Betsy DeVos Says School Vouchers Are Part of Tax Overhaul Discussions

More than a third of U.S. states have created school voucher programs that bypass thorny constitutional and political issues by turning them over to nonprofits that rely primarily on businesses to fund them. But the programs are raising questions about transparency and accountability at a time when supporters are urging that they be expanded into…

FSBA #FridayFive – August 11, 2017

  Click below to read Executive Director Andrea Messina’s top picks for this week’s education news. Read. Learn. Share. Retweet. 1. Only 1 in 2 students feel prepared for college: READ ABOUT IT 2. What will future libraries look like? READ ABOUT IT 3. Minecraft video game in the classroom? READ ABOUT IT 4. All state education boards are…

Miami-Dade school district agrees to join suit over controversial state education law

Miami-Dade joined a growing number of school districts challenging the constitutionality of Florida’s sweeping new education law.  At a School Board meeting on Wednesday, board members voted 8 to 1 to join litigation seeking to overturn portions of a bill some critics say was designed to boost the fortunes of the politically powerful charter school…

FL schools trying to figure out medical marijuana

A new school year brings new challenges, and one of them is how to deal with students who may have a medical marijuana prescription.  Ten months ago today, 71 percent of Florida’s voters said yes on Amendment 2. Governor Rick Scott signed the legislation June 23rd.  Still, Florida’s 67 school districts haven’t decided how to…

Study will look at statewide school funding formula that critics say is unfair

A study will go forward on the state’s redistribution of money from poorer to wealthier school districts in a funding formula a Volusia County critic called “backwards Robin Hood.”  The formula has cost Seminole, Osceola and Lake schools tens of millions in local tax revenue being redirected to more affluent districts, including Orange and Miami-Dade.…

Civil Rights Groups Mobilize to Block Florida’s ESSA Waiver Request

A national coalition of civil rights groups want U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos to reject Florida’s soon-to-arrive waiver request that will ask to be relieved from key pieces of the Every Student Succeeds Act dealing with the nation’s most vulnerable and historically disadvantaged students.  Approving Florida’s request, activists say, will set a disturbing precedent…

Text messages reveal behind-the-scenes battle over charter school bill

A new education law that has inspired lawsuits from school districts and derision from teachers’ unions nearly fell victim to an intra-party feud in the Republican-led state Senate, as detailed in a series of text messages exchanged by legislators and their staff during the hectic final days of the 2017 legislative session. Read More