Florida School Boards Association
The budget year for Florida school districts tracks the state’s fiscal year that started July 1. Local education leaders now have Tallahassee politicians to thank for the late juggling necessary to compensate for the additional multimillions of public tax dollars that must be turned over to privately managed charter schools. Read More
In world history lessons, as Pinellas County social studies specialist Matthew Blum knows well, religion is key. The trick can be not letting it get out of hand. Parents might challenge what’s being taught, as they’ve done in Brevard and Collier counties. And students might assert one world view over another. But strong teachers “have…
The Broward County School Board voted Wednesday to sue the state over a new law that requires public school districts to share property tax revenue with charter schools and relinquishes their authority to approve charter applications. Broward was the first to take action, but other districts are holding similar meetings within the next two weeks,…
A new Florida law would let anyone in the state challenge, and possibly change, what kids are learning in school.Any Florida resident can raise concerns about teaching material they find unfit for public school classrooms, according to legislation that went into effect Saturday. The bill was introduced in February by Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Naples, and…
The Supreme Court’s ruling on a high-profile case involving a church’s day-care playground surfaces will likely be used in church-state battles in the future, experts believe. The decision, released on Monday, involving a church in Missouri was seen as a victory for many advocates and a blow to those who wanted to see a high wall of separation…
As Gov. Rick Scott took the podium Thursday to announce his support for the Legislature’s big education bill, he used words that have become increasingly familiar to Floridians, speaking of the need to “help all students.” Read More
May 2017 Finally Relief for Florida Agencies: Safe Harbor with Public Records Requests By Leonard J. Dietzen, III ldietzen@rumberger.com Florida public agencies have made tremendous efforts in training their staff to comply with their responsibility under the Florida Public Records Act. Unfortunately, one technical mistake has turned this law into the Lawyer’s Relief Act. For…
Hialeah Republican Sen. René García told Senate President Joe Negron, R-Stuart, in a letter today that he’s “not comfortable supporting any compromise” on increasing K-12 funding for 2017-18 that does not also address a controversial education policy bill that awaits Gov. Rick Scott‘s approval. García was one of three Senate Republicans to vote against HB 7069…
The first substantive meeting of the Florida Constitution Revision Commission showed clear rifts among members of the panel responsible for putting proposed constitutional changes on the 2018 ballot. Meeting in Orlando, the commission Tuesday split on a vote about rules that will govern the panel’s work in the coming months. Read More
Two months after the formation of the Constitution Revision Commission, the rules governing the 37-member panel remain in turmoil as a power struggle between the chairman and the rest of the commission has emerged. Read More