Florida School Boards Association
A Florida-based advocacy group that pushes Georgia and other states to help fund private schools so more children can attend them is breaking ranks with allies over a controversial proposed federal tax rule. The proposal by the U.S. Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service would limit or eliminate the federal tax break for donors in state…
As the high school football season kicks off, the governing board for all high school sports is gearing up as well, and is expected soon to take up sweeping changes that could affect post-season championships in basketball, baseball, softball and soccer. Read More
After a tough legislative session, in which school districts received little new funding without strings attached, the Florida School Boards Association is looking to ask lawmakers for increased support in the coming year. School board members are holding out hope that new leadership will be more receptive to increased funding with fewer restrictions. The Florida…
Florida remains the only state that hasn’t received approval of a federally mandated education plan. Now, civil rights groups are weighing in on the delay. The Every Student Succeeds Act gives states latitude in creating systems for measuring student success, but they still have to be accepted by the U.S. Department of Education. Read More
Hours after a Leon County judge tossed proposed constitutional Amendment 8 off the November ballot, calling it misleading, Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi filed a 47-page document asking the Supreme Court to leave the measure and five others on the ballot. Hers was a response to a separate challenge, filed a week earlier by former chief justice…
We are in a hidden battle in Florida, and in Sarasota County, to save our public schools. It’s one reason this primary election is so important. Public schools in Sarasota remain a source of pride and hope in our community. The Sarasota County School District has received an A rating for the 15th consecutive year…
A long-running lawsuit over whether the state is properly funding its public schools is now before the Florida Supreme Court. Oral arguments have been scheduled for November 8th. Read More
A Leon county judge ordered that Amendment 8, the amendment that would have created a pathway for the state to oversee charter schools and bypass local school boards, be removed from the ballot. Judge John Cooper wrote in a summary judgement Monday morning that the amendment should be removed “because its ballot title and summary…
It’s hard to imagine how toxic Florida’s political landscape might be today, had its legislature and governor been free to act over the past decade without the oversight of the judicial. Certainly Democrats tested their limits back when they were in power. But the GOP has pushed legislative trickery to all new levels. Read More
The Leon County Courthouse was the scene Friday for the first of what looks to be several showdowns over the fate of Amendment 8, a Constitution Revision Commission proposal to change portions of the state constitution’s education article. The proposal aims to do three things — set school board term limits, embed civics education in…