VIDEO – 2017 Legislative Weekly, Week 3
Tallahassee, FL – In our Week 3 update, FSBA Member Communications Manager BillieAnne Gay covers assessment, government oversight, and legislative happenings from the 22nd Floor of the Capitol.
Bill to limit job guarantees for annual contract teachers advances in Florida House
Since Florida lawmakers eliminated annual contracts for public school teachers, a majority of the state’s school districts including Pinellas have guaranteed yearly renewals to those educators who earned an “effective” or “highly effective” evaluation rating. Read More
Trump Education Dept. Releases New ESSA Guidelines
U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos Monday released a new application for states to use in developing their accountability plans for the Every Student Succeeds Act. And, as you might expect, it is shorter and includes fewer requirements than an earlier application released by the Obama administration in November. The biggest difference seems to be…
With White House Backing, Senate Overturns ESSA Accountability Rules
The Senate on Thursday voted 50-49 to block the accountability rules for the Every Student Succeeds Act created by the Obama administration. Without the rules, the requirements for accountability and state plans will be found in the language of ESSA itself. Read More
Most Florida teachers continue to get strong evaluation ratings
Nearly all of Florida’s evaluated public school teachers continued to receive strong reviews in 2015-16, according to newly released data from the state Department of Education. As in previous years, about 98 percent of teachers statewide rated either “highly effective” (42.9%) or “effective” (52.0%), with a tiny 0.2 percent receiving “unsatisfactory” marks, 0.7 percent as…
Florida Constitution Revision Commission membership to include state education leaders
The membership of Florida’s Constitution Revision Commission continued to shape up Wednesday, as Senate President Joe Negron announced his nine appointments to the panel. Among his choices were two people with strong influence in state K-12 education matters over the past several years, Patricia Levesque and Don Gaetz. Read More
Appeals court to decide on students’ rights to opt out of standardized tests
The 1st District Court of Appeal is considering a case that will determine several school boards’ obligations to students who wish to opt out of standardized tests. According to a Feb. 9 report by the News Service of Florida on TheLedger.com, parents of students who had been denied promotion to the fourth grade for their failure…
State education leaders target out-of-school suspensions that disproportionately impact black students
Florida education officials hope to tackle out-of-school suspensions, working with local leaders to limit the use of the discipline strategy in districts around the state. State education commissioner Pam Stewart has begun talking with superintendents about cutting down on out-of-school suspensions and also addressing their inequitable distribution, she said at a Board of Education meeting…
Lawmakers look to cull school testing
Key Florida senators will push sweeping legislation this spring that aims to cut the number of standardized exams students take and lessen the impact testing has on public schools. These members want a “return to sanity,” said Sen. David Simmons, R-Altamonte Springs, who is spearheading the effort. Read More
Newest data ranks Florida’s kids at 40 out of 50 states
Florida’s children rank 40th in the nation when it comes to their health, education and economic well-being, new data suggests, and close to a million of them are living in poverty — a number that dipped slightly from a year earlier. The report, released today by Florida Kids Count, part of a nationwide project of…