Florida voters could be asked next year whether the state should allow entities other than school districts to oversee charter schools. Right now, Florida is one of several states where local school boards, and with narrow exceptions, only school boards, can authorize charters. Courts have ruled the state constitution gives school districts near-exclusive authority over… Read more »
School funding suit rejected: The First District Court of Appeal rejects a challenge to the state’s public school funding, saying the issue raises political questions that can’t be answered by judges. Several education groups and some parents contend that the state discriminates against minorities and low-income students, which they call a violation of the state’s… Read more »
Testing extension: The Florida Department of Education has agreed to extend the window for the Florida Standards Assessments testing and all state end-of-course exams. School districts had asked for a delay in the testing because of a busy hurricane season that caused many districts to miss days of school. Instead, K-12 Chancellor Herschel Lyons extended… Read more »
California is partisan Democratic by a substantial margin. In October Berkley’s Institute of Government Studies released the results of a cross-partisan poll of 1200 registered voters probing attitudes toward K-12 schools. Substantial parts of the poll focused on the potential support for subsidized parental choice, using the term “vouchers”. Fifty-Five percent of registered Democratic responders… Read more »
Education budget: In his budget proposal, Gov. Rick Scott wants local school boards to keep property taxes at their current levels so rising property values can produce extra funds for school districts. Florida Education Secretary Pam Stewart concurs, saying it’s the only way districts can get the extra funds they need. But the Florida House balked… Read more »
Textbook challenges: A bill is filed that would expand the law allowing anyone to challenge materials used in public school classrooms. H.B. 827, filed by state Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Naples, would give challengers the right to challenge books and also suggest replacements to both local school boards and the State Board of Education. Those boards… Read more »
Schools as shelters: A bill is filed that would require any K-12 school that receives construction funding from the state to be available as an emergency shelter or, if it doesn’t meet the requirements to be a shelter, for any other use officials think is necessary. That requirement would include charter schools. H.B. 779 was filed… Read more »
Blaine Amendment: The Constitution Revision Commission’s Declaration of Rights Committee approves a proposal to put repeal of the Blaine Amendment before voters in 2018. The amendment prohibits the use of tax money “directly or indirectly in aid of any church, sect or religious denomination.” In 2006, the Florida Supreme Court cited the amendment when it… Read more »
Middle school is tough for a lot of kids. For Valentin Mendez, it was hell. At night, he would try to sleep on the floor of the downtown Miami gas station where his mother worked the graveyard shift. In the mornings, he’d think about who was going to beat him up that day. After school,… Read more »
Refugee influx: The academic performances of most students who came to Florida schools after Hurricane Maria will not be counted when the state figures grades for districts and schools, says Florida Education Commissioner Pam Stewart. She says the federal government approved the exception for English language learners, which covers most of the nearly 8,000 students who… Read more »
