Florida School Boards Association
Unhappy with the “world of mess” school her son was assigned to attend, Morna Atkins was thrilled when he won a spot in a magnet program at another campus. But the Orlando mother, who sent her son to private school for a time, too, doesn’t think parents unhappy with their local school should have to…
One of Florida’s largest for-profit charter school management companies, Academica, has long enjoyed considerable influence in the state Legislature. Until last year, two Academica employees served as state lawmakers — and the brother-in-law of the company’s founder also held the education purse strings in the House. Read full article
Miami Beach city leaders have turned to Florida’s superintendents for help in trying to close loopholes in the state’s class size reduction rules. The City Commission recently sent district leaders a copy of its September resolution that asks lawmakers to reverse the “weakening” of the 2002 constitutional amendment that occurred. Those include examples such as a…
States should back a proposed federal program that could initially have them take on more disaster recovery costs — but with the ability to lower the tab by investing in preparedness, Florida’s emergency director said Wednesday. If the states don’t go along, they’ll risk Congress simply shifting more costs to the states without their input,…
As Florida Lottery Lotto jackpot winners grab millions, more than a billion dollars a year goes to fund K-12, college and university education statewide. But, for local school districts, lottery proceeds are a very small portion of their overall budget, and that source has been declining. Read full article
Florida’s first charter school opened 20 years ago. Since then, enrollment in these publicly funded, privately run schools has exploded. Today, more than 250,000 students attend about 650 charter schools across the state and many of them are returning to school this week. But the rapid growth has come with more than a few speed bumps. Read…
Most school districts around the state are struggling to pay for basic maintenance of their aging schools. Money is so tight that some districts are merely patching old leaking roofs and repairing aging equipment instead of replacing it. The main reason for the capital fund shortage is that the state Legislature reduced a school capital…
Reversing a five-year trend, Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida Cabinet on Tuesday unanimously agreed to borrow $285 million over the next few years to build and maintain facilities for state universities, colleges, and public schools. Read full article
Capital outlay funding for Florida’s charter schools became one of the most charged debates in the 2016 legislative session, ultimately yielding new law on which schools qualify for the money. Read full article
By Moriah Balingit July 8 Ten additional states are suing the Obama administration to stop a directive that requires schools to allow transgender students to use bathrooms aligned with their gender identity under the threat of losing federal funding, bringing the total number of states challenging the guidance to 21. Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson…