FSBA Daily Updates: Legislative Session 04-02-2014

TODAY’S HAPPENINGS In the House Justice Appropriations Subcommittee: HB 753 – School Safety by Stube – PASSED WITH A CS Provides exception to prohibition on possession of firearms or other specified devices on school property or other specified areas for authorized concealed weapon or firearm licensees as designated by school principals or district superintendents; provides…

FSBA Daily Updates: Legislative Session 04-03-2014

TODAY’S HAPPENINGS In the House Education Committee: HB 7033 – Middle Grades Education by K-12 – PASSED WITH A CS Requires school that includes certain grades to include information in its school improvement plan & implement early warning system to identify students in need of additional academic support; includes middle grades schools under provisions prohibiting…

FSBA Daily Updates: Legislative Session 04-01-2014

TODAY’S HAPPENINGS In the House Education Appropriations Subcommittee: HB 921 – Instructional Materials / Adoption by M. Gaetz – PASSED WITH A CS Revises provisions relating to review, selection, & adoption of instructional materials; requires instructional materials to be in digital format; provides duties of district school boards relating to district-adopted instructional materials & requisition…

How Do U.S. Students’ Problem-Solving Skills Compare to Their Peers in the Highest-Performing Countries?

Released this morning by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), PISA 2012 Results: Creative Problem Solving: Students’ Skills in Tackling Real-Life Problems, is the OECD’s first assessment of problem-solving skills and its first attempt to measure the creative skills that today’s economy demands from its workers. Click on the video to the right to…

FSBA Daily Updates: Legislative Session 03-31-2014

BUDGET UPDATE We have prepared a detailed side-by-side comparison of the House and Senate Education Budgets for your review. In addition, the House has released a full FEFP Summary that provides district-by-district information on their budget.  We have posted both of these items with Boarder-Line Issue 5 in our 2014 Legislative Session Resource Center at…

FSBA Legislative Session Video Update #4

This Video Update features Dr. Wayne Blanton discussing the highlights of the House and Senate Education Budgets, SB 1620 and HB 7099 relating to an expansion of the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program, and SB 864 and HB 921 relating to adoption of instructional materials.  Dr. Blanton encourages you to take action on these issues.…

Building an Effective School Board

When it comes to the decisions that most directly affect the business of public education and what happens in classrooms, few people are as influential—and often as unacknowledged—as local school board members. Indeed, a new report from the conservative Thomas B. Fordham Institute suggests the makeup of local school boards can have a measurable effect on student…