Florida School Boards Association
Experts on K-12 education offer their reasons for optimism and pessimism going forward. It’s been a tumultuous year for America’s schools—one marked by an expanding minority-student population, an increasingly discontent teaching force, a backlash against standardized testing, and shifting understanding of education reform. It’s seen greater attention on areas traditionally dismissed as nonessential: things like…
TAMPA — Graduation rates for Florida’s class of 2015 are the highest the state has seen in 12 years, according to data released today by the Florida Department of Education. Statewide, the percentage of students who completed high school within four years of enrolling in ninth grade increased to 77.8 percent – 1.7 percentage points…
TALLAHASSEE — It may sound like a simple process, but the Florida Senate’s random renumbering of all its districts statewide Tuesday touched off a series of complicated twists that one key lawmaker said only adds more chaos to a continuing redistricting saga. Among the impacts: • Pasco County’s chances of having its first ever Florida…
The state Board of Education, which for years has pushed to toughen standards for Florida students, voted Wednesday to compromise on test scores and school grades while the state continues to wrestle with its newly revised accountability system. The board adopted Education Commissioner Pam Stewart’s recommendations for scores that would see more than half of…
Florida’s high school graduation rate continued on a steady climb to almost 78 percent in 2015. The graduation rate — 77.8 percent — was a slight increase from around 76 percent last year. Asian students had the highest graduation rates in Florida with nearly 91 percent graduating in 2015. White students and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander…
TAMPA — With students already preparing for the first round of standardized tests for 2016, state officials are set to finally decide what to do with 2015’s test scores. Despite calls from the state’s superintendents to do without schools grades for 2015, the Florida Board of Education is poised to vote Wednesday in Tallahassee on…
High school testing is on the brink of a profound shift, as states increasingly choose college-entrance exams to measure achievement. The new federal education law invites that change, but it comes with some big caution signs and unanswered questions. The questions are hanging over a provision of the Every Student Succeeds Act that lets states…
TALLAHASSEE — Amid the dozens of school choice bills filed for the upcoming legislative session, one that aims to expand a program for the parents of children with disabilities is on a fast track for early approval. The bill would increase by 37 percent the amount of scholarship money for thousands of parents of children…
Two Florida lawmakers are looking to open Florida to a private funding model for social services that Utah has used to expand its prekindergarten programs. Rep. Chris Sprowls and Sen. Aaron Bean have filed legislation (HB 1049/SB 1200) to create the “pay for success” system that led to major investment banks putting millions toward Utah’s…
As the days get shorter, first grade teacher Esmeralda Jiménez watches the dimming afternoon sky outside her classroom window the way her pupils watch the clock at dismissal time. The studio apartment Jiménez rents for $1,783 a month, or 43 percent of her salary, is located in one of San Francisco’s sketchiest neighborhoods. Getting home…