FSBA Friday Five – November 29, 2019
Staying competitive: District opens new “global studies” high school to train future diplomats, business leaders Tech education students seek patent for device Using Ed Tech to transform PE Elementary students study sports science to introduce STEM Totally cool: NASA makes their entire media library accessible and copyright FREE
FSBA Session Spotlight — Governor DeSantis’ Budget Recommendation
State law requires the governor to release his/her state budget recommendations at least 30 days before the opening of the legislative session. Governor DeSantis unveiled his state budget recommendation on Monday with time to spare. It is important to keep in mind that the governor’s budget recommendation is exactly that: a recommendation. It is the […]
DeSantis’ budget: $1 billion on teacher pay, millions for elections security
Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday proposed a record $91.4 billion state budget for the next fiscal year, including spending an additional $1 billion on teacher raises. The proposed budget is more than $400 million higher than the current year and includes plans to spend millions to protect the state’s elections systems and hire hundreds of new […]
FSBA Session Spotlight — November 15, 2019
The Legislature held a 5th week of Interim Committee Meetings this week. Several bills and topics of interest were considered, including funding, health and safety, public records, and ethics. The outcome of the legislative meetings of interest is provided in the first file below. In addition, updates on several federal issues are provided in the […]
Gov. DeSantis pushes for nearly $1 billion for FL public school teacher pay increases. But will it happen?
Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday proposed a nearly $1 billion teacher pay package, including a newly revamped teacher bonus program of $300 million that would be on top of some $600 million to boost minimum salaries for teachers. Read More
Ron DeSantis seeks tier-based Best and Brightest replacement
Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Thursday a plan to replace the Best and Brightest bonus program to reward teachers and principals with tier-based systems. DeSantis, joined by Department of Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran in Vero Beach, called for $300 million in teacher and principal bonuses in the Florida Classroom Teacher and Florida School Principal Bonus programs. Read More
FSBA Friday Five – November 15, 2019
From Play-doh to Plato: All students need to grapple with grade-level text Community Connectors program encourages community organizations to partner to provide mentoring services to young people, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds Concrete ways to help students self-regulate and prioritize work Even parents are now seeing the importance of equity in parent associations Strong leadership […]
U.S. Secret Service Report on School Violence
The United States Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC) issued a report analyzing targeted school violence. This report expands upon twenty years of NTAC research in threat assessment and violence prevention. In line with this effort, NTAC conducted a study of 41 incidents of targeted school violence from 2008 to 2017. Read More Read the Report
Senate workforce bill expands to include all public schools
Aiming to align career education to the needs of employers, state Sen. Travis Hutson proposed legislation to direct job growth grant fund money to certain charter schools that specialized in career-technical graduation pathways. His bill (SB 130) quickly attracted criticism from observers who wanted to know why only charter schools would benefit from the plan. Read More
Online sales tax bills gaining traction
Florida is one of only two states that hasn’t changed its sales tax laws since consumers began fleeing to the world wide web for gifts, groceries and other everyday needs. But that could change next year. A pair of bills have been filed for the 2020 Legislative Session that would require online retailers to collect and remit […]
Keith Perry proposes expanded back-to-school tax holiday
One state lawmaker wants to double the length of Florida’s annual back-to-school tax holiday to 10 days in 2020. Gainesville Republican Sen. Keith Perry’s proposed holiday (SB 542) would run from Friday, July 31 through Sunday, Aug. 9 next year before the earliest classes begin on Aug. 10. Read More
Florida’s Medicaid managed care programs get mixed grades in federal study
Florida managed care plans that participate in Medicaid and the state’s KidCare program fall below the national median in follow-up hospitalizations for mental illnesses for children, according to study findings released last week by the Trump administration. Read More
FSBA Session Spotlight — November 12, 2019
The Legislature will hold a 5th week of Interim Committee Meetings this week. Several bills of interest will be under consideration, including bills relating to funding, health and safety, public records, and ethics. In addition, the State Board of Education will be meeting on Friday in Brunnell, Florida. The agenda includes review district turnaround option […]
FSBA Friday Five – November 8, 2019
Partnering to bring arts to students in rural communities Giving students a reality check Boosting literacy in an unexpected place—a laundromat Research—walkability of a city seems to make a difference in upward mobility Some thoughts on how the internet changed the way learning takes place
FSBA Session Spotlight — November 4, 2019
The Legislature will hold a 4th week of Interim Committee Meetings this week. The schedule is relatively light since none of the main education related committees or subcommittees will be meeting. However, bills and topics of interest that will be considered this week include public safety, facilities, the Florida Kidcare Program, and public records. The […]
FSBA #FridayFive – 5 Things You Should Know in Education News (11/1/2019)
NAEP 2019 delivers mixed results Welcome to Year 50 of the Information Age There is a chance the black hole at the center of the galaxy is actually a wormhole NASA spacesuit has been updated and redesigned Esports programs are thriving
Ron DeSantis says teacher pay, e-Verify top priorities to pass in 2020
Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday that passing his proposal to gives teachers a raise as well as requiring employers to verify their hires’ immigration status are two of his top priorities for the 2020 state legislative session. Read More
Bill again filed to require ‘supermajority’ to raise local taxes
A bill is back in the Florida House for 2020 that would require a supermajority vote for a local tax referendum. HJR 477 would, if passed, allow a referendum to let voters decide whether to require a two-thirds majority for any municipality or subsidiary form of government to raise taxes. Read More
Florida pre-k issues leave lawmakers with long to-do list
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
FSBA Friday 5 – October 25, 2019
Effects of principal turnover on students and schools Encyclopedia of Science Fiction 17,500 entries now free online Science–A brainless, bright-yellow organism that can solve mazes and heal itself is made its debut in Paris Council of Great City Schools report on urban Academic Key Performance Indicators for 2019 Tips and skills to share with parents […]