The Florida Board of Education unanimously approved a rule on Wednesday opening the door for private nonprofits to apply to receive millions in state funding to operate charter schools near low-performing public schools, called “Schools of Hope.” The rule establishes a process for a nonprofit group to become an operator of the charter schools. Read More Read the…
Several bills of interest will be considered today including, most notably, HJR 1031 relating to term limits for school board members and HB 1279 relating to school district accountability. Please click on the link below to access our report on the outcome of the consideration of these bill and others that were considered today. Tomorrow,…
Next week, the Florida Board of Education is set to take up much-anticipated rules rolling out the welcome mat for prospective Schools of Hope. The goal is to attract more proven national charter school organizations into disadvantaged neighborhoods with low-performing schools. The draft rule would offer three ways for charter school organizations to qualify as “Hope…
A Florida lawmaker is looking to give school districts in the state new alternatives to traditional grading standards. This would allow districts to create new letter grade interpretations and give students the option of displaying mastery of a subject in lieu of traditional credit hour requirements. The Competency-Based Education Pilot Program was implemented in five…
Allowing some school districts to opt for the ACT or SAT in place of the standardized tests Florida requires to earn a high school diploma is “not appropriate,” a new study released this week determined. The study was required by a sweeping education law passed by lawmakers last year, with the goal of determining whether…
Education has long been a top priority for Florida lawmakers and in 2017 education once again made a splash in a variety of headlines throughout the year. Here’s a look back at the year’s top education stories in Florida: Read More
Florida’s plan to change its education accountability and testing system as little as possible, despite changes to federal rules, ran into a roadblock this week. The U.S. Department of Education told the state that it can’t simply adopt rules that run counter to the Every Student Succeeds Act, particularly without seeking waivers. That includes the way it…
Aiming to jump start the a controversial new charter school system for the fall, the Florida Department of Education has unveiled proposed rules for potential Schools of Hope operators to follow. The recommended rule, which is slated for Jan. 17 State Board of Education consideration, closely adheres to criteria from the legislation enacting the program to…
Schools across the country are nervously watching to see if the Federal Communications Commission chooses to repeal Obama-era regulations that protect an open internet, often referred to as “net neutrality.” The 2015 rules are meant to prevent internet providers, such as Comcast, AT&T and Verizon, from controlling what people can watch and see on the…
Florida’s First District Court of Appeal has agreed with the trial court against a group of parents who complained the state had violated its constitutional role to fund an “an efficient, safe, secure and uniform high-quality education.” The case, filed in 2009, questioned whether the Legislature and executive branch did enough to meet the “paramount duty” in…