TAMPA — The validity of the test, the way it’s graded and the way those grades are used have come under question by parents and educators since the new Florida Standards Assessment debuted last year. Still, students across the state are preparing to take the exam a second time at the end of this month and…
An assortment of education measures — several with significant effects on Florida’s public education system — easily passed the state House on Thursday, mostly along party lines. The approved bills, deemed priorities for the Florida House, include one that would allow parents to send their children to any public school in the state that has…
Public records advocates won support on Wednesday for an amendment that defuses their concerns over a controversial bill targeting people who attempt to misuse the state’s public records laws to extort money from the government. The compromise, worked out between the First Amendment Foundation, the League of Cities and the bill’s sponsor, Sen. René Garcia,…
Senate Education Committee chairman John Legg said Thursday that his committee again will not meet next week, marking the effective death of several bills that had his panel as their first point of reference. Among the measures that generated the most passionate reactions but not getting hearings were related to requiring elementary school recess (SB…
TALLAHASSEE — In a near-unanimous vote, the House of Representatives on Thursday approved a bill that would mandate recess in elementary schools. Before the chamber’s floor session, advocates from around the state who have dubbed themselves “recess moms” held a press conference alongside Democratic lawmakers to push for the legislation, which appears dead in the…
The Florida House has approved several education bills changing everything from the way students can transfer to how how quickly they can advance in school. But some of those proposals face opposition in the Senate when they get there. Democratic Representative Steve Geller sums up his party’s sentiment about the education bills. “It’s a pattern…
1. Google defends use of student data: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/education/wp/2016/02/16/google-says-it-tracks-personal-student-data-but-not-for-advertising/ 2. Should Computer Education Cover More Than Coding: http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2016/02/15/465467155/should-computer-education-cover-more-than-just-coding 3. Math Abilities on the Rise: http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/03/the-math-revolution/426855/ 4. High Tech training in central Florida schools: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/technology/os-advanced-manufacturing-orlando-presence-20160215-story.html 5. Two new poems by J.R.R. Tolkien discovered: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-35585467
TODAY’S HAPPENINGS In the House Economic Affairs Committee: HB 1361 – Growth Management by La Rosa – AMENDED; PASSED WITH A COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE (CS) Revises provisions regarding developments of regional impact; revises certain provisions regarding recommended orders & final orders. [NOTE: Today’s amendments authorize the governing body of a county to employ tax increment financing and provide…
TODAY’S HAPPENINGS In the House Education Committee: HB 343 – Public K-12 Education / Dating Violence by Jones — PASSED Provides short title for ch. 2010-217, Laws of Florida, relating to requirements for health education curricula & district school board policies on teen dating violence & abuse. HB 873 – Capital Outlay Funding / Special Facility / Charter…
Florida House Republicans again have set their sights on pension reform for government employees. A proposal automatically enrolling new hires in a defined-contribution plan Tuesday cleared its final House committee on a mostly party-line vote. The proposal by Rep. Matt Caldwell, R-Lehigh Acres, would create survivor benefits for first responders enrolled in the so-called investment/defined…