Common Core: Florida plans ‘listening tour’ on proposed replacement for academic standards

If you’ve got thoughts on Common Core academic standards or their proposed replacements, Florida wants to hear from you. The state will launch a “listening tour” on academic standards next week. The state is also taking public comment online at floridastandardsreview.org on its latest proposal for replacing Common Core, the current benchmarks for what public school students should learn in language arts and math classes. More from the Orlando Sentinel and the Tampa Bay Times.

Some Florida teachers can now carry firearms at school, campuses

Tuesday, October 1 marked the first day armed teachers will be allowed in Florida classrooms. This is a result of the Guardian Program, which allows certain school personnel or hired guards to be armed on school grounds. The Guardian Program had allowed some staff and coaches to carry guns on campus after a background check, psychological exam and more than 140 hours of range training, but Florida legislators voted to extend it to teachers if their school district approves. More from WOFL, CBS Miami, and CNN.

Fight over charter schools heading to Florida Supreme Court

Nine county school boards are going to the Florida Supreme Court in a battle about the constitutionality of a controversial 2017 law that sought to bolster charter schools. The school boards filed a notice Friday that is an initial step in asking the Supreme Court to take up the case. The move came after the 1st District Court of Appeal last month upheld the constitutionality of the law. More from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and WJCT.

Florida bill would allow college athletes to cash in

House Minority Leader Kionne McGhee wants college student-athletes in Florida to be able to cash in on their names and images, similar to a measure that California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law Monday. McGhee, D-Miami, has filed a proposal (HB 251) for the 2020 legislative session that would allow Florida college and university athletes to be compensated through endorsement deals that use their names, images and likenesses. More at the Tampa Bay Times, WFLA, and WPTV.

For years there's been talk of raising teacher's salaries. Will Florida leaders actually do it?

Could Florida teachers get a long awaited raise this year? Governor Ron DeSantis, Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran, and Senate Budget Chief Rob Bradley have all discussed it, and the state’s largest teacher’s union is calling for it. But there are plenty of questions about how and whether teachers will get anything. [Source: WJCT]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Florida schools to teach students about child trafficking prevention [US News & World Report]
Florida will be the first state to require schools to teach K-12 students about child trafficking prevention after the state's Board of Education unanimously approved the rule on Monday. The Sunshine State ranks third in the nation for reported human trafficking cases, according to a press release from the Florida Department of Education. In 2018, there were 767 human trafficking cases reported in Florida, nearly 20% of which involved minors.

› Florida Poly breaks ground on state-of-the-art research building [Florida Trend]
Florida Polytechnic University leaders and community and state officials gathered to celebrate the groundbreaking of the Applied Research Center, a new iconic building on campus that will serve as a research hub for students, faculty, and high-tech industry in the region.

› Florida lawmaker seeks to spend 80 percent of education funds in the classroom [Tampa Bay Times]
For the second straight year, state Sen. Manny Diaz Jr. is pushing one of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ key education campaign platform planks — dedicating 80 percent of the state’s main school funding appropriations to “classroom spending purposes.”

› Broward teachers accused of violence against students are suspended by state [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
Two Broward teachers are banned from teaching in Florida schools for the near future after one was accused of forcefully grabbing an 11-year-old boy’s neck and another was accused of dropping a 4-year-old two feet to the ground.