Florida School Boards Association
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,…
Florida education commissioner Richard Corcoran didn’t hide his enthusiasm during a “listening session” Thursday in Gainesville, where a crowd showed up to discuss proposed changes to the state’s education standards. “We’re going to end up with the world’s best standards,” he said. “We’re going to end up with an education that’s going to transform our…
Florida’s Common Core academic standards are demanding but also are helping students make gains while the state’s proposed replacements are weaker, vaguer and represent a “step backwards” for public education, educators told state leaders at a “Florida Standards Listening Tour” event. Read More
U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos announced a new initiative to promote the creation and expansion of high-quality public charter schools in Opportunity Zones across the United States.Currently, more than 70% of Opportunity Zones do not have a public charter school option available to students. Read More
Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Monday that he would be pushing the Florida Legislature to raise the minimum starting salary for teachers to $47,500. While each school district sets their own starting salaries now, Florida currently ranks near the bottom in the nation for average teacher pay, and salary raises have been something that teachers have…
Hundreds of Florida schools learned late Friday how large a piece of the state’s $131.5 million recognition fund they’d get this year, if any. The news came shortly after the Department of Education finished processing 2018-19 school grade appeals, finalizing the list of which campuses would be eligible for the $100 per student award. Read…
A bill filed by an influential Republican state senator proposes to repeal Florida’s “Best and Brightest” program for teacher bonuses, after years of dissatisfaction from many teachers with the program’s requirements. Read More
This week, Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran announced the latest stops in his Florida Standards Listening Tour, which will start in the coming days, giving the public another chance to weigh in on what should replace Common Core in the Sunshine State. Read More