Search Results for: miss ana

Charters audit, sales tax fight, expanding choice, tying pay to courses and more

Charter financial reporting: A Florida Auditor General's report disclosed 208 financially related findings against 104 charter schools during the 2017-2018 school year. The auditor reviewed 644 charter schools, and more than a quarter of them repeated offenses found in previous audits. Thirty-eight instances of "material weaknesses" were found at 28 charters, which is more than... Read more »

Teacher bonus formulas, school security, lobbying Congress, tax vote and more

New teacher bonus formulas: The Florida Department of Education has released a two-page explanation detailing how schools and their principals and teachers can qualify for the newly reworked bonuses for educators. To be eligible, teachers must be rated highly effective or effective and have worked at least two consecutive years at schools that improved their... Read more »

Principal’s firing deferred, Hundley resigns, security report questioned and more

Principal's fate delayed: The Palm Beach County School Board postpones a decision on whether to fire former Spanish River Community High School principal William Latson, who was recently removed from the school after telling a parent that “not everyone believes the Holocaust happened.” Superintendent Donald Fennoy withdrew his original recommendation for dismissal, and instead ordered... Read more »

Security measures, Holocaust education, control over student grades and more

Security measures ripped: An interim report from a statewide grand jury says required security measures at some schools have not been been fully implemented because of disagreements between Florida school districts and law enforcement agencies over responsibility for compliance. Among those requirements are having an armed person at all schools, collaborating with law enforcement to... Read more »

Placebo test punishment, 300 lowest-performing schools, bonuses and more

Placebo test punishment: Two administrators at Mainland High School in Volusia County are reprimanded for deciding to give a “placebo” Advanced Placement exam to 336 students who thought they had a chance at earning college credit with passing marks. Principal Cheryl Salerno and former chief academic officer Teresa Marcks received letters in their personnel files... Read more »

Court showdown over religious freedom looms

After nearly two decades of debate, the U.S. Supreme Court will finally get a chance to determine how state courts may interpret “Blaine Amendments.” The court in Zelman v. Simmons-Harris (2002) previously had ruled state school voucher programs do not violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. But whether state… Read more »