Florida School Boards Association
One of Florida’s largest for-profit charter school management companies, Academica, has long enjoyed considerable influence in the state Legislature. Until last year, two Academica employees served as state lawmakers — and the brother-in-law of the company’s founder also held the education purse strings in the House. Read full article
DetailsThe U.S. Department of Education today announced more than $427 million in School Improvement Grants (SIG) to help turn around America’s persistently lowest-achieving schools in nearly every state and U.S. territory. Read full article
DetailsTens of thousands of Florida’s poorest students are finding it harder to afford college because of tougher qualifications for the state’s Bright Futures scholarship. The academic scholarship was created in 1997 to keep the state’s top students in Florida schools. But the legislature voted in 2011 to increase the required scores on ACT and SAT…
DetailsThe U.S. Department of Education released today non-regulatory guidance to help ensure young children from birth through third-grade get the strong start they need to achieve success in school and in life. This is the Department’s first comprehensive look at how the nation’s new education law supports our youngest learners. Read full article
DetailsWhen the Great Recession hit, states trimmed — and in some cases slashed — their budgets for public services, including for education. As the recession ended and the economy improved, some states began restoring funds to schools. But by 2014, 35 states were still spending less per student than they did in 2008, before the…
DetailsFSBA #FridayFive – 5 Things You Should Know Each week, Executive Director, Andrea Messina, picks five of the top education news pieces to share with members. Read. Learn. Share. Retweet. More data on US teacher shortage Attach stem to what kids like Teachers don’t see what’s happening in the hallways, say students Virtual Reality…
DetailsIn a small, unassuming Capitol conference room last week, state pension officials made multi-billion-dollar tweaks to the Florida Retirement System’s 1.1 million-member pension plan. The two-day conference concluded with revisions to key assumptions used to determine the value of the state pension fund. The result: another $2.6 billion in public debt. Read full article
DetailsFloridians support allowing trained staff to carry guns at public schools, according to a new USF-Nielsen Sunshine State Survey released on Tuesday. Fifty-six percent “strongly favor” or “favor” having armed guards in schools, while 50 percent “strongly oppose” or “oppose” it, according to the poll. Read full article
DetailsNewly released national high school graduation rates show improvement across the board, including in Florida. But Florida continues to sit near the bottom of the pack, despite its growth. The 2014-15 data, distributed by the White House on Monday in advance of an education speech by President Barack Obama, shows Florida had a 77.9 percent…
DetailsThe National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is officially calling for a ban on new charter schools. During its national meeting in Cincinnati Saturday, the NAACP’s national board ratified a proposal which was put forward by its members this summer. Members cited concerns over discipline and segregation within charter schools, among many other…
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