Search Results for: miss ana
District joins vaping suit, student killed by school bus, education spending, teacher pensions and more
District joins vaping suit: Seminole County School Board members vote 4-1 to join school districts in Palm Beach and Brevard counties and around the country in suing the e-cigarette manufacturer Juul Labs…
Student hit, killed by bus: A 15-year-old Palm Beach County student was struck and killed by a school bus as she crossed a street in West Palm Beach on Wednesday morning. Natasha Dwyer, a sophomore at Inlet Grove High School, was in the crosswalk when she was hit by the bus. The bus driver had a green light, according to sheriff’s deputies, and he told them he didn’t see the girl…
U.S. education budget: U.S. spending on education would increase by $1.3 billion under the budget approved this week by the House of Representatives. The Senate is expected to pass the bill by Friday…
Guest commentary: Setting the record straight on K-12 funding
In Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, Viola asks to see the face of Olivia, a grieving countess who wears a veil. “Is’t not well done?” asks Olivia. “Excellently done, if God did all,” Viola replies, slyly suggesting Olivia’s good looks would be impressive if they were natural and not due to the generous application of makeup. Last… Read more »
Early education proposal, bill for therapists in classrooms, school construction plans and more
Early education proposal: The Florida Department of Education is proposing to tighten requirements for child-care providers for the 2020-2021 school year, and day-care providers say the changes could leave thousands of Florida children without access to state-subsidized care…
Therapy bill advances: A bill that would add registered behavior technicians to the list of therapists allowed to accompany students into classrooms has been approved by the House Health Market Reform Subcommittee. H.B. 575 was filed by state Rep. Rene Plasencia, R-Orlando, after an RBT was removed from a classroom by Brevard County school officials who cited state law in ruling that RBTs were not permitted to accompany students…
Schools construction plan: The Pasco County School District is considering a proposal to spend $250 million on building and renovating schools and launching new academic programs…
Corcoran pushes pregame prayers, teacher discipline changes sought, a charter school closes and more
Pregame prayers: Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran is asking the Florida High School Athletics Association to reconsider its ban on pregame prayers over stadium loudspeakers…
Teacher discipline control: Florida’s education commissioner would have greater control of the commission that disciplines Florida’s teachers under a provision in a bill filed by state Sen. Manny Diaz, R-Hialeah. The bill calls for the education commissioner to select, manage and potentially remove the executive director of the Education Practices Commission…
Charter school closes: The only charter high school in Marion County, the Marion Military Academy, closed Monday for financial reasons. “The truth of the matter is funding was just not enough to sustain the number of teachers and staff required to continue,” school board chairman and financial backer Charles deMenzes wrote in an email to parents…
Democratic candidates talk education, preview of session and teacher pay, contract impasse and more
Legislators vow to make security changes, civics projects and testing approval bills, and more
Security in schools: Florida legislators say they agree with a statewide grand jury’s scathing criticisms of flaws in school security and will act on its recommendations when the legislative session begins Jan. 14. The report urged Florida lawmakers to give the Department of Education more authority to enforce state laws. “We gave them some ability to withhold pay from superintendents, but I think that there’s more that needs to be done,” said State Sen. Lauren Book, D-Plantation. “They suggest criminal charges, sanctions, going after school board members and I think that we need to start looking at that.” The report accused some districts of, among other things, manipulating data on crimes committed by students, ignoring their responsibility to provide armed guards for charter schools and not keeping radio communications system updated…
Civics literacy: A bill that would create opportunities within U.S. history courses for students to participate in local civics projects has gotten the unanimous approval of the House PreK-12 Innovation Subcommittee…
Standardized testing: School districts would need to get the approval of students’ parents before giving Florida Standards Assessments tests to students under a proposed bill filed in the Legislature. H.B. 929 is sponsored by state Rep. Shevrin ones, D-West Park, who said, “Current testing requirements lead to lost instructional time and narrowing of the curriculum, ultimately hurting our students. Beyond these costs, the burdensome assessments cost Florida taxpayers millions of dollars each year as the booming for-profit standardized testing industry continues to profit at our expense.”…
Jury cites school security flaws, armed teachers, board term limits, no 4-day school week and more
Jury rips districts: A statewide grand jury has concluded that many Florida students are in imminent danger because their schools are not complying with state requirements for school security. “There is no conceivable set of circumstances that any Florida school, charter or not, should be unprepared to comply,” according to the report that was issued Wednesday…
Armed teachers: Republican legislators who pushed to allow Florida teachers to be armed in classrooms now say they don’t need to know how many have signed up for the training to carry weapons. State Sen. Kelli Stargel, R-Lakeland, and the chair of the Senate’s education budget-writing committee, said this week that she doesn’t know how many teachers are carrying concealed weapons in schools, and that it isn’t something that concerns her…
School board term limits: Local school board members in Florida would be limited to 12 years in office under a proposed constitutional amendment filed Wednesday in the Senate. State Sen. Joe Gruters, a Republican from Sarasota who is also chairman of the state party, filed the resolution that, if approved, would place the question on the November 2020 ballot…
Governor proposes civics exam, trafficking education bill, costume earns suspension and more
Civics exam proposed: All graduating high school seniors will be required to take an exam measuring their knowledge about U.S. government, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday. The test will be similar to one that immigrants must pass to become U.S. citizens. “I would like initially to just understand where we are,” said DeSantis. “You see some of these national numbers where they do surveys and it’s pretty bad. I kind of think we would do a little better than that.” He said it’s possible the state could someday require high school seniors to pass such an exam to graduate…
Legislative bills: A bill that would require Florida public school students to be educated on the signs and dangers of human trafficking has been approved by the Senate Criminal Justice Committee. S.B. 154 “will include, but is not limited to information on warning signs of human trafficking, terms used by traffickers, red flags that would indicate a trafficker’s malicious intent toward a student, websites that are popular with traffickers and details on how students may get help,” according to its sponsor, state Sen. Perry Thurston, D-Fort Lauderdale…
Costume merits suspension: Broward County School Board members reject Superintendent Robert Runcie’s recommendation to demote an administrator for wearing a risque Halloween costume to school. Instead, the board voted to suspend Mary Coker, the director of director of procurement and warehouse services, for seven days…
Best and Brightest repeal advances, Miami-Dade district honored, violence in schools and more
EEducator bonuses repeal: A bill that would repeal the state’s Best and Brightest educators bonuses program was unanimously approved Monday by the Florida Senate Education Committee. The bill aligns with Gov. Ron DeSantis’ proposal to do away with the program in favor of his own $300 million bonuses plan, which would provide extra money for teachers and principals working in improving low-income schools…
District, educators honored: The Miami-Dade County School District has been chosen as the nation’s school district of the year by the online educational publication Education Dive. The district was honored for its high achievement, continuing improvement and innovation, community involvement and for embracing and adapting changes brought on by the school choice movement…
Violence in schools: A push for inclusion has put unstable children into school classrooms without the support those students need, and they are injuring teachers, bus drivers and employees in Broward County and thousands more across Florida, according to records. In just the past 18 months, more than 100 students across Florida have threatened to kill their teachers, classmates or themselves, according to records from 10 major counties…
