Legislators, Comm. Stewart cry foul over their own “Schools of Choice” double standard

  Regarding the Class Size Amendment, Florida legislators have worked double-time to subvert the will of the people who voted twice for the initiative. They’ve written legislation to ease class size restrictions specifically for charter schools to allow school wide averages for calculations.  They’ve excluded elective courses from class size. The net result is two…

Why Hedge Funds Love Charter Schools

by: Alan Singer|Huffington Post July 20, 2014 Obscure laws can have a very big impact on social policy, including obscure changes in the United States federal tax code. The 2001 Consolidated Appropriations Act, passed by Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton, included provisions from the Community Renewal Tax Relief Act of 2000.…

Fair test scores for Florida students

Opinion|Miami Herald November 14, 2015 Schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho is gearing up for the next round of a months-long battle with the state over flawed standardized student tests that will also determine school grades and measure teacher performance. The controversy centers on the state’s Department of Education’s plan to use scores from the new state…

Brevard superintendent axes 192 district-level exams

by: Jessica Saggio|Florida Today November 3, 2015 Superintendent Desmond Blackburn has axed 192 mandatory district-level assessments for students in Brevard Public Schools while he reevaluates the examination system in the county. The decision comes on the heels of an announcement from the Florida Association of District School Superintendents, which includes all 67 superintendents in Florida,…

Central Florida 100 – public education & the headlines

Central Florida 100 responses, October 28, 2015 100 of Central Florida’s most influential people weigh in on current events. Read their thoughts on the biggest stories of the week and see what they think will make headlines next week. Kathleen Oropeza, co-founder, FundEducationNow.org,  will be submitting weekly thoughts. Last week: President Obama and Education Secretary…

FSA CUT SCORE WORKSHOPS PLANNED

Notice of Development of Rulemaking DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION State Board of Education RULE NO.:        RULE TITLE: 6A-1.09981        Implementation of Florida’s System of School Improvement and Accountability PURPOSE AND EFFECT: The purpose and effect of the rule development is, primarily, to revise the rule to conform to statutory changes by creating a new school grades calculation…