FSBA Session Spotlight — October 14, 2019

The Legislature will hold a second round of Interim Committee Meetings this week. Education related Committees and Subcommittees will receive overviews on educator professional development, the state system of school improvement, teacher compensation, and the FDOE’s Legislative Budget Request (LBR).  Other Committees will consider a few bills of interest, including bills relating to public records,…

Fifth time in 24 years. Why Florida is changing school standards, again

Florida education commissioner Richard Corcoran didn’t hide his enthusiasm during a “listening session” Thursday in Gainesville, where a crowd showed up to discuss proposed changes to the state’s education standards.  “We’re going to end up with the world’s best standards,” he said. “We’re going to end up with an education that’s going to transform our…

Florida’s Common Core standards: No need for ‘any great change,’ educators tell state

Florida’s Common Core academic standards are demanding but also are helping students make gains while the state’s proposed replacements are weaker, vaguer and represent a “step backwards” for public education, educators told state leaders at a “Florida Standards Listening Tour” event. Read More

Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos Announces New Initiative to Support Opening and Expanding Charter Schools in Opportunity Zones

U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos announced a new initiative to promote the creation and expansion of high-quality public charter schools in Opportunity Zones across the United States.Currently, more than 70% of Opportunity Zones do not have a public charter school option available to students. Read More

Six things to know about the U.S. Census and Florida

Census Tract 119.04 in Hillsborough County constitutes a perfect rectangle in a densely populated section of West Tampa just north of Al Lopez Park . . . . The Census Bureau defines a tract as “hard to count” if 73% or fewer residents return their Census questionnaires. In the 2010 Census, the mail-back rate for…

Indian River County School Board passes a resolution to target growing vaping concerns

The Indian River County School Board passed a resolution Tuesday night addressing vaping concerns for children and teenagers.  School board members say they are the first in the state to pass a resolution that declares their support behind laws that limit the access and marketing of e-cigarettes to young people. They also want to educate students,…

Ron DeSantis unveils plan to raise starting pay for Florida teachers

Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Monday that he would be pushing the Florida Legislature to raise the minimum starting salary for teachers to $47,500.  While each school district sets their own starting salaries now, Florida currently ranks near the bottom in the nation for average teacher pay, and salary raises have been something that teachers have…

Florida schools learn how much A-Plus money they’ll get

Hundreds of Florida schools learned late Friday how large a piece of the state’s $131.5 million recognition fund they’d get this year, if any.  The news came shortly after the Department of Education finished processing 2018-19 school grade appeals, finalizing the list of which campuses would be eligible for the $100 per student award. Read…