Florida education news: School security, HB 7055, special education and more

SCHOOL SECURITY: Making schools safer from gunmen and other attackers took center stage in the Florida Capitol on Tuesday. Sheriffs called for more school resource officers and better background checks before gun purchases. The House refused to consider students' request for a ban on assault weapons, while a Senate committee unceremoniously tabled a bill to allow some teachers to carry concealed weapons at school. • The issue hit home locally, too. U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis talked safety issues with the Pasco County School Board, while a Pinellas County School Board member called for a resolution supporting a ban on assault weapons and Hillsborough County district leaders — facing another round of hoax threats — reminded students that making such statements is a felony.  More from the Florida Times-Union, WLRN, Palm Beach Post, Daytona Beach News-Journal, Pensacola News-Journal, Herald-Tribune. 

HB 7055: The Parkland shooting loomed over the Senate debate on a huge education policy bill, too, as students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High watched the Education Committee debate the need for heightened security measures as part of the bill. The committee ultimately adopted an amended version that looked little like the House bill, paving the way for either compromise or a standoff. Among the changes was removal of union decertification language.

SPECIAL EDUCATION: A Pasco County elementary school adds a sensory room to give students with autism a sense of calm.

TURNAROUNDS: Seven struggling Pinellas County schools make plans to have outside management if their test scores don't improve.

CAMPUS CULTURE: A team of specialists will assess the situation at Hillsborough County's Wharton High, where school fights have been breaking out and campus culture is seen as "broken."

NEW MISSION: Pinellas County district officials consider converting a low-enrolled K-8 school into an elementary gifted center for the southern half of the county.

(FORMALLY) OUTTA THERE: A Seminole County School Board member who had not attended any meetings in a year resigns, the Orlando Sentinel reports.

LOOKING AROUND: Orange County superintendent Barbara Jenkins is in the mix to become the next New York City schools chancellor, the Orlando Sentinel reports.

FIXER UPPERS: Some Palm Beach schools face complicated improvement projects, the Sun-Sentinel reports.

NEW SCHOOLS: The Sarasota County school district hunts for a new school site, the Herald-Tribune reports.

IN THE HUNT: Vocal education activist and blogger Sue Woltanski files to run for a Monroe County School Board seat, the Keys Weekly reports.

TODAY IN TALLAHASSEE: Senate Session, 10 a.m. • House Education, 10 a.m., with HB 323 on Graduation Requirements. • House Session, 1:30 p.m. , with HB 839 Display of State Motto and HB 731 Home Education on third reading.