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Florida schools roundup: Scholarships upheld, retention suit, tax hike and more

Scholarships upheld: An appeals court affirms a lower court ruling that the state’s teachers union and other groups do not have legal standing to challenge the program that uses corporate tax credits to issue scholarships to low-income students. The groups claimed the program diverts fund from public schools, but the court ruled there was no evidence of harm…. Read more »

Special needs scholarship helps student stand on his own

For nearly three years, starting before his third birthday, Malachi lived in an orphanage in Adama, in central Ethiopia. Born with spina bifida, a birth defect that causes leg weakness and limits mobility, he had to crawl across the orphanage’s concrete floors. The orphans shared clothes from a communal closet and he rarely wore shoes causing… Read more »

This week in school choice: History matters

At the end of a podcast debating the fallout from a new NAACP proclamation calling for a moratorium on charter schools, Howard Fuller was asked to recommend one book to help people understand his position in favor of school choice. He selected The Education of Blacks in the South, 1860-1935. James D. Anderson’s volume reveals the… Read more »

Florida schools roundup: Retention, construction, back to school and more

Retention issues: A judge says she may rule this week in a lawsuit brought against the state’s third-grade retention policy. Leon County Circuit Judge Karen Gievers did not grant the request to immediately promote third-graders who did poorly on the state reading test or opted out of taking it, saying she wanted to give the state and the… Read more »

Florida schools roundup: Back to school, promotions, prayers, pay and more

Back to school: It’s back to school day for students in 38 of Florida’s 67 counties. Dixie and Washington counties also were supposed to start, but heavy rains have canceled the first day of classes. TCPalm. Florida Today. Fort Myers News-Press. Bradenton Herald. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Gainesville Sun. Ocala Star Banner. Northwest Florida Daily News. St. Augustine Record…. Read more »

Florida schools roundup: Capital funds, ESSA answer, learning gap and more

Capital spending: A reduction of the state’s school capital tax and the near evaporation of the state’s Public Education Capital Outlay fund has put many school districts dangerously behind on school repairs. Since 2008, the state’s 67 school districts have lost about $6 billion in capital revenue. Twenty-six of those counties have passed sales tax… Read more »

Florida schools roundup: Budgets, staff shortages, books and more

School budgeting: The Pasco County School Board tentatively approves a $1.2 billion that’s about $30 million less than a year ago. Included in the budget are raises of about 3.5 percent, including benefits. Tampa Bay Times. The Bay County School Board approves a tentative $356 million budget that’s an increase of $29 million from last year…. Read more »

Call for charter school moratorium sparks new NAACP school choice clash

Yesterday, on a morning news broadcast in the nation’s capital, host Roland Martin asked the question: “Is the NAACP out of step with black folks?” He was grilling Hilary Shelton, the director of the NAACP’s Washington bureau, about the national civil rights organization’s latest stand against school choice. In mid-July, the organization’s members approved a resolution that… Read more »

This week in school choice: Control

Democrats made it through their week-long national convention without talking much about their plans for public education. Like at the Republican convention the week before, most talk of school choice and educational opportunity happened off the main stage. Still, there were some signals about the shape of education politics to come. Who would hold sway on education… Read more »