Florida School News

Florida schools roundup: Special needs, testing, Jeb Bush and more

03/09/15 | Travis Pillow

florida-roundup-logoSpecial needs. For eleven years, Florida’s Senate President and his wife have raised their son, who has Down syndrome, with the expectation that he will succeed in education and life. Now they are intent on ensuring the education system and other institutions operate on a similar belief in the potential of special needs children. Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Some special needs students thrive when included in classes with other students. Fort Myers News-Press.

Testing. Florida officials were warned repeatedly about the potential for problems with the state’s new standardized testing platform. Miami Herald. The real problem is that testing is used for school accountability, Tampa Bay Times columnist John Romano writes. The Times talks to students about the effects of testing issues. The next round of testing could put further stress on the system.  Florida Times-Union.  Palm Beach Post. PARCC’s online assessments, which Florida dropped, appear to be functioning smoothly. Orlando Sentinel.

Jeb Bush. Before he became governor, Jeb Bush championed a South Florida charter school that comes under scrutiny from the New York Times and the Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau. Now a possible presidential contender, the former governor tackles federal education policy in the Washington Post.

Tax credit scholarships. The creator of Florida’s special needs McKay Scholarships writes that that the tax credit program helps students with great needs. Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

Vouchers. A national pundit rails against school vouchers in Southwest Florida. Naples Daily News.

Career education. Bay County residents appear to lag when it comes to job skills. Panama City News Herald. Okaloosa considers plans for a manufacturing academy.  Northwest Florida Daily News. 

School boards. A Collier school board policy on “personal remarks” stirs controversy. Naples Daily News. A Miami-Dade school board member plans to run for mayor. Miami Herald.

STEM. Students at Florida Atlantic University’s lab school prepare ot race solar-powered cars. Sun-Sentinel. Jacksonville leaders promote science and math education. Florida Times-Union.
 
Discipline. A task for calls for scaling back law enforcement’s role in schools. Tampa Tribune.
 
Facilities. Local property tax proceeds fuel renovations in Bay County schools. Panama City News Herald.
 

Superintendents. Broward’s superintendent explains why he’s moving to Texas. Florida Today.

Uniforms. Legislation could promote school uniforms for Florida students. Sun-Sentinel.
 
Budgets. Manatee schools officials look to set priorities as they expect to see a funding increase. Bradenton Herald.
 
Transportation. A city utility project means students at a high-end Tampa private school will enter campus next year through a busy thoroughfare. Tampa Tribune.
 
Black history. One of Palm Beach’s first black high schools could soon host a black history museum. Palm Beach Post.
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BY Travis Pillow

Travis Pillow is Director of Thought Leadership at Step Up For Students and editor of NextSteps. He lives in Sanford, Fla. with his wife and two children. A former Tallahassee statehouse reporter, he most recently worked at the Center on Reinventing Public Education, a research organization at Arizona State University, where he studied community-led learning innovation and school systems' responses to the Covid-19 pandemic. He can be reached at tpillow (at) sufs.org.