Florida School Boards Association
Gov. Rick Scott’s education team is promising a “historic” increase in per-student spending in Florida schools next year. But to do that, Scott’s advisers want to shift more of the burden of paying for schools from the state to local homeowners through higher property taxes, setting up a new confrontation with the Republican-controlled Senate. “I…
The Florida Legislature is anticipating a $635 million budget surplus in 2016, money that some state lawmakers are already hinting will go towards more tax cuts and education funding, among other things. The budget projection comes just a week before legislators return to Tallahassee to begin early work in preparation for the next regular legislative…
The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and the School Breakfast Program (SBP) nationwide include a new universal meal service option, the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), which has been phased in by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) over the past several years. CEP was created through the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, and allows…
For the first time in decades, the majority of U.S. school children come from low-income families. Florida has one of the highest rates in the country — federal data shows just seven states have a higher percentage of low-income students. That means more students qualify for — and depend on — free meals provided by…
If there was a hot education topic in Florida this spring, it was student testing. But not in the state House of Representatives. There, under the guidance of K-12 Committee Chairwoman Janet Adkins, the talk focused on collared shirts and khaki shorts. Citing the need to improve school security, Adkins sought to persuade districts to…
The chairman and vice chairman of the Florida Senate Education Appropriations committee have challenged education commissioner Pam Stewart’s plans to distribute $60 million in classroom technology funding without conducting an independent needs assessment. Gov. Rick Scott vetoed the $3 million study, saying it was duplicative of other plans. Within their budget bill, lawmakers had made the review a…
It was a so-so legislative season for early education in Florida. A bill that would have raised health and safety standards for voluntary pre-kindergarten and school-readiness programs failed for the second year in a row. State leaders added no new money to voluntary pre-K, which serves 170,000 4-year-olds — while per-student spending remains well below…
Information the Florida Department of Education recently sent to school district superintendents indicates that the state will distribute $60 million in Digital Classrooms improvement funds despite Gov. Rick Scott’s veto of a “gap analysis” that lawmakers had requested occur before the money is delivered. At least one lawmaker questioned whether the veto negatively affected the…
A $3 million veto by Gov. Rick Scott might become a $63 million budget cut that affects one of the governor’s celebrated priorities — improved technology for Florida’s schools. “We’re in a little bit of a pickle here,” said state Senate Education Committee Chairman John Legg, R-Trinity. “I have requested a definite clarification.” Legg has concerns…
$15.4 million of federal funding is headed to Florida to support K-12 education. That money will be paired with state contributions to support nearly 700 Americorps volunteers in three major Florida cities. Jacksonville, Orlando and Miami are receiving a large influx of Americorps volunteers for education. Wendy Spencer heads up the Corporation for National and…