Florida education department clarifies rules on student retention, teacher evaluations

The passage of HB 7069 into law changed the rules for evaluating Florida students and teachers. Exactly how has been the subject of much debate.

There’s been a healthy back and forth, for instance, over whether the Legislature’s action gave school districts more flexibility on retaining third graders who score at the lowest levels of the state reading test.

Here’s what we recently wrote, suggesting that schools hold the final decision. The Florida Stop Common Core Coalition, for one, took issue, saying we got it wrong.

The Florida Department of Education issued its notes from an April 29 conference call, in which it aimed to explain the current state of affairs to superintendents. Here’s what it said:

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