The Legislature will hold a third round of Interim Committee Meetings this week. Please click on the file below to access the schedule and more information on the education-related meetings, bills, and presentations that will be considered. In addition, please click on the links below for our updates on the Constitution Revision Commission Committee meetings that…
The Legislature held the first round of Interim Committee Meetings last week in preparation of the upcoming 2018 Legislative Session. Please click on the file below to access our report on the bills and presentations that were considered. In addition, please click on the other files listed below for a few quick updates on items of interest.…
Florida lawmakers will again consider a proposal that would require high-school students to pass a financial-literacy course before graduation. The Senate Education Committee this week unanimously passed a financial literacy bill (SB 88) spearheaded by committee Chair Dorothy Hukill, a Port Orange Republican. Republican state Rep. Heather Fitzenhagen of Fort Myers, filed a House version…
Click below to read Executive Director Andrea Messina’s top picks for this week’s education news. Read. Learn. Share. Retweet. 1. 29% of teens report cheating use on electronic devices:: READ ABOUT IT 2. Look at what the competition is doing: READ ABOUT IT 3. A fascinating look at “digital distress” or, lack of broadband availability in neighborhoods: READ…
How do you fix struggling schools? One idea: Pay teachers more. Teacher bonuses are among several ideas the Miami-Dade and Broward school districts have proposed as they compete for additional funding through a controversial new state program designed to rehabilitate Florida’s lowest performing schools while potentially supplanting them with privately run charters. Read More
Last week the Orange County School Board voted unanimously to join numerous other Florida school districts in petitioning the courts to declare recently enacted House Bill 7069 unconstitutional. The decision to join the litigation was not made lightly, and was made only after concluding that constitutional principles of a uniform, high-quality education and local control…
Mike Mogil doesn’t believe climate change is caused by humans. The 72-year old former National Weather Service meteorologist says global temperatures have been fluctuating for millennia, and recent extremes could very well have nothing to do with mankind. Now, he wants to make sure Florida’s public school students get the same perspective. Mogil is one…
Deer Park Elementary had a problem. Its discipline referrals and warnings were on the rise, with 433 incidents last year for 574 students, which didn’t bode well for the school’s academic performance. “There is a direct correlation between disruptions in the classroom and how well students learn,” said principal Margie Polen, who pointed to the…
An effort to equate computer coding with foreign languages for high school students seeking credit for college admission has returned to Tallahassee for a fourth attempt. Killed in 2014, 2016 and 2017, the measure [SB 180] is again sponsored by Sen. Jeff Brandes, a St. Petersburg Republican. And once again, the proponents of strong foreign…
Miami-Dade joined a growing number of school districts challenging the constitutionality of Florida’s sweeping new education law. At a School Board meeting on Wednesday, board members voted 8 to 1 to join litigation seeking to overturn portions of a bill some critics say was designed to boost the fortunes of the politically powerful charter school…