The House advanced a sweeping overhaul of the Florida Retirement System Thursday, setting it for a key floor vote Friday as a major bargaining chip in late negotiations with the Senate during the final week of the 2014 legislative session. “This narrow approach to pension reform will save taxpayers about $28 billion over 30 years,”…
DetailsExpansion of the student voucher program, which seemed dead shortly after the beginning of the 2014 Florida Legislature, has proved hard to kill. A Senate subcommittee approved an amendment on Tuesday expanding the voucher program, known as the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program, adding it to a bill that helps parents of disabled children get…
DetailsHernando County fifth-grade teacher Melinda Barrett is fed up with the FCATs, high-stakes testing and the pressure it puts on students. She recently penned an apology letter to the editor that is generating a lot of buzz on social media. Here’s a copy: I’d like to make a public apology. I’d like to apologize to…
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TODAY’S HAPPENINGS In the Senate Session: Bills on 2nd Reading SB 790 – Education Technology by Legg – TEMPORARILY POSTPONED; RETAINED ON CALENDAR ON 2ND READING Providing the purpose for the Florida digital classrooms allocation; requiring the State Board of Education to adopt a Florida digital classrooms plan that establishes certain protocols, parameters, requirements, and…
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This Video Update features Dr. Wayne Blanton discussing the status of the budget negotiations, HB 753 and SB 968 relating to School Safety, SB 864 and HB 921 relating to Adoption of Instructional Materials, and HB 7167 and SB 1512 relating to the Tax Credit and ESE Scholarship Programs. Dr. Blanton encourages you to take…
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Florida law governing the tax credit scholarship program gives vouchers to low-income families to use as tuition for their children in private schools but does not adequately protect the rights of English Language Learners (ELLs), shortchanging Latino students and other groups learning English as an additional language from receiving proper instruction. This flaw in Florida…
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BUDGET UPDATE — ACTION REQUESTED Last night, the Senate presented their second counter-offer that would have cleared several remaining differences between the House and Senate education budgets. This Senate offer was contingent upon the House’s agreement to certain stipulations in the offer. However, when the House returned later in the evening with their responding 3rd…
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A Senate panel revived the proposed expansion of the school voucher program. But it did not give a second chance to the immigrant tuition proposal. By Kathleen McGrory Herald/Times Tallahassee Bureau TALLAHASSEE — A Senate committee used a procedural maneuver Tuesday to put a controversial school voucher bill back in play. But the committee refused…
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Thousands of students couldn’t take FCAT online on Tuesday, as problems with the testing company’s website prevented students from logging in. The glitch with the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test affected districts around Florida, including Orange and Seminole county schools. Orange County suspended testing for about 12,000 sixth, seventh, ninth and 10th graders, who were to…
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TODAY’S HAPPENINGS In the Senate Session: Bills on 3rd Reading SB 160 – Food Distributed Free of Charge by Bullard – READ 3RD TIME; SUBSTITUTED FOR HB 23; SB 160 LAID ON THE TABLE HB 23 – Food Distributed Free of Charge by Rogers – READ 2ND TIME; SUBSTITUTED FOR SB 160; READ 3RD TIME;…
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