Florida School Boards Association
This week, the Legislature will hold the first of six weeks of Interim Committee Meetings in preparation for the regular 2020 Legislative Session on January 14, 2020. This first round of meetings will focus on a review of the state’s financial outlook and the Legislative Budget Requests (LBRs) submitted by state agencies, updates on the…
After a summer when the nation was stunned by a series of mass shootings, the Florida Senate is set Monday to explore what leads to such violence — a move some say will point to a need for stricter gun regulation in the Sunshine State. University experts, law enforcement officials and mental health professionals are…
Senate President Bill Galvano on Wednesday threw his support behind revising a state law that governs training for school guardians, after a dispute between Palm Beach County schools and a private security firm ended up in court.Galvano said he wants the Senate to work on “clarifying” a school safety law, which outlines the training requirements…
For several years now, Florida Board of Education members have expected — demanded, in fact — principal changes at the state’s most struggling schools. The board has insisted on leadership shifts as a condition of approving improvement plans, and has held superintendents’ feet to the fire if those moves haven’t come swiftly enough. Read More…
Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried‘s office said a total of 118 shelters have been opened in Florida as of 11:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The includes 92 general shelters and 27 special needs shelters. Almost 400 individuals have already taken shelter in one of the locations. Read More
With committee weeks just two weeks off, the Florida House on Friday announced a revamped committee structure with one notable difference for education policy watchers. The PreK-12 Quality subcommittee chaired by Rep. Byron Donalds was eliminated. Donalds remains on the overarching Education Committee. Read More
Following a scandal related to teaching the Holocaust and questions about whether African American history has been ignored, the Florida Department of Education is moving to require detailed annual reports from districts on what’s being taught across dozens of courses and topics. And the agency is essentially threatening sanctions if public schools don’t comply. That…
The Florida Department of Education on Wednesday asked a Tallahassee judge to toss a lawsuit that seeks to have the state pay money to teachers that school districts deducted from bonuses.The lawsuit, filed last month, accused state officials of improperly instructing school districts to deduct employer taxes from teacher bonus awards granted under the “Best…
The dozen Florida school districts that sued the Legislature over a controversial 2017 law establishing and funding a new charter school system have suffered another setback in court. While acknowledging the districts had a limited right to challenge the law, a three-judge panel of the First District Court of Appeal found the districts’ legal arguments…
Florida Department of Education officials’ latest budget proposal does not include any additional funding for a controversial teacher bonus program, which is currently facing a legal challenge.Instead, state education officials on Wednesday called on the Florida Legislature to keep funding the “Best and Brightest” teacher and principal bonus program at $284.5 million, the same amount…