School starts early this year in many Florida districts, thanks to a new state law that allows an earlier opening day. Public schools in Lake, Osceola and Seminole counties open for students Aug. 10, about two weeks earlier than they did last year. Forty of the state’s 67 school districts also start classes on that…
FSBA #FridayFive – 5 Things You Should Know Each week, Executive Director, Andrea Messina, compiles a top 5 list of news stories that School Board Members should know about: Website Development School To Open In Wyoming More states sue over transgender bathroom directive Florida parents crowd funding fight against third grade retention What’s good in public…
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…
TALLAHASSEE – Florida’s $143 billion pension fund has been on a “circular roller coaster ride” this year, which could result in the first year of a negative return since the fund plummeted 19 percent in 2009. But over the long term, the fund — which pays retirement benefits for state, county, school system and higher-education…
In a move towards strict liability, a recent Florida Supreme Court holding allows no room for public agency error under Florida’s Public Records Act (“Act”). On April 14, 2016, the Supreme Court of Florida issued on opinion in Board of Trustees, Jacksonville Police & Fire Pension Fund v. Lee, and held that a party is…
As expected, Gov. Rick Scott on Monday named Kim McDougal as his new chief of staff, effective April 2. McDougal, 53, most recently served as Scott’s legislative affairs director and education policy coordinator. She has been in state government for nearly three decades and has spent much of that time in the Department of Education.…
TALLAHASSEE — A wide-ranging education bill with more than a dozen significant policy proposals passed the Florida Senate without any debate Wednesday on the measure’s most consequential components. HB 7029 deals with capital funding for charter and traditional public schools, accountability measures for charter schools, open enrollment in K-12 public schools, high school athletics and…
HIGHLAND CITY — The Polk County School Board wants to ease into its search for a new superintendent and invite more community input than during the last one. Board members discussed the search at their retreat Monday at the district’s Jim Miles Center. They began sketching out the timeline for a national search process that…
We often hear the terms “good governance” or “effective governance,” but what exactly does that mean? Nearly everyone recognizes bad governance when they see it. Bad governance is when board members operate independently of each other. We see bad governance when board members try to control the superintendent and their staff. Board members practicing bad…
Public records advocates won support on Wednesday for an amendment that defuses their concerns over a controversial bill targeting people who attempt to misuse the state’s public records laws to extort money from the government. The compromise, worked out between the First Amendment Foundation, the League of Cities and the bill’s sponsor, Sen. René Garcia,…