforts such as tutoring, after-school programs, counseling and teacher development.

At the state board’s meeting in Jacksonville, Education Commissioner Pam Stewart said the schools were part of a group of 59 schools that had sought the funding. Schools that did not make the initial cut will have a chance to reapply in the near future, Stewart said.

Miami-Dade County has five schools on the approved list, followed by Palm Beach County with three, Bay County with two and Seminole County with one.

Among the districts that did not make the initial selection were Polk County, with eight schools; Orange County, with six; and Duval County, with five schools.

Stewart said she and Public Schools Chancellor Hershel Lyons will work on “strengthening” the proposals of schools that submitted applications but did not make the cut.

She also said schools that did not apply for the extra funding can still submit applications in the next selection process.

Lawmakers this year set aside $140 million in the new “schools of hope” program, specifying that a portion of the funding would be used to provide extra funding for up to 25 low-performing traditional public schools. The rest of the funding would go to “hope operators,” who could set up charter schools within five miles of “persistently” low-performing public schools.

With the state Department of Education still working on rules for the new “hope operators” program, no charter school companies have sought approval under the new law.

In a lawsuit filed Monday in Leon County circuit court, 13 school districts challenged numerous provisions of the “schools of hope” law related to the charter schools. They argued the law is unconstitutional because it limits the power of local school boards to “control and supervise” all public schools in their districts.

Charter schools are public schools, though they are often operated by private entities.

Bay County was the only district that joined the lawsuit and received approval Wednesday for extra funding for two of its public schools under the “schools of hope” law.

The 59 public schools that sought the extra “schools of hope” funding were part of a larger group of 80 schools that received performance grades of two consecutive “Ds” or an “F” and had to submit turnaround plans to improve their standing. The turnaround plans were approved Wednesday by the Board of Education.

Under another provision in the new law, the state board also approved 643 “schools of excellence,” which because of high performance will have more autonomy. The designation will provide the school principals with more power over budget and personnel decisions. It will lift mandates for reading instruction time and it will give the schools more flexibility in dealing with class-size requirements.

The schools approved for additional funding under the “schools of hope” program were:

— Miami-Dade County: Homestead Middle, Lorah Park Elementary, Miami Carol City Senior High, Toussaint L’Ouverture Elementary and West Homestead K-8.

— Bay County: Lucille Moore Elementary and Springfield Elementary.

— Palm Beach: Gove Elementary, Palm Beach Lakes High and West Riviera Elementary.

— Seminole County: Idyllwilde Elementary.

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Florida public school enrollment has jumped by 8,000 post-Maria

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Nearly 8,000 pupils from the Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and various Caribbean nations affected by Hurricane Maria have enrolled in Florida public schools, Education Commissioner Pam Stewart said Tuesday.

At a State Board of Education Meeting in Lake County, Stewart said the tally of new pupils included 7,212 Puerto Rican children and 710 from the Virgin Islands and elsewhere. Puerto Ricans and Virgin Islanders are U.S. citizens, and Stewart did not expound on how many pupils hailed from outside the U.S. territories.

The bulk of the new students settled into the I-4 corridor, among the most popular destinations for Puerto Ricans migrating to the mainland.

Orange County saw the largest bump when it comes to raw numbers with 1,793 new students, which accounts for a 0.8 percent bump in total enrollment, while neighboring Osceola County saw the biggest spike proportionally with 1,218 students causing a 2.2 percent jump in total enrollment.

Polk County enrollment increased by 1.6 percent with 559 new students, while Dade County added 764 for a 0.2 percent increase. Miami-Dade’s increase mirrors the statewide effect, which Stewart pegged at a 0.2 percent increase for the state’s 2.8 million students enrolled K-12 public schools.

Stewart said county school districts “have very clearly sent the message that these students are to be welcomed,” though she added that many of the new pupils don’t speak English as their primary language, which has presented some challenges as district workers try to place the migrant students in their new schools.

Reports from earlier this month peg total migration from Puerto Rico to the Sunshine State at more than 168,000 in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.

The mass migration has led Florida politicians to advocate for increased funding to handle the influx, as well as long-term solutions for the thousands of displaced islanders who are likely to become permanent residents in Florida.

When it comes to schools, U.S. Rep. Stephanie Murphy and several other members of the Florida congressional delegation have advocated for $1.2 billion in federal funding to help schools in Florida and other states to handle increased enrollment.

Earlier this month, Stewart said she was working with her counterpart in Puerto Rico on a plan that would allow Puerto Rican high school students who evacuated to Florida to study for and receive Puerto Rico diplomas in Florida, rather than Florida diplomas, which could cause graduation delays due to differing curriculums.

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Property tax money could be key in education budget

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Education Commissioner Pam Stewart told a Senate budget panel Thursday that funding would be “woefully short” next year if lawmakers do not use an increase in property tax collections to support schools.

Gov. Rick Scott‘s proposed budget for 2018-2019 includes a $200 increase in per-student funding for the kindergarten-through-high-school system. Scott wants to increase the overall K-12 budget by $770 million, which includes a $450 million increase in “required local effort” property taxes.

While the amount of collections would go up, the school districts would retain the same tax rate. The increase in collections would be the result of rising property values and new construction.

House leaders have successfully opposed using the increase in so-called RLE tax collections the past two years, arguing such a move would represent a tax hike. The projected increases were offset by tax-rate reductions in the last two state budgets, forcing lawmakers to shift other state money into schools to boost funding.

In a meeting of the Senate Pre-K-12 Education Appropriations Subcommittee, Tallahassee Democratic Sen. Bill Montford asked Stewart about Scott’s proposal to maintain the RLE rate to provide more school funding next year.

“Should property taxes increase as we expect they will, that allows us to be able to increase this budget to historic levels of state funding, total funding and per-student funding,” Stewart said.

Under Scott’s proposal, total K-12 funding would increase to $21.4 billion, including $11.9 billion in state money. Per-student funding would increase to $7,497, up from $7,297 in the current year.

“We would find ourselves unable to do that if we did not leave the RLE (rate) at the current level,” Stewart said. “And we would find ourselves woefully short because there is not enough state funding to be able to bring those increases.”

“Is it safe to say in terms of the K-12 budget if we continue to do what we’ve done in the last two years we will be in trouble?” asked Montford, a former Leon County superintendent of schools who also heads the Florida Association of District School Superintendents.

“That’s right,” Stewart replied.

Other elements of Scott’s school budget that depend on more money include $198 million needed for a projected increase of 27,000 students next academic year.

Scott also wants an $18 million increase in a program that funds classroom supplies for teachers. Teachers would get $350 a year for the supplies, an increase of $100 over the current level.

Lawmakers will debate the new state budget when the 2018 Legislative Session begins next month.

Stewart also gave the Senate subcommittee an update Thursday on students who are coming to Florida from Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, where communities were devastated by Hurricane Maria.

As of last week, Stewart said districts had reported 8,960 students enrolling from Puerto Rico and 820 from the Virgin Islands. Overall, Florida has more than 2.8 million students in its 67 districts.

Orange County had the most enrollments with 2,396 students from Puerto Rico and 321 from the Virgin Islands.

Osceola County had the largest percentage enrollment increase at 2.1 percent, representing 1,363 students from Puerto Rico and 21 from the Virgin Islands.

Stewart said the Florida Virtual School, which provides online classes, has had a 5 percent enrollment increase, representing 331 students.

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Higher test score standards could lead to drop in graduation rates

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Freshmen entering Florida high schools this fall will need higher scores on alternative tests to meet graduation standards in math and language arts, under a rule adopted by the state Board of Education on Wednesday.

School districts warned the higher test scores could prevent more minority students and students learning to speak English from graduating. But state education officials said the new “concordant” scores on exams like the SAT or ACT, which can be used in place of regular assessments, will bring those alternative tests in line with more rigorous education standards adopted in 2016.

The change won’t effectively take place until the spring of 2022, when this fall’s freshman class will be graduating from high school.

The rule impacts students who cannot pass the language arts portion of the Florida Standards Assessment exam, which replaced the FCAT. It will also affect students who cannot pass the “end-of-course” exam for Algebra 1.

Students have the option of using alternative tests like the SAT or ACT to meet those high-school graduation standards. They currently also can take the Postsecondary Education Readiness Test (PERT) to meet the algebra requirement.

The new rule, adopted by the Board of Education during a meeting in Pinellas County, would raise the passing scores for the 2022 graduates on the SAT and ACT. It would also eliminate the PERT, which state officials said is not as rigorous as current math standards.

For instance, the passing score for the reading and writing portion of the SAT would increase from 430 to 480. Students would need a 420 on the math portion of the SAT or a 16 on the ACT math test to meet the algebra requirement.

In an amendment adopted Wednesday, the state board also added the preliminary SAT (PSAT) as another option for meeting the graduation requirements.

But the board’s action came over the objections of a number of Florida school districts, which have questioned the impact of the higher tests scores on their graduation rates.

Kelly Thompson, director of assessment and accountability for the Seminole County school system, said half of the students who currently use the alternative tests to help the district achieve its 88.6 percent graduation rate will not be able to do that with the higher scores.

She projected it would mean 428 students, including 252 African-American and Hispanic students, would end up “without a high-school diploma because of a number on a test on a given day” once the new scores take effect.

Ashlee Zienteck was one of three Winter Springs High School students who asked the board not to adopt the rule.

Zienteck said she was diagnosed with a learning disability in elementary school but will graduate this year, having earned passing scores on the SAT and ACT to make up for falling short by “one question” on the FSA.

“Please don’t change the scores because it makes it harder not only for me but for other kids that are like me who struggle with testing,” said Zienteck, who has earned a scholarship to play softball in college.

In a resolution to the board, Duval County projected the new rule would reduce its graduation rate by 7 to 11 percent, denying 850 students a diploma. Duval officials said the impact could be even greater for schools serving high-poverty populations, projecting graduation declines as high as 30 percent.

Although the vote for the rule was unanimous, several board members expressed concern about the impact.

Michael Olenick, who said he had a son who struggled to earn his high-school degree, said he understood the board had to adopt the rule to comply with the state law on testing standards, but the impact on minority and non-English speaking students “is still hanging over my head.”

Education Commissioner Pam Stewart said the debate over the policy and its impact occurred in 2016, when the board adopted the rule imposing the new testing structure. She said Wednesday’s rule implemented that policy after education officials had collected enough data to set the alternative test scores based on the new standards.

Stewart also said the Department of Education would maintain its priority of reducing the graduation-rate gap between at-risk students and the overall student population.

“It is about ensuring we do the right thing by those vulnerable students that we have talked about, to ensure that they graduate with those competencies and skills that they need in the world no matter what they are going to do,” she said.

Bob Cortes: more than 230 students displaced by hurricanes graduate in Central Florida

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Newly-released data show that 209 students from Puerto Rico and 22 from the U.S. Virgin Islands whose families fled hurricane devastation were able to graduate from Central Florida schools this spring, state Rep. Bob Cortes announced Tuesday.

Cortes pushed last fall for the state to streamline and expedite the school transfer processes for students evacuated from the island devastation of Hurricanes Irma and Maria, including helping arrange a deal that allows Puerto Rican students, if they chose, to get Puerto Rican diplomas under Puerto Rican rules while finishing their education in Florida. He did so assisting Florida Education Commissioner Pam Stewart and her counterparts in the islands.

Data Cortes provided Tuesday shows that 237 Puerto Rican high school seniors had enrolled in schools in Orange, Osceola or Seminole counties, and 102 graduated with standard Florida diplomas, 85 with standard Puerto Rico diplomas, and 23 with other diplomas or certificates. Thirty-two Virgin Islands high school seniors transferred to Central Florida schools and 20 got standard Florida diplomas, while two got certificates of completion.

Cortes said in a news release that most of the remaining students either returned to Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands before the school year ended, transferred somewhere else, or are continuing this summer to complete their requirements.

“Hurricane Maria was a catastrophe that displaced so many families, and we wanted to make sure Florida did everything we possibly could to help,” Cortes stated in the release. “If we had not taken proactive steps to help students, especially high school seniors, many would not have graduated. I’m so proud of how folks came together to make this happen for these young people who have been through so much.”

Cortes’ data showed that 128 of those displaced island students enrolled in Orange County, 105 in Osceola County, and 36 in Seminole County.

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