Schools are cracking down on bad behavior, but according to the Department of Juvenile Justice, they may be getting too tough. As Lynn Hatter reports, the Department is hosting a summit in August to look at so-called “zero tolerance policies”.

Grades for Florida’s public schools are going up. The Department of Education released the 2008 school grades yesterday. Students did well on the FCAT this year and the DOE says the school grades reflect that. Lynn Hatter reports.

The Florida Community Health Action Information Network, called Florida CHAIN, is working with Health Care for America Now to launch a nationwide campaign for an affordable health care system. As Lynn Hatter reports, their goal in Florida is to increase awareness, and change the way people look at health care.

The Clean Water Network of Florida released a report Thursday that says the state is polluting the Gulf of Mexico through Wastewater treatment facilities. The report alleges the state’s Department of Environmental Protection is allowing these facilities to operate with expired permits, or with permits that don’t protect Florida’s groundwater. Lynn Hatter reports.

Enacted in 2002, No Child Left Behind forced states to step up their accountability measures with increased testing. In Florida it meant the FCAT. Since the program’s start test scores in Florida have been steadily rising. And as Lynn Hatter reports, those gains aren’t flukes…but are part of a national trend.

A premise behind the school-choice movement is that the marketplace can do a better than government in educating children. Award-winning ABC Journalist John Stossel spoke to that effect Thursday night at the Excellence in Education Summit in Orlando. Lynn Hatter reports.

Florida’s former Governor Jeb Bush will be back in the public spotlight this week. He’s headlining the Education Summit on School Choice in Orlando. Bush says he’s not campaigning for office, but for education. And his former Education Policy Advisor Patricia Leveque has played a big role in getting School-choice back in the spotlight. Lynn Hatter reports.

Most of us are familiar with the term “fashion police”, but a bill being considered by the Florida Legislature this year would give the term a more literal meaning. It would require the state’s school districts to enact dress codes banning certain kinds of clothing popular among many teenagers. And Lynn Hatter tells us there are a number of groups who think that’s taking things a bit too far…

More than 200-thousand people die of Cardiac Arrest each year. About a quarter of these deaths could have been prevented if an Automated External Defibrillator - or AED – had been used immediately. The Senate Judiciary Committee heard a bill Wednesday that would allow the AED to be used in public areas and schools. Lynn Hatter has the story.

Florida’s Attorney General Bill McCullum honored the best of Florida’s Law Enforcement officers Tuesday. He also named Florida’s Officer of the Year. Lynn Hatter has more.