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Florida Board of Education members want another look at class size rules

by: Jeffery S. Solochek|Tampa Bay Times August 26, 2015 Discussing legislative priorities for the coming session, some Florida Board of Education members renewed their desire to see the 2002 class size amendment scaled back in its application. Calling the law “foolish,” board member Gary Chartrand said he would urge lawmakers to take steps to make…

Florida taxpayers pay up: June special session cost $651,000

  August 24, 2015| Miami Herald by: Gary Fineout|Associated Press   A messy budget fight that forced Florida’s legislators to hold an unusual June special session cost taxpayers more than $651,000, according to figures released Monday by the Florida Senate. The nine-day special session turned out to be the costliest special session in the last…

House passes baseline map, reigniting tension with Senate

by: Matt Dixon|Politico Florida August 18, 2015 The full House on Tuesday passed baseline congressional maps impacting a handful of incumbents and, in the process, re-ignited a tension with the Senate that dominated much of last spring’s legislative session. Lawmakers are in the final week of a special session needed to redraw congressional lines after…

Is Florida’s new test valid? Study due Sept. 1 should give answers

by: Leslie Postal|Orlando Sentinel August 19, 2015 The study to determine whether Florida’s new standardized test is a valid one is due in Tallahassee on Sept. 1. The study of the Florida Standards Assessments is being run by two outside testing companies that have filed detailed reports on what they’ve done — but provided few…

Invest in Children, Not Testing. It’s That Simple.

Broward could be on hook for $1.8 million charter school debt

by: Scott Travis|Sun Sentinel August 14, 2015 Broward County schools may have to repay $1.8 million owed by two closed charter schools. Obama Academy for Boys and Red Shoe Charter for Girls, both in Fort Lauderdale, agreed to close after frequent disputes with the district. But a recent State Auditor General report found the jointly…

‘Community School’ Concept Takes Root in Florida

Part of the curriculum at Evans High School PHOTO COURTESY EVANS HIGH SCHOOL by: By MARGIE MENZEL|WUSF News August 10, 2015 Evans High School in Orange County used to be known as a dropout factory. But since 2007, it’s gone from a double-F to a B school – in one of Orlando’s most troubled neighborhoods. Now,…

Voucher program’s accountability cloudy

BY: Rich Christie Palm Beach Post| August 2, 2015   By most measures, one would consider Florida’s Tax Credit Scholarship Program a success. After about 14 years, some 70,000 mostly low-income and minority students annually take advantage of vouchers that allow them the opportunity to attend any private school of their choice. And according to…

Lawmakers in Tallahassee continue to get richer

BY MICHAEL AUSLEN Herald/Times Tallahassee Bureau August 1, 2015 In the wake of the Great Recession, which left the average Florida family struggling to make ends meet, at least one group of people continues to get richer: It pays to be elected to the state House or Senate. Of the 160 lawmakers elected to the…

‘Charter school district’ proposed – Superintendent wants greater flexibility to improve education

By Andrew Marra Palm Beach Post Staff Writer July 30, 2015| Palm Beach County’s schools chief wants permission from state lawmakers to convert the county’s public school system into a “charter school district,” a designation that could let him end-run state rules and drastically reorganize schools’ schedules, class sizes and instruction time. Superintendent Robert Avossa’s proposal…