Florida School Boards Association
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The “Information Superhighway” may soon be regulated as a utility – and that could mean better and fairer access. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler announced this week that he will seek to have the Internet regulated under Title II of the Communications Act of 1934. Whitney Kimball Coe, a program associate…
group of Florida school superintendents — including Orange County’s Barbara Jenkins — met with Gov. Rick Scott last week, asking for the elimination of some state-required tests and the freezing of school grades for two years. The 10 superintendents pushed recommendations educators across the state have been suggesting for more than a year, mindful that…
Miami-Dade school leaders say are concerned about a measles outbreak spreading across the country and urge parents to vaccinate their children. Superintendent Alberto Carvalho says vaccinations work and the district is tracking whether students get their required shots. Carvalho says 98 percent of Miami-Dade students have been vaccinated or are getting the shots now. “We’ve…
Even before the Lee County School Board elected to opt out of state mandated testing—and then reversed that decision—the subject has been a contentious one. With teacher evaluations in part tied to testing performance and some parents claiming myriad tests aren’t creating a positive learning environment, a new bill hopes to relieve some of these…
Florida’s new low-key state legislative leaders offered a joint agenda Wednesday for the upcoming session focused on water policy, education and tax relief, presenting a firm conservative approach in a less fiery style than many of their recent predecessors. House Speaker Steve Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island, and Senate President Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando, are embarking on two-year…
The Florida legislature is poised to make sweeping changes to the state’s standardized testing system and to the way teachers are evaluated. The Foundation which backed the system currently in place, says it’s pleased to see lawmakers giving the system a second look. The Foundation for Florida’s Future says lawmakers need to revise the way…
any given day, thousands of motorists illegally pass stopped school buses in Florida, authorities say. Determined to cut down that number, state Sen. David Simmons has introduced a bill that would increase penalties for what he calls a “significant danger to our children.” “This indicates either a rampant ignorance or a willful violation of the…
After weeks of committee conversations, Florida Senate Education chairman John Legg is ready to take the debate over student testing and teacher evaluations to the next level. Legg is filing a bill today that tackles concerns and complaints he and colleagues have heard from educators and parents over the past several weeks and months. The…
Florida debuts a new standardized test for students next month, in a year when testing is a hot-button issuein public education. The Florida Standards Assessment is expected to be tougher than its predecessor, the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test. Uncertainty about the new exams has stressed out many because results will be used to judge students,…
This week is National School Choice Week, self-described as “an unprecedented opportunity to shine a spotlight on the need for effective education options for all children.” Ironically, “opportunity” for America’s schoolchildren is what National School Choice Week places at risk. The further irony is “choice” can mean public tax dollars siphoned away from community schools…