Florida School Boards Association
Florida’s new low-key state legislative leaders offered a joint agenda Wednesday for the upcoming session focused on water policy, education and tax relief, presenting a firm conservative approach in a less fiery style than many of their recent predecessors. House Speaker Steve Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island, and Senate President Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando, are embarking on two-year…
The Florida legislature is poised to make sweeping changes to the state’s standardized testing system and to the way teachers are evaluated. The Foundation which backed the system currently in place, says it’s pleased to see lawmakers giving the system a second look. The Foundation for Florida’s Future says lawmakers need to revise the way…
any given day, thousands of motorists illegally pass stopped school buses in Florida, authorities say. Determined to cut down that number, state Sen. David Simmons has introduced a bill that would increase penalties for what he calls a “significant danger to our children.” “This indicates either a rampant ignorance or a willful violation of the…
After weeks of committee conversations, Florida Senate Education chairman John Legg is ready to take the debate over student testing and teacher evaluations to the next level. Legg is filing a bill today that tackles concerns and complaints he and colleagues have heard from educators and parents over the past several weeks and months. The…
Florida debuts a new standardized test for students next month, in a year when testing is a hot-button issuein public education. The Florida Standards Assessment is expected to be tougher than its predecessor, the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test. Uncertainty about the new exams has stressed out many because results will be used to judge students,…
This week is National School Choice Week, self-described as “an unprecedented opportunity to shine a spotlight on the need for effective education options for all children.” Ironically, “opportunity” for America’s schoolchildren is what National School Choice Week places at risk. The further irony is “choice” can mean public tax dollars siphoned away from community schools…
The newly renovated planetarium is the centerpiece of the school’s Astronomy Magnet program that will offer students a challenging curriculum exposing them to critical thinking, technology, STEM, research opportunities and Advanced Placement, while earning college credit through Florida International University. The quarter-million-dollar, high-def. digital projector has the latest sound and lighting systems that will take…
Education Commissioner Pam Stewart says students can not skip state-required tests, and teachers and schools can be punished for refusing to administer required exams. Stewart’s letter is a response to questions from Senators as they prepare for the upcoming legislative session. Senators wanted to know if students could opt out of state-required exams and how…
In the opening bid to reauthorize the federal K-12 education law, No Child Left Behind, the Senate education committee took up the divisive issue of testing, in which the overwhelming recommendation to the committee was to maintain the current law’s annual-testing regimen. In fact, only two of the six witnesses who testified at Wednesday’s hearing…
Lots of people think there’s too much testing going on in schools right now. It’s one of the most contentious issues in education. Lawmakers want to scale back the amount of time Florida students spend taking tests. But at the same time, Florida is rolling out a new test tied to new math and language…