Florida School Boards Association
Families from Puerto Rico who were displaced by Hurricane Maria won’t have to worry about having transcripts or immunization records if they enroll their children in Florida’s public schools this month, state education officials announced Friday. But for county school districts taking in the new arrivals, there is no guarantee the state will provide financial…
A Constitution Revision Commission panel tasked with reviewing proposed amendments to the first article of the Florida Constitution is using a deluge of public proposals to narrow its scope for future meetings. The commission meets every 20 years to propose constitutional changes, which must then receive 60 percent support from voters. The CRC’s Declaration of…
The legal war has officially begun over a highly controversial, charter school-friendly education law Republican state lawmakers pushed through last spring. Palm Beach County School Board members filed a lawsuit this week challenging the constitutionality of one part of House Bill 7069. Another, potentially more far-reaching lawsuit with the backing of at least 14 other school…
A new study supports what many local educators have long suspected: Florida is one of the worst places to be a teacher. Florida ranks fifth from the bottom out of the 50 states and Washington, D.C., according to a study from the personal finance website WalletHub, which analyzed data on a variety of factors including…
The Florida Board of Education on Wednesday approved a 2018-2019 budget request that includes a $200 per-student boost in the K-12 system, increased funding for the 28 state colleges and construction money for public schools, colleges and universities. Read More
Mor than half of the Florida traditional public schools eligible to vie for newly minted “Schools of Hope” grants submitted applications by Tuesday’s deadline, the Florida Department of Education reported. The program was a late add-on to a House proposal that set aside millions of dollars to support the creation of new charter schools to…
The Florida Department of Education says it will be up to each of the state’s 67 county school districts to determine which of their local teachers is eligible for the state “Best and Brightest” bonus program that lawmakers revamped as part of a massive education law that took effect this summer. Hershel Lyons, Florida’s chancellor…
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…
A study will go forward on the state’s redistribution of money from poorer to wealthier school districts in a funding formula a Volusia County critic called “backwards Robin Hood.” The formula has cost Seminole, Osceola and Lake schools tens of millions in local tax revenue being redirected to more affluent districts, including Orange and Miami-Dade.…
A new education law that has inspired lawsuits from school districts and derision from teachers’ unions nearly fell victim to an intra-party feud in the Republican-led state Senate, as detailed in a series of text messages exchanged by legislators and their staff during the hectic final days of the 2017 legislative session. Read More