Congress Sends Career-Technical Education Bill to President Trump

Congress passed a bipartisan overhaul of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act on Wednesday and sent it for signature to President Donald Trump, who has made career and technical education, or CTE, a priority for his administration.  The $1.1 billion program, last reauthorized in 2006, provides funding for job training and related…

Florida TaxWatch presses for focus on school leadership, role of principals

Florida TaxWatch, the non-profit that calls out legislative “turkey” spending each year, is promoting an education agenda that would focus on the important role that school principals play in academic success.  For the past six years, the group has recognized principals whose schools, which serve low-income children, have accomplished test scores that exceeded expectations. Read More…

Florida Risks Losing $1.1 Billion in Federal Funds Over ESSA Spat

When the Every Student Succeeds Act was first passed in late 2015, Florida officials pledged that they’ll do everything in their power to keep their long-standing accountability system mostly intact.  That’s despite the fact that the federal law has several new requirements that states must abide by. They include factoring in the test scores of…

Sides battle over ‘high quality’ schools requirement

When Florida voters went to the polls in 1998, more than 70 percent approved a constitutional amendment that required the state to provide an “uniform, efficient, safe, secure and high quality” system of public schools.But two decades later, the Florida Supreme Court is preparing to wade into a long-running battle about whether the state has…

Rush job on school safety law causes mental-health conundrum for families, no help from state

In the rushed, traumatic days following the February shootings at Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, lawmakers scrambled to approve broad gun reforms and new laws to make schools safe.  But quick legislation doesn’t always equate to good legislation, says Kenneth Trump, a well-known school security expert and consultant who has testified before Congress. Read…

At least 920 Florida teachers fired after failing state test, despite ‘effective’ evaluations

How do you tell a teacher who’s got the passion and gets the results, you’re fired?  “I’m getting emotional thinking about it right now,” said Emily Mixon, a drama teacher in Escambia County who just learned she won’t be able to return to the classroom next month. “My purpose is to educate. I can’t believe at…

Florida’s newest voucher program to start in fall, as Hope Scholarship rules approved by state board

Florida’s newest voucher program is to begin this fall, with parents who say their children are bullied in public schools able to apply for private-school scholarships that could pay tuition for part of the 2018-19 school year.The State Board of Education on Wednesday approved the rules for the new Hope Scholarship program, which was created…

Lawsuit: Amendment 8 summary ‘misleading’ about control of charter schools

The summary language of a proposed constitutional amendment that would revoke the exclusive authority of school boards to operate public charter schools is “affirmatively misleading” to voters, according to a lawsuit filed by the League of Women Voters of Florida against Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner. Read More

Florida stands alone as sole state without federally approved accountability plan

What to do?  President Donald Trump’s administration has in many ways held up Florida’s education system as a model for the nation. It’s hired many former Florida education officials to top jobs in its own education department.  Yet Florida’s proposed plan to meet federal Every Student Succeeds Act standards is now the only one that remains…

State law that targets teachers unions appears to be increasing membership

A new state law that sets a minimum membership level for teachers’ unions appears to be increasing enrollment in unions around the state.  Participation in Miami-Dade’s teacher’s union jumped from 44 percent last year to about 50 percent now, spokeswoman Sonia Diaz said. Broward’s membership has hit 65 percent, union president Anna Fusco said. And…