Florida School Boards Association
The Florida Board of Education next week is expected to approve a rule outlining how a new scholarship program for bullied students will work. But while the Hope Scholarship program, approved by the Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Rick Scott earlier this year, begins with the new school year, there will not be…
Alternative student-discipline programs in Florida need an overhaul, according to the commission investigating the Parkland shooting. Commission members, meeting Tuesday in Sunrise, recommended reforms to school-diversion programs, created to shield students who commit low-risk, non-violent offenses from legal consequences. Read More
The teaching gap is narrowing as Florida is issuing more teaching certificates and the number of active professionals is increasing. Instructors are also finding better workplace options, with “D” and “F” rated schools on the decline across the county and the state. The Florida Department of Education has observed an uptick in issued and active…
For years, education leaders in Florida have been ratcheting up standards and expectations for students in public schools. Policymakers have increased the passing scores on the state-mandated tests that determine whether students can graduate and the grades their schools receive. Just last month, they voted to hike the required scores for graduation for public school…
Now that private-school scholarships for bullied Florida students are a reality, public school district leaders want to know exactly who will qualify for the available funds. They made clear Wednesday their concerns that the program could be ripe for abuse by families more interested in getting vouchers than in protecting children who really were victimized.…
Critics of Florida’s public education funding system got another piece of ammunition Wednesday, as Education Week rated the state’s school spending an F alongside 25 other states. The publication, which annually issues a well regarded national rating of state education systems, noted that Florida does exceedingly well in finance equity, or the way it allocates across…
After the Parkland school shooting in February, the state’s mandate was simple and swift: Put an armed officer in every public school by August. But the new state requirement — passed three weeks after the February school massacre in the hopes of deterring future campus shootings — is proving difficult for schools to carry out…
Some private schools in Florida that rely on public funding teach students that dinosaurs and humans lived together, that God’s intervention prevented Catholics from dominating North America and that slaves who “knew Christ” were better off than free men who did not.The lessons taught at these schools come from three Christian publishing companies whose textbooks…
Florida House Republicans are playing mythbusters on claims of stagnant school spending. The House Majority Office, which is overseen by Speaker Richard Corcoran, released a five-minute video May 17 that takes aim at teachers’ unions and state educators (and unnamed “media allies”) who say the 2018-19 education budget isn’t enough to cover the costs of…
After the Parkland school shooting, state and local leaders began making plans to enhance school security. The latest effort is a suspicious activity reporting application, to be launched by the Florida Department of Education and Attorney General’s Office. The agencies announced the idea to administrators and teachers on Friday. Fortify FL will allow people to…