Clock ticks down on GOP Congress

Lawmakers are facing an end-of-the-year traffic jam with legislation piling up and a tight schedule that leaves them little wiggle room.  Leadership is juggling a backlog of must-pass bills and nominations as well as eleventh-hour requests from rank-and-file members as legislators try to cram as much as possible into the final days of the work…

Should Teachers Carry Guns? The Debate, Explained

The idea of arming teachers—or loosening state restrictions to allow concealed-carry permit holders to bring guns into schools—is often circulated after school attacks. It gained attention after the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., in 2012 and was revived in the wake of the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High…

Education fault lines separate Florida House, Senate

A fight over education policy is brewing at the Capitol. It pits supporters of traditional public schools against advocates for more school choice.  With new leaders in place, the Florida House and Senate will be the battleground for the contest over the state’s educational future. Each chamber will have its own distinct ideas about how…

Florida voters are saying yes when school districts ask for more money. Is that a good thing?

Hillsborough County school superintendent Jeff Eakins takes a clear message from last week’s election, which saw many Floridians vote to tax themselves more to help public schools meet rising costs.  People see the challenges firsthand and “they know they want better,” he said, referring to tax referendums that won approval in Hillsborough and seven other…

*PRESS RELEASE* Historic Voter Turnout in Florida Demonstrates Strong Support for Public Schools

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Friday, November 9, 2018 CONTACT BillieAnne Gay, gay@fsba.org, 850.528.9104 Historic Voter Turnout in Florida Demonstrates Strong Support for Public Schools Tallahassee, FL – Florida experienced historic voter turnout with over 7 million Floridians casting their vote in the 2018 General Election on November 6. The 2018 election cycle has illustrated the public’s…

Florida Supreme Court considers education funding challenge

Florida’s Supreme Court justices gave just a few hints Thursday of how they’re thinking about a 9-year-old case that contends, essentially, that the Legislature has shortchanged some students in the state’s public education system.  The case, Citizens for Strong Schools vs. Florida Board of Education, focuses on the Florida constitution’s mandate that the state has a “paramount…