Special session: A last-minute deal was struck on increasing per-pupil K-12 spending and providing more money for economic development and tourism, and the Legislature adjourned as scheduled Friday after a three-day special session. Per-pupil spending will go up about $100. Gov. Rick Scott says he’s still deciding whether to sign two other education measures: H.B. 7069,… Read more »
Search Results for: miss ana
Florida schools roundup: Veto override, special session bickering and more
Education bill: The Florida Senate votes to override Gov. Rick Scott’s veto of the K-12 education bill. Senate Appropriations chairman Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater, says the vote is “an insurance policy” to keep schools operating after June 30 in case no agreement can be reached on education spending during the special session. That seems increasingly possible, as… Read more »
Florida schools roundup: Session tension on spending, charters and more
Education budget debate: Senate President Joe Negron, R-Stuart, says he wants additional property tax money to provide two-thirds of the extra $215 million Gov. Rick Scott has proposed for K-12 schools. The proposal is opposed by the House, which has been adamantly against higher local property taxes for education. Negron has several other items on his agenda… Read more »
Florida lab school pioneers personalized learning
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Italian music played in the background as kindergarten and first-grade students welcomed parents and guests to Pizza by the Creek — a student-managed restaurant at P.K. Yonge Developmental Research School. Several donned waiter outfits, preparing to serve pizza to parents and guests. Others carried boxes with materials to clean tables. One student served… Read more »
Florida schools roundup: Education bill, hiring delay, success penalty and more
Education bill: The First Amendment Foundation joins those calling for Gov. Rick Scott to veto the education bill. President Barbara Petersen says the group objects to the process, which she called “secretive.” And the Florida Association of School Administrators joins associations representing teachers, superintendents and school boards in urging Scott to veto the bill. Meanwhile, Scott… Read more »
Testing Choice
I get The New York Times. Each morning, it identifies the world’s battlegrounds — military and ideological, political and economic. I discount and forgive its plainly “liberal” bent. If I owned a paper, it would have a tone of sorts. But there are limits. One, I suggest, is the duty of all media, at an ethical minimum, to… Read more »
Florida schools roundup: School sales tax holiday, education bill and more
Sales tax holiday: Gov. Rick Scott approves a three-day sales tax holiday for back-to-school shoppers. It’s Aug. 4-6, and gives shoppers a tax break on clothes, school supplies, computers and computer accessories. Scott also approves a three-day sales tax holiday to buy hurricane supplies. In signing the bill, Scott again criticizes the Legislature’s budget and education bills,… Read more »
Florida schools roundup: Pre-K report, resegregation, private schools and more
Pre-K access, funding: Florida ranks second in the nation in providing access to pre-kindergarten programs, but just 40th in per-student funding, according to a report from the National Institute for Early Education Research. Florida enrolled about 76 percent of all eligible 4-year-olds, trailing only the District of Columbia, but its per-student funding amount of $2,353 is… Read more »
Private schools enroll ‘the historically un-favored’
From think tank reports to protests that greeted Education Secretary Betsy DeVos in Indianapolis, a common thread binds many of the most stringent objections to vouchers and other school choice programs. The arguments go something like this. Private schools don’t serve all students. They exclude vulnerable students. They contribute to racial segregation, and, in the… Read more »
Florida schools roundup: Reading tests, achievement plan, budgets and more
Reading test results: About 90 percent of the state’s high school seniors who had to retake the Florida Standards Assessments language arts test have failed, according to the Florida Department of Education. Last year the number was 84 percent. Students must pass the test to be eligible to receive a diploma. The nearly 16,000 who failed this… Read more »
