We’re back! Today, we resume our FSBA Daily Updates to report on activities each day during the 2016 Legislative Session. These updates are sent to school board members, superintendents, and district staff members as well as hundreds of state and local government officials, parent and citizen advocates, and others who have asked to be included…
Republican Sen. Don Gaetz wants to the Office of Vocational Rehab to do better when it comes to placing people with disabilities in jobs. Monday the Senate’s Higher Education Committee approved a bill requiring vocational rehabilitation to develop a performance improvement plan and submit an annual report card to the Governor and legislature. “Most of…
TALLAHASSEE — National and state advocates are pushing new legislation that would require suicide prevention training for public school teachers after a similar law was repealed as part of Gov. Rick Scott’s 2011 budget cuts. This week, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and the Florida Suicide Prevention Coalition plan to hold a vigil at…
TALLAHASSEE — In the past five years, the Florida Legislature has taken $1 billion away from teacher salaries, early education programs and other educational programs to shore up a leaky school construction and maintenance fund. They’re poised to take millions more away this year because the main source for school construction money — a 2.5 percent…
TALLAHASSEE — Charter schools continue to blossom in popularity and in number throughout Florida, but the controversy surrounding them isn’t dissipating in 2016 — especially as “school choice” continues to dominate education policy coming out of the state Capitol. As Republican lawmakers consider plans to make it easier for charter schools to form and also…
Amid heated debate over what Florida Standards Assessment levels mean, the Florida Department of Education has offered up a revamped student score report. It aims to make more clear exactly what a Level 1 through Level 5 mark represents, commissioner Pam Stewart told State Board of Education members Wednesday. “It’s not just a number,” Stewart said,…