Florida School Boards Association
On a recent day at Celebration Baptist Kinderschool, the 4-year-olds gathered with their legs crisscrossed on their multicolored carpet to listen to a book about bats. “What’s that big word we learned?” the teacher asked, referencing a previous lesson about owls. “Nocturnal!” the toddlers shouted back. Read More
Florida teachers who are armed on campus will now be covered under the state’s liability insurance, so long as they act within their duties outlined in state law. The policy change was quietly made by department officials on August 17, representing a reversal after the department had specifically excluded armed teachers from its policy. Read…
Today, the Department of Justice announced it has awarded more than $85.3 million to bolster school security — including funding to educate and train students and faculty — and support first responders who arrive on the scene of a school shooting or other violent incident. Read More Fact Sheet Listing Award Recipients
The Legislature will hold a third round of Interim Committee Meetings this week. Education related Committees and Subcommittees will receive information on educator professional development, health concerns for student athletes, workforce development issues, and teacher compensation. Committees also will consider a few bills of interest, including bills relating to public records, athletic trainers, homelessness, and…
A House education panel on Thursday began delving into the issue of raising teacher pay, with a key lawmaker saying that while “everything is on the table,” the panel still needs to figure out where the money would come from.Rep. Chris Latvala, a Clearwater Republican who chairs the House PreK-12 Appropriations Subcommittee, said his panel…
Saying the case involves protecting “local control over local schools by local representatives answerable to local voters,” nine county school boards urged the Florida Supreme Court on Thursday to take up a battle about a 2017 state law that sought to bolster charter schools. Read More
Florida’s mental health system is underfunded and needs to be overhauled, with better coordination between providers, law enforcement and educators, the commission investigating last year’s high school massacre recommended to the legislature Wednesday. Read More
By his own admission, Kenneth Wagner isn’t “a super-religious person.” But the police chief in suburban Jacksonville recently found himself pleading with God — praying enough people would apply in time to fill close to 50 job openings. Earlier this year, after lawmakers in Florida required school districts to heighten security following a mass school…
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) announced this week that it will use most of the $166 million it received in Volkswagen settlement money to replace diesel buses and shuttle vans with electric models . . . Some $5 million of that $116 million will help districts replace older diesel school buses with electric…
The Legislature will hold a second round of Interim Committee Meetings this week. Education related Committees and Subcommittees will receive overviews on educator professional development, the state system of school improvement, teacher compensation, and the FDOE’s Legislative Budget Request (LBR). Other Committees will consider a few bills of interest, including bills relating to public records,…