Book banned: The Perks of Being a Wallflower, a coming of age novel by Stephen Chbosky, is being removed from the curriculum at Pasco Middle School. A school-based committee made up of parents, teachers and administrators decided the book was too sexually graphic. A district committee agrees, and recommends it be banned from all district schools…. Read more »
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Does school choice harm public schools? Claims fall apart under scrutiny
One of the most emotionally potent arguments against educational choice – that it cripples public schools financially – is slowly unraveling in a Florida court of law. Teacher union attorneys, who seek to abolish tax credit scholarships for 78,000 low-income children, are stumbling to make the case. This is no small matter. The claim that… Read more »
This week in school choice: Upheld
This week, a judge ruled Nevada’s education savings accounts, one of the newest and most far-reaching educational choice programs in the country, are constitutional. A Las Vegas judge on Wednesday ruled Nevada’s controversial new school choice bill does not violate a constitutional ban against the use of taxpayer money for religious purposes. In an order dismissing… Read more »
Florida schools roundup: Reading scores, bathrooms, using force and more
Reading scores up: Reading scores on the Florida Standards Assessments were up slightly for Florida’s third-graders, according to the Florida Department of Education. Fifty-four percent of third graders tested at a satisfactory level, up from 53 percent last year. Satisfactory is considered a level 3 score on the five-level exam. Those who score below level… Read more »
Florida schools roundup: Bathroom fights, charters, resegregation and more
Bathroom fights: The Duval County School District, the school board and Superintendent Nikolai Vitti are being sued over the district’s policy that permits children to use the bathrooms that conform to their gender identity. The suit was filed by Wes White, a Republican running for state attorney, on behalf of Wryshona Isaac and her four children…. Read more »
School choice and the new federal education law
For the school choice movement, and education policy in general, most of the action happens at the state and local level. But participants in the Thomas B. Fordham Institute’s latest annual Wonkathon found a few gems in the new federal education law that could give students more options. Brian Kisida of the University of Missouri notes… Read more »
Florida schools roundup: Computer science, bathroom rights and more
Computer science: The State Board of Education will vote Friday on adopting a set of academic standards for teaching computer science. The proposed standards have been developed over the past year. Computer science would become the fifth area of science with specific standards, joining nature of science, life science, Earth science and physical science. Gradebook. Bathroom rights: Clay… Read more »
Florida schools roundup: Charter company costs, teacher issues and more
High spending at charters: Troubling patterns emerge from a close look at spending at three charters in Pinellas County operated by Newpoint Education Partners. Invoices and other documents indicate the company was buying goods at often inflated prices from companies that were related to Newpoint and its founder, Marcus Nelson May. Records were loosely kept,… Read more »
This week in school choice: Democracy matters
Democracy matters With the governor’s signature, it’s now official. New Orleans public schools overseen by the Recovery School District will soon return to the control of their local school board. Here’s why that matters: Proponents of the bill, including many charter-school advocates, are calling it a “reunification” of New Orleans schools, putting the locally elected Orleans Parish… Read more »
Florida schools roundup: Graduation rates, pre-K spending and more
Low graduation rates: Thirty percent of Florida’s high schools were considered to be “low-graduation rate high schools” in 2014, according to a report by America’s Promise Alliance and other advocacy groups. Only Alaska and New Mexico were worse. Politico Florida. Pre-K spending: Florida ranks just 39th in spending on pre-kindergarten, according to the annual State… Read more »
