Heading into a critical election year, Florida legislators may have to tighten spending because of a combination of a slowing economy and reverberations of financial decisions. State economists on Wednesday drew up new estimates that predict the state will take in about $867 million less in revenue over two years than earlier anticipated. Read More
DetailsA state school-safety commission meeting got heated Wednesday as members tackled a range of issues stemming from a controversial school “guardian” program, while one panelist recommended allowing Florida pre-schools to have armed security. Read More
DetailsThe State Board of Education is poised to consider new rules next week, including a requirement that all public schools begin teaching students each year about youth substance abuse. Schools would also be mandated to report the professional qualifications of people teaching the classes, according to the rule. The reporting proposal would require school superintendents…
DetailsAs kids head back to school across Florida in the coming weeks, the state has a new tool designed to help school districts identify, assess and provide intervention services to students whose behavior may pose a threat to themselves of others.The Florida Schools Safety Portal (FSSP) was unveiled by the state Department of Education on…
DetailsMental health. Career planning. Personal finances. The list of topics that Florida lawmakers have required school districts to cover in classrooms continued to grow this year — some with little advance notice or funding to support them. The mental health mandate, for instance, came from the State Board of Education less than a month before…
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Results are in. PDK poll of the public’s attitudes toward the public schools for 2019 Cool stuff—there may be a SuperEarth (far, far, away) Build empathy and understanding by paring comics and novels Pushing back on averages and embracing the science of the individual A 2-step process for reducing student chronic absenteeism
DetailsThe Florida Legislature gave school districts another bumper crop of new and revised rules for the year that begins next week, ranging from who gets teacher bonuses to how to treat incidents of anti-Semitism. Many of the issues got plenty of attention as lawmakers debated them, sometimes fiercely and furiously. But often, the details on…
DetailsThe University of South Florida’s Baker Act Reporting Center has released numbers from the 2017-2018 fiscal year that show cases of involuntary examinations under The Florida Mental Health Act (commonly known as ‘the Baker Act’) are on the rise. The annual report shows that 205,781 people were placed under the Baker Act during the year. …
DetailsThe Florida Department of Education rolled out its database of student information late Thursday that’s designed to enhance school security in the wake of last year’s shooting in Parkland.The data is primarily for groups of law enforcement, counselors and other school staff charged with evaluating threats made by students and deciding which ones may need…
DetailsAn effort to raise ethical standards for Florida politicians and public employees has passed a critical test. More than 6 million voters approved a Florida Constitutional Amendment 12 last fall, in hopes of strengthening the state’s rules against public officials using their positions for public gain. The amendment got the most votes among the dozen…
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