Florida School Boards Association
The Department of Education has cleared away confusion surrounding Bright Futures for the fall semester. In a letter to university and college financial aid officers Wednesday night, DOE confirmed how much money the program’s top award recipient will receive during the 2017 – 2018 school year. Read More
Ninety percent of Florida educators say many of their students encounter barriers to learning outside the classroom, according to a report published Monday by Scholastic. The Teacher & Principal School Report found Florida educators are more likely to report inadequate access to the internet and other learning resources outside of school than educators from other…
The budget year for Florida school districts tracks the state’s fiscal year that started July 1. Local education leaders now have Tallahassee politicians to thank for the late juggling necessary to compensate for the additional multimillions of public tax dollars that must be turned over to privately managed charter schools. Read More
In world history lessons, as Pinellas County social studies specialist Matthew Blum knows well, religion is key. The trick can be not letting it get out of hand. Parents might challenge what’s being taught, as they’ve done in Brevard and Collier counties. And students might assert one world view over another. But strong teachers “have…
The Broward County School Board voted Wednesday to sue the state over a new law that requires public school districts to share property tax revenue with charter schools and relinquishes their authority to approve charter applications. Broward was the first to take action, but other districts are holding similar meetings within the next two weeks,…
A new Florida law would let anyone in the state challenge, and possibly change, what kids are learning in school.Any Florida resident can raise concerns about teaching material they find unfit for public school classrooms, according to legislation that went into effect Saturday. The bill was introduced in February by Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Naples, and…
Florida’s 650 charter schools could see as much as an extra $96.3 million coming their way in 2017-18, thanks to a controversial provision in a sweeping education bill Gov. Rick Scott signed into law that forces school districts to hand over some of their local tax dollars. An aspect of HB 7069 that most concerned…
Florida Governor Rick Scott signed a medical marijuana bill into law on Friday that provides guidelines on the implementation of the state’s Constitutional Amendment regarding medical marijuana. The good news for employers: the bill provides additional guidance on the amendment’s application in the workplace. The bad news for employers: the bill will almost certainly invite…
If a small Senate working group gets its way, 22 million Americans – a population two-thirds the size of Canada’s and just a tad smaller than Australia’s – will lose health coverage by 2026. The Republican strongholds of North Carolina, Oklahoma and Florida will be hardest hit by the coverage cutbacks. More than 13 percent…
For years, Florida politicians have trashed public schools, describing them as “failures.” Traditional public schools get it wrong, they say. Charter schools get it right, they say. We need to take money away from “failing” traditional schools and give more of it to charter schools, they say. Yet when school grades were released this past…