State lawmakers want flexibility for Florida schools to take in displaced Puerto Ricans

As Florida communities prepare to take in Puerto Ricans displaced by Hurricane Maria, five lawmakers are asking the state’s top education official to grant flexibility to public schools so they can accommodate additional students in the coming months.  In a letter to state Education Commissioner Pam Stewart on Monday, the lawmakers formally asked the state…

Stage is set for a big court battle over Florida’s funding of charter schools

The legal war has officially begun over a highly controversial, charter school-friendly education law Republican state lawmakers pushed through last spring.  Palm Beach County School Board members filed a lawsuit this week challenging the constitutionality of one part of House Bill 7069. Another, potentially more far-reaching lawsuit with the backing of at least 14 other school…

FSBA #FridayFive – September 29, 2017

  5 Things You Should Know in Education News Click below to read Executive Director Andrea Messina’s top picks for this week’s education news. Read. Learn. Share. Retweet. 1. Think traditional public schools are short on choice?  Think again:  READ ABOUT IT 2. Innovative school model-NY’s  Portfolio School: READ ABOUT IT 3. Understanding the impacts of the “word…

U.S. Department of Education Announces Hurricane Flexibility Guidance

As part of its ongoing work to aid hurricane relief efforts, today the Department of Education released new non-regulatory guidance to help Department grantees and program participants remove barriers to restoring teaching and learning environments and to expediting the recovery process for all those impacted by the recent hurricanes. Read More  

FSBA #FridayFive – September 15, 2017

  Click below to read Executive Director Andrea Messina’s top picks for this week’s education news. Read. Learn. Share. Retweet. 1. 29% of teens report cheating use on electronic devices:: READ ABOUT IT 2. Look at what the competition is doing: READ ABOUT IT 3. A fascinating look at “digital distress” or, lack of broadband availability in neighborhoods:   READ…

FEA Sues State, DOE And School Districts Over ‘Best & Brightest’ Teacher Bonus Program

The Florida Education Association, the state’s largest teachers union, along with seven Florida teachers are suing the state, the Florida Department of Education and all 67 public school districts. That includes university lab schools, Florida Virtual School and the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind. At issue: whether the state’s “Best and Brightest” teacher…

Irma gave public schools a chance to showcase their role — and they jumped at it

Rhonda Combs had finished storing her photo albums and scrapbooks in big plastic bags. There was nothing left to do but go stir crazy, waiting for Hurricane Irma.So she drove to McKitrick Elementary School, where she teaches kindergarten, and saw volunteers escorting families to the classrooms where they would seek shelter. Combs found those assigned…