K-12 budget: The Florida Senate Education Appropriations Committee proposes raising the K-12 education budget by $650 million, to $20.3 billion, which is about $150 million more than Gov. Rick Scott requested. The proposal would increase per-student funding from $7,107 to $7,249. Still to be determined is how much of the money comes from local property taxes. Miami Herald. Politico… Read more »
Search Results for: miss ana
Florida schools roundup: Transfers, regulations, charter schools and more
School transfers: School board members, administrators and coaches are concerned about proposed bills in the Legislature that would allow students and athletes to transfer to any school, and in some of the bills permit athletes to be immediately eligible to play. Orlando Sentinel. Regulation-free bill: Palm Beach School Superintendent Robert Avossa supports a bill in the… Read more »
Florida schools roundup: Charter school oversight, teacher bonuses and more
Charter schools amendment: A Florida House committee passes a bill that would ask voters to approve a constitutional amendment to give a state board the power to authorize and control charter schools statewide. Miami Herald. Tampa Tribune. Palm Beach Post. The committee also softened a bill that would have allowed computer coding to be used to… Read more »
Florida schools roundup: Tax-credit scholarships rally, Bush plan and more
Scholarship support: Supporters of tax-credit scholarships will rally at the Florida Capitol today. The constitutionality of the 15-year-old Florida Tax Credit Scholarship program is being challenged in court by the state’s largest teachers union. Step Up For Students, which hosts this blog, helps administer those accounts. Miami Herald. WFSU. Sunshine State News. The guest speaker… Read more »
Florida schools roundup: Concussion study, prayers, class sizes and more
Concussion study: A partnership between the Miami-Dade County Public Schools and the University of Miami to catalog and study concussions among high school athletes is resulting in earlier diagnosis and treatment, and a rich amount of data for future studies. The first-of-its-kind study has counted almost 600 concussions in four years at 36 public high schools. Miami Herald…. Read more »
This week in school choice: Moral authority
Louisiana schools chief John White lays down a challenge for school choice advocates concerned about the regulation of scholarship programs. A pragmatic discussion of the issue would start by defining what private school choice programs are trying to accomplish in the first place. Are advocates concerned about scale? How important for American families is validated and… Read more »
Florida schools roundup: Guns in schools, testing proficiency and more
Guns, other bills: State Rep. Greg Steube, R-Sarasota, files a bill that would permit licensed concealed-carry holders to bring their firearms to elementary and secondary schools. It’s the third bill he’s filed that would expand rights to concealed carry permit holders. Bradenton Herald. WUSF. Dozens of education bills are filed as the Legislature opens. Politico Florida. Florida’s… Read more »
Florida schools roundup: Accountability, Legislature, school health care and more
Accountability concerns: While the Florida Board of Education decided how to judge student testing and grade schools last week, educators already are suggesting the entire process of assessing accountability should get another look after the next round of tests. Tampa Bay Times. Business groups such as the Florida Chamber of Commerce and the Council of 100 are disappointed that… Read more »
Florida schools roundup: Testing alternatives, impact fees and more
Testing alternatives: A bill is filed in the Legislature that would allow students to use standardized tests, such as the SAT and ACT, instead of the Florida Standards Assessments to measure students’ knowledge. Schools boards would choose the options, says State Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, the bill sponsor. Miami Herald. Orlando Sentinel. School impact fees: The… Read more »
Florida schools roundup: Testing standards, state grades and more
Testing standards: The Florida Board of Education votes 6-1 to follow the recommendation of Education Commissioner Pam Stewart on how to use the Florida Standards Assessments tests to rate student progress and grade schools. Board vice chairman John Padget and many business and education officials were calling for harder scoring and grading plans. School grades will be… Read more »
