Incoming speaker Corcoran says bill that would benefit his wife’s charter school is part of broader reform

SHADY HILLS — Classical Preparatory School, a charter school founded by the wife of incoming Florida House Speaker Richard Corcoran, has its sights set on expansion. Opened in 2014, its waiting list is twice the size of its 406-student enrollment. And its contract lets it grow to nearly 1,000 students through 12th grade. To explore…

Competency-based education pilot program, other education measures signed into law

A handful of education policies were among the nearly six dozen bills Republican Gov. Rick Scottsigned into law today — including one that will test competency-based education in four Florida counties and another desired by the Miami-Dade school district to ensure tax revenue gets to public schools faster. HB 1365 sets up a five-year pilot program in certain Florida counties with the goal…

Is change ahead for Florida in battle over standardized testing?

When Polk residents ask School Board members why the School District is doing something, they often get the same answer: The state mandates it, or, the federal government mandates it. Protesters are vocal about their frustration with ever-increasing mandates that affect public education, especially when it comes to Florida’s standardized testing and accountability policies. Some…

FSBA #FridayFive – Week of Mar. 21, 2016

1.   Florida is closing the achievement gap:  http://www.educationequalityindex.org/ 2.   A national report card on school funding:  http://schoolfundingfairness.org/ 3.   Computer coding as a foreign language not a dead issue:  http://www.nbcnews.com/feature/college-game-plan/should-computer-coding-be-considered-foreign-language-school-some-say-n543656 4.   Let’s do this in Florida.  Youth apprenticeship pilot program launched in Maryland:  https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/state-launches-1st-youth-apprenticeship-pilot-program/2016/03/23/3f791a6c-f0d4-11e5-a2a3-d4e9697917d1_story.html 5.   ESSA rulemaking has begun:  http://www.politico.com/tipsheets/morning-education/2016/03/writing-rules-for-essa-213320