Florida School Boards Association
Your religious views matter, and don’t let anyone ever tell you differently. This goes for evangelicals and agnostics, and everyone in between. A lawyer might argue it’s a First Amendment right, but it’s also a courtesy we should all embrace. Even, or especially, when we don’t agree. I mention this because of a story I…
Freshmen entering Florida high schools this fall will need higher scores on alternative tests to meet graduation standards in math and language arts, under a rule adopted last Wednesday by the state Board of Education.School districts warned the higher test scores could prevent more minority students and students learning to speak English from graduating. Read…
Donna Berghauser’s office at McLane Middle School is filled with inspirational pictures, quotes and fun posters designed to get students to open up. But the one kids relate to most is a poster that asks “How are you feeling today?” with pictures of faces displaying different emotions. There’s happy, sad, angry and right in the…
Classes officially end in most Florida school districts next week. Many students will finish up with local semester exams. They won’t have any more state exams to contend with. The assessment window for Florida Standards Assessments and end-of-course exams ended Friday. Education Commissioner Pam Stewart said earlier this week that students had taken more than 4.2…
After several delays, the Florida Department of Education submitted its revised Every Student Succeeds Act plan to the federal government in mid April. Some civil rights group leaders want U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to do to the second version what she did to the first — reject it as noncompliant with federal law. Read…
U.S. News & World Report, the global authority in education rankings and civic journalism, today released the 2018 edition of Best High Schools. The rankings evaluate more than 20,500 public high schools nationwide to identify schools that best serve all of their students – including historically underserved populations – and assess the degree to which…
U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos today announced the 54th class of U.S. Presidential Scholars, recognizing 161 high school seniors for their accomplishments in academics, the arts and career and technical education fields. “I want to congratulate this year’s class of Presidential Scholars on their achievement and also thank their parents, teachers and other academic…
Nearly a decade after some Florida parents first argued the state Legislature does not adequately fund public education as the constitution requires, the Florida Supreme Court has agreed to take up the question. In a 4-1 ruling issued late Monday, the court accepted jurisdiction of the Citizens for Strong Schools case. It gave the plaintiffs until May…
The Florida Department of Education sent in its revised federal school accountability plan Monday, months after the U.S. Education department said multiple revisions were needed. In its updated version, the state said it had filed for a waiver of certain testing rules for middle school students in science and math, so they do not have to…
Florida high school students got some unexpected relief Monday as they headed into the state’s annual spring testing season. Those who struggle on certain gatekeeper exams won’t have to race to complete substitute ones before the State Board of Education imposes new rules. Amid rising complaints from educators and families, the Department of Education staff altered its recommendation…