Title VI compliance from U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights

Title VI compliance from U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights: http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/letters/colleague-resourcecomp-201410.pdf The Office of Civil Rights (OCR) at U.S. Department of Education issued the Dear Colleague letter on Title VI compliance with regard to equal opportunity and equitable resources in school districts.  In other years, this has been a typically uneventful federal review…

Florida School Boards Association completes its legislative platform

The Florida School Boards Association’s legislative committee has crafted and approved a two-page list of priorities for the 2015 session, and perhaps it comes as no surprise that testing and accountability reform tops the list. The platform, which goes to the general membership for ratification in December, calls for a delay in the consequences associated…

School Board asks state to delay consequences of standardized tests

The Alachua County School Board has joined the list of Florida school districts calling for action from the state to suspend the consequences of state standardized tests in favor of an extended transition time for students and teachers to adjust to new educational standards. A resolution, approved by all four board members present at Tuesday’s…

South Florida State House Candidates Agree There’s Too Much Testing

The candidates running for three South Dade state House seats — Republican, Democrat, independent — all agree that Florida students and schools spend too much time testing. Candidates running for the Florida House of Representatives in the 112th, 114th and 115th districts gathered for an education forum Tuesday night at Palmetto Middle School. “The biggest…

Education Funding

Last month, state economists predicted that the state would have a surplus of about $340 million after funding the state’s priorities and maintaining a healthy balance in state reserves in the 2015-2016 fiscal year. Those priorities include providing sufficient funding to maintain current funding levels for education after taking growth and inflation into account. Meanwhile,…

Part 3 – Florida’s failed charter schools: Students fall behind at low-performing charter schools

NAPLES, Fla. — On the verge of seeing his charter school shut down because of academic failures, Archbishop Clarence Davis resorted to bargaining. In three out of four years, Davis’ Imagine Charter School in St. Petersburg received an “F” grade for academic performance from the state, results so poor they warranted closing the school. With…