State panel tightens ethics rules for Florida’s public officials

An effort to raise ethical standards for Florida politicians and public employees has passed a critical test.  More than 6 million voters approved a Florida Constitutional Amendment 12 last fall, in hopes of strengthening the state’s rules against public officials using their positions for public gain. The amendment got the most votes among the dozen…

Questions remain about Florida’s new school-based mental health effort

Florida is planning to reinvent school-based mental health awareness, but Florida International University (FIU) psychologists are raising questions about the plan’s implementation.  The goal is to help students identify the signs and symptoms of mental illnesses, how to get help for themselves and others and what to do or say to peers affected by a…

FL’s Pre-K program has high participation but may not always prepare kids for kindergarten

Of the 50 states, Florida’s prekindergarten program has the highest percent of 4-year-olds enrolled in the early learning programs. Only Washington D.C. has a higher percentage.  Nearly 175,000 little students attended in 2017-18 — 77 percent of Florida’s 4-year-olds. That’s according to a 2018 analysis called “The State of Preschool 2018.” Read More Read the…

‘Little bit vague’: Grand jury report on school safety puzzles North Florida school officials

Florida school district officials are on alert in the days after an interim grand jury report found that some districts in the state’s 67 counties “have failed — or refused — to accept their responsibility for school safety.”  The grand jury report is dated Friday, July 19, 2019 and found that “numerous school districts” in the state…

Grand jury: Florida schools, police bickering over security

Some Florida school districts and law enforcement agencies have not fully complied with security measures enacted after a 2018 high school massacre because they are bickering over who is responsible, an interim report by a statewide grand jury says. Read More Read First Interim Grand Jury Report

Highlands County citrus grower becomes Florida Board of Education chairman

The Florida Board of Education has its first new chairman in four years, with the appointment of Highlands County citrus farmer Andy Tuck.  Tuck, appointed to a second term on the board in early 2018, replaces Marva Johnson of Winter Garden, who held the post since 2015 and was barred from continuing as chair. Read…

State To Call Out School Districts If They Don’t Comply With Safety Mandates

After a state commission found out Wednesday that nearly 200 schools, including many charter schools, have not had armed security as required by state law, commissioners urged the Florida Department of Education to “name names and name people” to try to force compliance.  Within two hours, Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran agreed to publicly name non-compliant school…

Statewide grand jury delves into school safety

A statewide grand jury charged with investigating whether school districts are complying with safety requirements following the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School will start hearing testimony “as early as next month,” Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said Tuesday.  The Florida Supreme Court impaneled the grand jury in February, at the request of…

Florida education commissioner gives his department an A for its legislative successes

Calling the recently wrapped Florida legislative session “amazing,” education commissioner Richard Corcoran said his team earned a top grade for achieving its goals.  “We pretty much got 93 percent of the legislative agenda,” Corcoran told the State Board of Education during its meeting Wednesday in Tampa.  He included among those successes bills — now laws…

Beyond the state’s spin: Simple survey reveals frustrated educators, families, and a troubled FL school system

The state’s massive effort to get public input about replacing or revamping Florida’s academic standards has opened the floodgates in schools and homes with schoolchildren, revealing a far more troubled picture of public education than the spin that comes from press releases and news conferences. Read More