Florida School Boards Association
The Florida Board of Education is set to adopt a new standard charter school contract when it meets Sept. 29 in Tampa. The move comes despite lengthy debate by lawmakers that ended in the spiking of a bill that would have mandated a single uniform contract for all charters. The state board’s notice of the…
To hear the charter schools people tell it, something is wrong with the administration of Broward County Public Schools that so many private charter schools are opening one day and closing the next. “If a charter is failing out of the starting gate, it tells me somebody is not doing their job and ensuring they…
At least seven groups of applicants with ties to failed or floundering charter schools are seeking second chances and public money to open 18 more. Odds are, most will prevail. School districts say that they can’t deny applicants solely because of past problems running charter schools. State laws tell them to evaluate what they see…
TAMPA, Florida – As the debate over school choice continues to divide Florida educators, 10 Investigates found new ways charter schools companies are profiting off education. Charter schools are tuition-free public schools that are authorized by – but not operated by – each school district. For each student who “chooses” a charter, his or her…
With parents and students no longer tied to neighborhood schools, the Miami-Dade County public school district offers more options to keep kids in the public system. When classes start Monday, more than half of the students in Miami-Dade County will stream into a school they and their families picked themselves. With charter schools, magnet schools…
Learning disabled students can get up to $19,829 of taxpayer money each year to attend private school if they choose – but there is no state accountability to ensure the kids’ needs are being met. The law that created the vouchers does not require private schools to have anyone on staff with any sort of…
Following a year of research, the Florida League of Women Voters issued a report this week that’s highly critical of the state’s charter school movement. Education “reform” critics, such as historian Diane Ravitch and AFT president Randi Weingarten, have begun passing around the document, calling it a “bombshell.” In it, the League observes that Florida…