New scholarship: Gov. Ron DeSantis wants to eliminate the 14,000-student waiting list for Florida Tax Credit (FTC) scholarships to attend private schools by creating another scholarship. The proposed Equal Opportunity Scholarship program would offer the same amount of money as the tax credit scholarships do – around $7,000 a year – to those 14,000 low-income… Read more »
A day to remember: Valentine’s Day 2019 was a day of sorrow mixed with hope at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where 17 people were gunned down a year ago. The few students who showed up at the school, the staff, and students from around the state and country marked the anniversary with a moment… Read more »
Arming teachers: A bill that would broaden the state’s 2018 armed guardian law and allow some teachers to carry guns in schools clears the Senate Education Committee in a 5-3 vote along party lines, with Republicans in the majority. Last year’s bill specifically prohibited the arming of teachers, but calls grew to change that after… Read more »
Board speaks out: Members of the Broward County School Board have said little about the Parkland shootings in the past year, letting Broward school officials and lawyers take the lead in deciding the public response and, by and large, supporting their efforts. Now the nine board members have finally agreed to talk about the controversies, the… Read more »
A new study from the Urban Institute on college enrollment/completion rates of Florida Tax Credit Scholarship students represents both a triumph and a call for additional action. Let’s touch upon the triumph part first. The analysis shows statistically significant benefits for students participating in the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship in both college attendance and degree… Read more »
Educator bonuses: Gov. Ron DeSantis is proposing to almost double the amount of money the state spends on the Best and Brightest program to reward teachers and principals. The nearly $423 million would provide bonuses of at least $9,000 to about 45,000 teachers who are rated as “highly effective,” though 120,000 teachers who got bonuses… Read more »
Removing Runcie: The president of the NAACP Florida State Conference and member of the national NAACP board of directors, Adora Obi Nweze, is warning Gov. Ron DeSantis that trying to remove Broward Superintendent Robert Runcie from office would be “an extreme overreach, highly political and racist.” DeSantis has mused about removing Runcie, though he conceded last week… Read more »
Editor’s note: This February marks the 43rd anniversary of Black History Month. President Gerald R. Ford, in the nation’s bicentennial year, urged Americans to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.” redefinED is taking this opportunity to revisit some pieces from our… Read more »
Common Core: Gov. Ron DeSantis says he will sign an executive order “eliminating Common Core and the vestiges of Common Core” in Florida schools. DeSantis made that promise during his 2018 campaign, saying he had heard complaints from many people about the national academic standards for math and language arts that were adopted in 2010…. Read more »
Education agenda: Gov. Ron DeSantis and legislative leaders outline an ambitious agenda for reshaping education in the legislative session that begins March 5. DeSantis says his budget, due next week to the Legislature, will include changes in the Best and Brightest program for teacher bonuses and will allow willing teachers to carry guns in classrooms…. Read more »
