School choice legislation. The Senate rewrites its plan for education savings accounts. redefinED. Sentinel School Zone. The move underscores the uncertain future of tax credit scholarship legislation. News Service of Florida. WFSU. Education historian Sherman Dorn offers his take on the politics, while Jeb Bush talks school choice with Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York. Charter schools. The… Read more »
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redefinED roundup: school choice advances in FL, protection for NYC charters and more news
Arizona: Former state Sen. Tom Patterson says school choice is opposed by unions because the unions feel school choice threatens jobs for adults (East Valley Tribune). An advancing bill will allow special needs kids to have access to Empowerment Scholarship Accounts without having to get approval from school districts first (Associated Press). Florida: The tax credit… Read more »
Private school in Haiti gets help from U.S. charter school company
Charter Schools USA is one of the nation’s largest for-profit charter school management companies, with 58 schools in seven states. But the Florida-based organization also has a charitable arm that’s helping a hardscrabble private school in Haiti. The Giving Tree Foundation has pledged to raise $250,000 to build a new tuition-free school in Francois, a… Read more »
Florida lawmakers look for compromises on charter school legislation
The controversy surrounding a charter school bill began to fade on Tuesday, as a Senate panel stripped away its controversial provisions. The original bill was intended to speed up charter schools’ contract negotiations with school districts, give them more access to district-owned buildings and lure more high-profile charter networks from outside the state. Those provisions have won support from Republicans… Read more »
Florida roundup: Tax-credit scholarships, career academies, school turnarounds and more
Tax-credit scholarships. The Ocala Star-Banner looks at what an expansion of the program would mean for local private schools. The Scripps/Tribune Tallahassee bureau takes an in-depth look at the debate over the expansion, and separately reports that supporters are still holding out hope after a measure that would have expanded the program was withdrawn in the Senate. The bill’s… Read more »
redefinED roundup: school choice to expand in NY but not FL, ESAs constitutional in AZ and more
Alabama: Lawmakers approve an increase in individual tax credits for donations to scholarship granting organizations (Gadsden Times). Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal stopped in the state to give a speech about school choice and more (Bayou Buzz). Alaska: Ben Walker, a math teacher, says the school reform movement is based on a false fear of bad public… Read more »
Military-style charter schools sprouting across Florida
Like they are in other states, military-style charter schools are gaining a foothold in Florida. There are new ones in Broward, Sarasota, Osceola and Duval counties – and more on the way. With a focus on rigor, structure, responsibility and respect, supporters say such schools experience fewer behavioral problems and better academic success. Acclaim Academy,… Read more »
Florida roundup: Tax-credit scholarships, charter schools, testing and more
Tax credit scholarships. The bill expanding the program is likely headed to the House floor. More from the Scripps/Tribune. Times/Herald. News Service of Florida. The state should mandate that scholarship students take the state’s standardized science test too. Bridge to Tomorrow. Education activist Rita Solnet tears into the program on the Huffington Post, which is also… Read more »
Florida Senate advances school choice accounts for special-needs students
The push to create individual accounts for students with disabilities picked up bipartisan support in its first Senate committee hearing Tuesday. But the bill to create “personalized accounts for learning” that parents could use to pay for tutoring and therapy for their children also attracted opposition from groups like the Florida PTA and the statewide… Read more »
Florida roundup: Charter schools, testing, teachers unions and more
Charter schools. More could be closing in Broward. South Florida Sun Sentinel. Miami Herald. Tax credit scholarships. Did top Step Up For Students officials need to register as lobbyists? Times/Herald. (Step Up co-hosts this blog.) Testing. Florida Education Commissioner Pam Stewart picks AIR to develop the new wave of tests tied to Common Core. News… Read more »
