Florida School Boards Association
Florida has finally gotten its federal education accountability plan accepted. U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos sent Florida commissioner Pam Stewart a formal letter acknowledging the approval on Wednesday. Florida had been the only state in the nation not to have an approved plan. It went through five revisions — including one submitted on Monday — before DeVos…
When new teachers get ongoing support from mentors, they’re better able to engage students and use assessment in instruction, and their students score higher on math assessments, according to a new study. The study, conducted by SRI Education, is an independent analysis of the New Teacher Center’s mentorship program, funded through a 2016 federal Investing…
In a video that appeared on YouTube in mid-May, the Republican-controlled Florida House of Representatives said “union bosses and their media allies” were pushing a “myth.” It wasn’t true, they said, that state funding for public schools had increased only 47 cents per student this year. Three months later, as the new school year got…
The Florida Board of Education on Friday advanced a $21.8 billion request for public school funding in the next budget year, including a $200 boost in per-student funds and increased funding for school-safety initiatives. Highlights of the 2019-20 budget proposal include an overall $673 million, or 3.5 percent, increase, compared to the current budget for the…
If a ballplayer batted .500, it would be stupendous. If a team wins half its games and loses the other half, it might be called a rebuilding year. If you broke even in a casino, you’d figure it’s better than losing. But Florida voters had a coin toss land on its edge this month in…
Florida legislators are sticking to their guns — and splitting from Gov. Rick Scott. More than $58 million will stay with a budding program to arm and train school employees instead of being redistributed across the state to ease the cost of paying school guards, as Scott requested. Read More
Despite repeated requests from Florida Gov. Rick Scott, legislative leaders have officially refused to steer $58 million to school districts to help them hire more campus police officers.Scott in late August asked that legislators shift unused money from the state’s guardian program to pay for more officers. Read More
A controversial proposed constitutional amendment that could have significantly altered Florida’s public education landscape will not go to voters in November. In a narrowly divided 4-3 decision, the Florida Supreme Court on Thursday ruled Amendment 8 should remain off the ballot. It upheld the order of Leon County Judge John Cooper, who found the measure’s title and summary misleading. Read More
Florida Supreme Court justices poked holes in both sides of an ongoing debate whether to place Amendment 8 back on the November ballot during a 45-minute hearing Wednesday afternoon. They didn’t issue a ruling, but one is expected soon. Read More
Faculty and staff at Florida’s K-12 schools will receive training on how to recognize and assist students with emotional or mental health difficulties. It’s thanks to a new $2.2-million dollar grant awarded to USF St. Petersburg’s College of Education. Read More