Florida School Boards Association
For the eighth time in 12 years, Florida lawmakers are looking to roll back voters’ wishes for smaller class sizes. Backed by school districts that struggle annually to meet the strict caps, the Legislature is poised to end penalties for school districts when classes get too big. Instead, fines would apply when schools don’t reach…
The state Senate vote 32-4 to approve a measure that aims to reduce the number of tests students in Florida’s public schools take each year. The move came after several hours of fiery debate and promises from lawmakers that they will continue to evaluate the state’s testing and accountability system. “Several colleagues have come to…
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Responding to the ongoing backlash about Florida’s standardized testing, the Florida Senate on Thursday passed a sweeping bill that would place limits on the use of tests in the state’s public schools. The vote followed two days of debate during which some leading Republican senators said that the state had gone too…
Florida’s public schools should be able to start new school years as early as Aug. 10 — two weeks earlier than they can open this year — Florida Senate leaders say, agreeing to a plan already approved by the House. The reason it changed was a grass roots effort in South Florida by a group…
After weaving its way through several committees and hours of debate on the Senate floor, a bill to limit standardized testing in Florida was finally approved by the Senate on Thursday, passing 32-4. SB 616, sponsored by Sen. John Legg, R-Lutz, cuts back on statewide standardized testing and would completely eliminate the required 11th-grade Florida…
TALLAHASSEE — The Florida Senate took a critical step Wednesday toward temporarily suspending school grades in response to the outcry statewide among parents, teachers and superintendents who want a smoother transition as the state shifts to new standards and tests. The Senate added a provision to its sweeping testing bill (SB 616) that would require…
More than 25 of the 49 booster clubs that support Escambia County schools are not in compliance with federal tax regulations. David Bryant, Escambia County School District director of internal auditing, said a review of the status of Outside Support Organizations (OSOs) revealed that 18 booster clubs had never applied for tax-exempt status, and eight…
A contentious proposal that would let designated teachers bring their guns to school suffered a serious setback Tuesday when a Senate panel declined to vote on it. Because the Senate Education Committee won’t meet again, the bill (SB 180) won’t have another opportunity for a committee hearing. It could still be incorporated into another proposal,…
“It is not the critic who counts … the credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena … who strives valiantly…” Theodore Roosevelt It takes considerable initiative for citizens to respectfully yet boldly confront lawmakers. It takes courageous leadership for legislators to admit and correct costly blunders. But that’s what happened last…
TALLAHASSEE — Four years after championing a law that inadvertently made sexting an unenforceable crime in Florida, a state senator is pushing to close that loophole. The Legislature in 2011 set out to update out-of-date statutes to address minors who send nude photos to other minors. “Unfortunately it was not written in the proper posture,”…