Lawmaker seeks tweak to Florida retirement laws, to help with teacher shortfall

Florida’s teacher shortage has been well documented and growing. It has come at a time when national data show educators quitting the profession at the highest rate in years.  A Sarasota Democrat hopes to ease the resulting burden school districts face with a simple tweak to state retirement laws. Read More

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State school enrollment falls short overall, increases in Northwest Florida

While Florida’s school enrollment has reportedly failed to meet the state’s annual projections, the student population in Walton, Okaloosa and Santa Rosa counties has increased again this year.  According to a report released Dec. 19 by the Legislature’s Office of Demographic and Economic Research, Florida has 17,142 fewer students in its K-12 system than state…

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School choice a priority for Ron DeSantis, Richard Corcoran

Governor-elect Ron DeSantis‘ Education and Workforce Development Committee continued deliberations Friday, its last telephonic meeting ahead of final recommendations to come.  A previous meeting of the group emphasized school choice and accountability, concepts that jibe with the reform agenda of incoming Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran. Read More

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‘Hard corners’ could be coming to every Florida classroom

Another idea meant to protect students, designated “hard corners” or safe areas in a classroom in the event of a school shooting, could soon show up statewide.  It’s an idea the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission is considering as a recommendation to the state, to better protect students. Read More

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DeSantis’ education committee talks challenges of K-12 spending campaign promise, teacher pay

Governor-elect Ron DeSantis’ transition committee on education met Wednesday to discuss how the state could begin to implement his campaign proposal that 80 percent of all education funding be directed “into the classroom.” The short answer: it’s not going to be simple.  Many committee members said the first step is to define what “classroom spending” would…

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Scrap Discipline Guidance, Consider Arming School Staff, Trump Commission Says

A panel created by President Donald Trump to help prevent future school shootings called Tuesday for getting rid of Obama administration guidance aimed at making sure students of color and students with disabilities aren’t disciplined more harshly than their peers.  U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, who leads the Federal Commission on School Safety, said…

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Friday Five – 12/21/2018

Each week, Executive Director Andrea Messina selects 5 Things You Should Know in education news.  Read. Learn. Share. Retweet. Keys to designing tomorrows schools, today: Learn more  10 big ideas in education: Learn more Trend is toward having students work at home when inclement weather closes schools: Learn more  Teaching constructive disagreement through debate: Learn more Top…

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FSBA Session Spotlight — December 17, 2018

As we approach the start of the 2019 Legislative Session on March 5, 2019, FSBA will be working to keep our members well informed of the activities of the Florida Legislature and related events in Tallahassee. Our main tools for accomplishing this are this Session Spotlight blog and our Legislative Session page.  In addition, we…

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Richard Corcoran appointed Education Commissioner

Richard Corcoran is Florida’s next Education Commissioner.  The State Board of Education on Monday unanimously voted to appoint Corcoran Education Commissioner, meaning the former state House Speaker will lead the Department of Education after Gov.-elect Ron DeSantis takes office.  DeSantis earlier this month recommended Corcoran as the state’s next chief educational officer, making him all…

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Jose Oliva names ed policy subcommittee chairs (via Florida Politics)

Jose Oliva names ed policy subcommittee chairs By Drew Wilson on December 14, 2018 House Speaker Jose Oliva has selected Republican state Reps. Cord Byrd, Byron Donalds and Ralph Massulo to chair the House education policy subcommittees, according to a list of assignments first obtained by Florida Politics. Byrd, a second-term Republican representing Nassau and Duval counties, will chair… READ…

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