School Board wants to keep marijuana that looks candy away from kids

Advocacy, Governance, Health, In the News, Legislation, Personnel

As Florida prepares for the arrival of medical marijuana, the Miami-Dade School Board is urging lawmakers to keep cannabis away from school children — unless they have a prescription. At a meeting on Wednesday, the board voted unanimously to call on the Florida Legislature to ban medical marijuana dispensaries within 2,500 feet of schools if they…

Budget chairman wants ‘serious look’ at testing

Accountability, Advocacy, Assessments, Budget, In the News, Legislation, Legislators

Sen. David Simmons, an Altamonte Springs Republican who chairs the Senate’s public-education budget subcommittee, said Wednesday he will make another push that could reduce the amount of standardized testing in Florida schools.  During the first meeting of the Senate PreK-12 Education Appropriations Subcommittee, Simmons framed over-testing as something that crimps the state’s ability to spend…